HINSDALE — While there were dramatic moments throughout the evening, Hinsdale Central and Lyons really upped the ante in the final 15 minutes of regulation in their West Suburban Conference Silver Division match on Tuesday night.

The Red Devils made it a night to remember with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the 18th-ranked Lions after the teams exchanged goals in the final portion of the second half, including the game-tying goal by Lyons’ Jackson Lesner with only eight seconds left in regulation.

But the late heroics weren’t enough to overcome the two-goal effort of Enzo Cinque, who scored the winning goal in the ninth minute of the first overtime. Cinque was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his game-deciding efforts.

“We just believed in ourselves,” Cinque said. “When they scored in the final seconds (of regulation), that was really hard. 

“But we believed in ourselves. We can’t give up. We just have to keep working hard and never give up. We gave it our all until the last whistle.”

The Red Devils (6-6-1, 3-0-x), who earned honorable mention recognition in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, extended their winning streak to five matches. They also hit the .500 mark for the first time this season after an 0-4-1 start, and sit tied for the league lead with Glenbard West with a game in hand.

The win also came with a Silver Brick. The Red Devils took the rivalry travelling trophy for the third-straight campaign.

“It was such a great game,” said Red Devils midfielder Austen Szurgot, who scored his team’s second goal for his club-high seventh of the season. “We love playing against Lyons Township. The fans were great. Just the competition against LT is amazing. What a game.”

Cinque gave the Red Devils the lead in the 26th minute, scoring off an assist from Denis Altman. Altman also assisted on Cinque’s game-winning goal.

The score stayed steady at 1-0 until the 65th minute when the Lions (8-5-1, 1-1-x) struck. Sean Dunne sent a ball into the box at the far post where Victor Marinov headed it into the open corner to tie it 1-1.

Hinsdale Central regained the lead thanks to Szurgot goal nine minutes later. He gathered the loose ball in the box and sailed a shot past Lions keeper Joe Ratcliffe, who finished with five saves. Kostas Zamalaitis earned the assist.

“The ball just came to me,” Szurgot said. “It was a little pop-up over the defense and then Kostas deflected it. It landed to me, and I put it inside the bottom post. It was the greatest feeling ever.”

But Lyons wasn’t done, even as the minutes, and then seconds ticked away. 

Two chances were turned aside by keeper Martin Contreras before a scramble ensued. Lesner played a give-and-go with Dunne and took the return pass and calmly shot into the far side before Contreras or his defense could clear the ball from danger.

“I knew when I passed it over to Sean he would get to the line and cross it in,” Lesner said. “I was just hoping for a goal. I really thought we could win it after that.”

The goal forced extra time. Both teams had a scoring chance that didn’t pan out. First, it was Cinque, who chipped a short ball just over the crossbar on a run with a Lions player right on his back.

Contreras made the final of his five saves in the 87th minute as he jumped to grab a contested shot from Mason Burda with a Lyons player at his hip.

That set up the magic moment for Cinque, who spun in the box before driving home the game-winner.

“I didn’t know where the goalkeeper even was,” Cinque said. “I just got to the ball and took a shot.”

Cinque then led a charge of racing Red Devils to the student section to celebrate the winner with friends and teammates. He carried the Silver Brick with him the whole time.

“This is a big deal, as you saw with the crowd -- there weren’t too many empty seats out there,” Red Devils coach Michael Wiggins said. 

“And that’s a great, great high school environment. I’m just so glad that our guys got to, not only experience that, but to get a win in front of their classmates and keep the streak going.”

Lyons coach Paul Labbato said his team played well. Their resilience was top of his list.

“There are the kind of gritty things that you need to do to win playoff games,” Labbato said. “We can take this and find some positives pushing forward. We never gave up. Even with 10, 15 seconds on the clock, we were still pushing for a goal and got it. 

“But there are things we have to clean up on the free kicks and things like that.”

Hinsdale Central deserved compliments for its resilience as well. The hosts managed to avoid a letdown that could have come after giving up a goal so late in regulation.

“That goal definitely hurt us there with eight seconds left,” Szurgot said. “We thought we were going to put it away before that goal. But we came together on the sidelines (during the pre-overtime break), and we figured it out. We stayed calm, mentally strong, and we knew we couldn’t concede.”

Having the travelling trophy on the line definitely amped up the atmosphere. Both teams had good turnouts and the support was appreciated. Lyons players often turned to their student section and pumped their arms to get them to cheer louder.

“This was my first game for the Silver Brick,” said Lesner, a junior midfielder/forward. “The atmosphere was really exciting with so many fans.”

Starting lineups

Lyons
GK: Joe Ratcliffe
D: Fred Chen
D: Sean Dunne
D: Devin Wong
D: Johnny Rocha
MF: Kellin Bourjally
MF: Mason Burda
MF: Chris Medina
MF: Hayden McTigue
MF: Filip Soldat
F: Ryland Avants

Hinsdale Central
GK: Martin Contreras
D: Braden Tingler
D: Alex Barbu
D: Enzo Cinque
D: Denis Altman
D: Milan Puri
D: Kostas Zamalaitis
MF: Michael DiTomasso
MF: Antonio Azzo
MF: Austen Szurgot
F: Matt Gantar

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Enzo Cinque, D, sr., Hinsdale Central

Scoring summary

First half
Hinsdale Central: Enzo Cinque (Denis Altman) 14’

Second half
Lyons: Victor Marinov (Sean Dunne), 65’
Hinsdale Central: Austen Szurgot (Kostas Zamalaitis), 74’
Lyons: Jackson Lesner (Dunne), 80’

First overtime
Hinsdale Central: Cinque (Altman), 89’