Lake Park bounces back to beat Metea V.
Lancers lose 2 leads en route to 3-2 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Whenever it appeared that Lake Park was gaining the upper hand on Metea Valley in DuPage Valley Conference action Thursday night, the visiting Mustangs had an answer. But the Lancers responded each time, and had the final say to emerge with a 3-2 win.
The pattern began in the 25th minute, when Metea Valley sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Branch stoned Lake Park senior midfielder Lorenzo Costa on a penalty kick following a handball in the box. Costa shot low-left, and Branch guessed correctly, sprawling to his right to snuff the low, hard try.
"I never second-guess myself. I usually shoot left," said Costa, a consistent threat all night in tandem with fellow senior mid Alessandro Montes, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "(Branch) came out and made a big save -- nothing I could do about it."
Branch made a few other top-notch saves in the first half as well, stopping Montes on a solid free-kick less than a minute after the PK, and then smothering a rebound try in traffic. With 10:50 to go in the scoreless opening session, Branch robbed Costa with a strong save at the left post. Five minutes later, Branch grabbed a sizzling, 30-yard free-kick off the foot of Montes.
"(Branch) is only a sophomore, so he's kind of raw," said Metea Valley head coach Josh Robinson said. "The big thing, he continues to grow. He keeps battling."
Costa and Montes kept working their magic on the attack, circling and connecting on sharp passes in tight spaces to keep the Mustangs on their heels for much of the second half. A long Lake Park possession in the 56th minute resulted in a corner-kick for Montes, whose boot into the box created a wild scramble that ended when sophomore defender Sebastian Glodz shoveled it past Branch to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead.
It didn't last long. Less than two minutes later, Metea Valley knotted things up on a nifty, left-footed, turnaround shot by freshman midfielder Joey Donovan that beat Lancers' sophomore keeper Christian Lekki from close range on the left side. Sophomore midfielder Jaylen Brooks notched the helper.
Undaunted, the home team regained the lead with 10:58 left in regulation when sophomore mid Franco Presta scored on the rebound of his own shot, beating Branch low-left to make it 2-1. Costa earned the assist.
Once again, the lead was short-lived. With 9:20 to go, Metea Valley senior forward Aayush Kaul headed a cross from senior defender Dom Duffy past Lekki, and suddenly it was 2-2.
"The momentum can shift when you lose leads like that, but you have to keep going 'til the whistle blows," said Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby, whose team improved to 4-7-2 overall and 2-1-1 in league play with the win. "I'm most pleased with how we responded. We didn't let their comebacks get to us."
Lancers' sophomore defender Tom Zakic made sure of that, scoring what proved to be the game-winner on a header off of a perfectly placed corner by Montes with 5:02 remaining.
"It was difficult (losing the leads)," Montes said. "You have to ... keep your head in the game. Immediately after they would tie it, we said, 'We'll bounce back.'"
Costa said that Metea Valley's quick-strike response to Lake Park's pair of leads, "didn't affect our mindset. It gave the team motivation to come back strong -- and we came back strong."
Robinson said that his team's lack of success this season had a lot to do with the Mustangs' thought process during the topsy-turvy affair. Metea Valley fell to 2-9-2, 1-6-0 with the loss.
"We're struggling to get wins, so the kids are panicking a little bit ... the kids are pressing," Robinson said. "It is kind of a mental block. We've been losing games 1-0, then we score two and give up three (Thursday night). You get a nice finish by a senior (Donovan), and then Kaul gets a great goal. Then we give it up at the end of the game."
Added Kaul: "That's kind of the theme of our season. We thought the PK save could be the turning point, but it didn't work out the way it could have. We did bounce back -- not enough."
Donovan said, "We try to block out the losses. But sometimes you can't get it out of your head. You start thinking, 'We're gonna lose another one.' Tonight, we did a little better job, but it's stuck there in the back of your mind."
The Mustangs also were stuck trying to get the ball away from Montes and Costa -- especially in the second half. In the 41st minute, Montes ended one possession with a shot that sailed wide-right, and he also missed wide-left from 25 yards with 35:20 to go.
Capping another long possession, Costa fired a 35-yard shot that soared over the crossbar with 6:15 remaining. Two minutes later, Costa sent a ball to Presta, whose pop-up try was stopped by Branch.
"Those two (Costa and Montes) busted their tail up and down the field all game," Crosby said. "You can't ask more of two seniors hustling like that -- a lot of energy, hustle and pride."
It came as no surprise to learn that the Lancers' pair have been playing together for seven years, beginning in their youth soccer days.
"We've been together so long, we have that groove," Costa said. "We know where each other is on the field."
Added Montes: "I feel like we do have chemistry. Tonight, (the Mustangs) were flat-footed a lot, so we tried to take advantage of that on the dribble and getting a through-ball in."
Metea Valley's best chance to net the equalizer came with 2:40 left, when Lekki grabbed a rising, 40-yard free-kick by Mustangs' junior defender Ethan Williams.
In the first half, Lekki batted down a cross by Metea Valley sophomore forward Shareef Amor, and then robbed Brooks on the rebound try. With 5:10 left in the first half, Donovan got free on a semi-breakaway before shooting wide-right.
"We had the chances, we just couldn't finish 'em off," lamented Donovan.
Added Robinson: "We're young, so we're trying to get the guys to believe in the process. Winning is not always in your control. Do the things you can control, and hopefully wins start coming from it."
Considering they entered the match on a four-game losing skid, the Lancers are no stranger to that concept, leaving the pitch with hopes that the conference win will kickstart a solid run down the stretch.
"It's a good feeling to win -- for the players and the program," Crosby said. "You see what the guys are capable of, so it's great to get a win like this to reinforce we're a stronger team than our record shows. It's the second half of the season, so now is the time to start clicking to be at our best."
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
G: Kevin Branch
D: Michael Lothridge
D: Tony Sanchez
D: Ethan Williams
D: Dom Duffy
M: Ethan Ytterberg
M: Jaylen Brooks
M: Connor Lang
M: Joey Donovan
F: Alfonzo Castillo
F: Shareef Amor
Lake Park
G: Christian Lekki
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Jack Fischer
D: Sebastian Glodz
D: Tom Zakic
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Matteo Costa
M: Andrew Eliopoulos
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Jesus Juarez
Man of the Match: Alessandro Montes, M, Lake Park
Officials: Bob Lahey, Aaron Wolfhope, Jim Franklin
Lancers lose 2 leads en route to 3-2 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Whenever it appeared that Lake Park was gaining the upper hand on Metea Valley in DuPage Valley Conference action Thursday night, the visiting Mustangs had an answer. But the Lancers responded each time, and had the final say to emerge with a 3-2 win.
The pattern began in the 25th minute, when Metea Valley sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Branch stoned Lake Park senior midfielder Lorenzo Costa on a penalty kick following a handball in the box. Costa shot low-left, and Branch guessed correctly, sprawling to his right to snuff the low, hard try.
"I never second-guess myself. I usually shoot left," said Costa, a consistent threat all night in tandem with fellow senior mid Alessandro Montes, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "(Branch) came out and made a big save -- nothing I could do about it."
Branch made a few other top-notch saves in the first half as well, stopping Montes on a solid free-kick less than a minute after the PK, and then smothering a rebound try in traffic. With 10:50 to go in the scoreless opening session, Branch robbed Costa with a strong save at the left post. Five minutes later, Branch grabbed a sizzling, 30-yard free-kick off the foot of Montes.
"(Branch) is only a sophomore, so he's kind of raw," said Metea Valley head coach Josh Robinson said. "The big thing, he continues to grow. He keeps battling."
Costa and Montes kept working their magic on the attack, circling and connecting on sharp passes in tight spaces to keep the Mustangs on their heels for much of the second half. A long Lake Park possession in the 56th minute resulted in a corner-kick for Montes, whose boot into the box created a wild scramble that ended when sophomore defender Sebastian Glodz shoveled it past Branch to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead.
It didn't last long. Less than two minutes later, Metea Valley knotted things up on a nifty, left-footed, turnaround shot by freshman midfielder Joey Donovan that beat Lancers' sophomore keeper Christian Lekki from close range on the left side. Sophomore midfielder Jaylen Brooks notched the helper.
Undaunted, the home team regained the lead with 10:58 left in regulation when sophomore mid Franco Presta scored on the rebound of his own shot, beating Branch low-left to make it 2-1. Costa earned the assist.
Once again, the lead was short-lived. With 9:20 to go, Metea Valley senior forward Aayush Kaul headed a cross from senior defender Dom Duffy past Lekki, and suddenly it was 2-2.
"The momentum can shift when you lose leads like that, but you have to keep going 'til the whistle blows," said Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby, whose team improved to 4-7-2 overall and 2-1-1 in league play with the win. "I'm most pleased with how we responded. We didn't let their comebacks get to us."
Lancers' sophomore defender Tom Zakic made sure of that, scoring what proved to be the game-winner on a header off of a perfectly placed corner by Montes with 5:02 remaining.
"It was difficult (losing the leads)," Montes said. "You have to ... keep your head in the game. Immediately after they would tie it, we said, 'We'll bounce back.'"
Costa said that Metea Valley's quick-strike response to Lake Park's pair of leads, "didn't affect our mindset. It gave the team motivation to come back strong -- and we came back strong."
Robinson said that his team's lack of success this season had a lot to do with the Mustangs' thought process during the topsy-turvy affair. Metea Valley fell to 2-9-2, 1-6-0 with the loss.
"We're struggling to get wins, so the kids are panicking a little bit ... the kids are pressing," Robinson said. "It is kind of a mental block. We've been losing games 1-0, then we score two and give up three (Thursday night). You get a nice finish by a senior (Donovan), and then Kaul gets a great goal. Then we give it up at the end of the game."
Added Kaul: "That's kind of the theme of our season. We thought the PK save could be the turning point, but it didn't work out the way it could have. We did bounce back -- not enough."
Donovan said, "We try to block out the losses. But sometimes you can't get it out of your head. You start thinking, 'We're gonna lose another one.' Tonight, we did a little better job, but it's stuck there in the back of your mind."
The Mustangs also were stuck trying to get the ball away from Montes and Costa -- especially in the second half. In the 41st minute, Montes ended one possession with a shot that sailed wide-right, and he also missed wide-left from 25 yards with 35:20 to go.
Capping another long possession, Costa fired a 35-yard shot that soared over the crossbar with 6:15 remaining. Two minutes later, Costa sent a ball to Presta, whose pop-up try was stopped by Branch.
"Those two (Costa and Montes) busted their tail up and down the field all game," Crosby said. "You can't ask more of two seniors hustling like that -- a lot of energy, hustle and pride."
It came as no surprise to learn that the Lancers' pair have been playing together for seven years, beginning in their youth soccer days.
"We've been together so long, we have that groove," Costa said. "We know where each other is on the field."
Added Montes: "I feel like we do have chemistry. Tonight, (the Mustangs) were flat-footed a lot, so we tried to take advantage of that on the dribble and getting a through-ball in."
Metea Valley's best chance to net the equalizer came with 2:40 left, when Lekki grabbed a rising, 40-yard free-kick by Mustangs' junior defender Ethan Williams.
In the first half, Lekki batted down a cross by Metea Valley sophomore forward Shareef Amor, and then robbed Brooks on the rebound try. With 5:10 left in the first half, Donovan got free on a semi-breakaway before shooting wide-right.
"We had the chances, we just couldn't finish 'em off," lamented Donovan.
Added Robinson: "We're young, so we're trying to get the guys to believe in the process. Winning is not always in your control. Do the things you can control, and hopefully wins start coming from it."
Considering they entered the match on a four-game losing skid, the Lancers are no stranger to that concept, leaving the pitch with hopes that the conference win will kickstart a solid run down the stretch.
"It's a good feeling to win -- for the players and the program," Crosby said. "You see what the guys are capable of, so it's great to get a win like this to reinforce we're a stronger team than our record shows. It's the second half of the season, so now is the time to start clicking to be at our best."
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
G: Kevin Branch
D: Michael Lothridge
D: Tony Sanchez
D: Ethan Williams
D: Dom Duffy
M: Ethan Ytterberg
M: Jaylen Brooks
M: Connor Lang
M: Joey Donovan
F: Alfonzo Castillo
F: Shareef Amor
Lake Park
G: Christian Lekki
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Jack Fischer
D: Sebastian Glodz
D: Tom Zakic
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Matteo Costa
M: Andrew Eliopoulos
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Jesus Juarez
Man of the Match: Alessandro Montes, M, Lake Park
Officials: Bob Lahey, Aaron Wolfhope, Jim Franklin
