Leyden scores huge win over tough foe Morton

Updated: October 4, 2011 6:57PM

Leyden took a huge step toward winning the 2011 West Suburban Gold soccer championship when it defeated host Morton 2-1 on a penalty-kick goal with 10 seconds remaining in the match on Sept. 27.

The Eagles (10-3-3, 3-0) were scheduled to face league rival Willowbrook on Tuesday and will visit Downers Grove South at 6:30 p.m. today. Leyden wraps up conference action against Addison Trail, at West Leyden, at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11.

“Morton is one of the top teams in the area,” said Leyden coach Mark Valintis. “Someone has to stop up to beat Morton if you’re going to have a chance to win the conference. Beating them puts us in the driver’s seat.”

Juan Recendez got the Eagles on the scoreboard first, scoring three minutes into the contest when he sent in a corner kick that was knocked into the net by a Morton player.

“We had the better run of it the first 20 minutes, creating more chances,” Valintis said. “Recendez, (Krystian) Drozdz, and Tony Guzman all had excellent chances. Morton had its fair share of scoring chances as well, but Marco Granda stood tall in goal for us.”

The early goal by Recendez held up through the entire first half, as the Eagles took a 1-0 advantage into intermission.

The Mustangs pulled even at 1-1 about 30 minutes into the second half when a crossing pass from about 50 years out was headed in front of the goal and kicked in.

Leyden picked up the pace on the offensive end during the final 15 minute of action. The Eagles earned a corner kick with 30 seconds remaining, and Recendez sent in a cross that was cleared by Morton to Moises Merlos about 40 yards from the goal. Merlos sent in a cross to the far post that eventually ended up in front of Drozdz, who dribbled around a defender and was fouled in the penalty box with :10 left.

An official awarded the Eagles a penalty shot, which Arthur Bernaciak converted for the win.

“Our guys played so hard, even though at times we were outplayed,” Valintis said. “They never gave up, and once Morton tied us, we found that extra bit of strength to raise our level of play and were rewarded with several chances.”

A day after the big win over Morton, the Eagles fell behind 2-0 and lost to Glenbard West 2-1. Recendez scored for Leyden with about 10 minutes to play, but the Eagles were unable to convert a handful of good scoring opportunities after that.

“We kind of had a Morton hangover,” Valintis said. “I don’t think it was really a letdown for us in the game. We played tired and gave up a bad goal early.”

Leyden bounded back to claim a 2-1 nonconference win over York on Saturday, behind a pair of goals by Bernaciak.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.