NORTHFIELD -- On a positively gorgeous and cool first night of November, the New Trier Sectional title match provided just about everything a Leyden soccer fan would want, except a victory. The second-seeded Eagles suffered a shocking exit to the postseason with a 2-2 (5-4/6 PKs) loss to Lane.

The fourth-seeded Chicago Public League representative reached this final after its thrilling 3-2 overtime upset victory Tuesday over top-seed Evanston

Lane, which is ranked 19th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, came from behind twice to force a shootout after extra time Friday. Once there the Champions outscored Leyden 5-4 in six rounds to claim the first supersectional berth in school history.

"This simply amazing right now," said elated manager Andrew Ricks.
    
"(I) went to both Jim Burnside (New Trier girls manager) and Matt Ravenscraft (New Trier boys manager), who have been in a million supers, and asked them both what it's like to win a super and be one step closer to heading to state," continued Ricks.

"They both told me to just enjoy the moment. So, that's what I am going to do.

"We went through a game like this when we won the Chicago Public League title a couple of weeks ago.

"We were up 3-1 and conceded the equalizer to Young with a minute to go before going into this crazy long shootout.”

The Champions (15-2-4) won that affair 11-10 in 12 rounds Oct. 16.

"(Then) we go into OT the other night to beat an incredible Evanston team," Ricks continued.

"This team plays with a lot of heart, grit and passion. They just never give in, even when things look a little bleak.

"You saw that tonight against a great team, which was this close to advancing."

Indeed.

After a nice start from the city champs, the Eagles (19-3-2), who are ranked third in the Top 25, had most of the play leading up to its opener. Afterward, they had the chances to easily go into the break with a three-goal advantage.

"Lane is a great team," said Eagles manager Mark Valintis. “I think we weathered their early good start with some good team defense. Then we found our game with most of the possession, thanks to quick movement, finding seams with our passing and getting everyone involved.”

An absolutely brilliant finish from Jesus Ramos from 35 yards that saw his sublime chip pass over keeper Evan Burgess in the 18th minute thrilled the Leyden crowd at Robert Naughton Field.

The score could have been 2-0 moments later when Ryvin DelPilar skimmed the bar with an angled effort after he ran on to a superb early ball from Stefano Andrino.

The Eagles, now brimming with confidence, continued to push the pace, building the attack from the back and through its three-man midfield that constantly found Ramos and Rogelio Herrera.

The Lane offense showed some life around the half hour with sophomore reserves Oren Rehm and Adrian Szkolnik providing some much-needed energy.

"When you see us play, you don't immediately see a ton of great players," said a proud Ricks.
“We have some tremendous players, but our success has come from a super-deep roster which gives us so much when we need it.”

That depth proved key during the later stages of the match, when it became a battle of attrition with both clubs suffering from leg cramps and, in the case of the Eagles, injuries to several of its biggest stars.

When it appeared Lane had wrested back the momentum, DelPilar tricked his way just inside the box and was brought down.

Referee Kevin Parker, who along with his assistants did a terrific job of keeping 100 intense minutes of soccer under control, immediately pointed to the spot.

Lane keeper Evan Burgess made the first of his two game-changing saves when he turned Christian Esquivel’s spot-kick around the post to keep the match at 1-0 in the 34th minute.

Burgess went airborne to save Kevin Puga-Hernandez’s effort moments later.

Leyden lost its IHSSCA All-State centerback Fabian Rodriguez for the rest of the night after he got caught up in a 50/50 challenge with Lane senior Leo Vera in the 55th minute.

"Losing Fabian was difficult," said Valintis. “It forced us to move some people around along the back. But if we convert that PK and finish one of our chances, maybe it's 3-0 at the half."

Lane came out of the intermission more inspired and played with plenty of urgency.

They defended the right side of the park much better than the first half when Leyden attacked constantly.

As they slowed the Eagles attack, the Lane quintet of William Huge, Kanan Kraus, Benicio LaCerda, Grayson Trinter and Sebastian Wimmer now pulled the strings.

This group along with Julian Audinelle, whom Ricks brought on, enjoyed more touches and encouraged their mates to play quicker. That forced Leyden to defend far more than it would have liked.

Wimmer played a ball into the box from the left side that went through a sea of kits to an awaiting LaCerda, who didn't miss his chance to equalize in the 62nd minute.

The match intensified and the big crowd roared after each tackle, whistle, free kick or deep throw earned by their respective heroes.

Leyden also played without one of its best scoring threats in Brandon Delgado (13 goals). He was out of action due to a red card accessed in the 3-0 semifinal victory over Maine South on Tuesday. The Eagles lost another impactful player when Herrera went down with an injury in the 67th minute.

As the match appeared likely to head into extra time, up stepped Ramos, who on the turn found a way to steer his left-footer just inside the near post for his 19th on the season.

Ten minutes away from advancing, the Eagles switched to a 4-5-1 formation to force their rivals to play wide.

Lane did just that and produced their second equalizer with less than a minute left.

After collecting a deep throw, Champions leading goal-scorer Trinter advanced through a crowd along the far end line.

After drawing closer to the near post, the senior somehow found the back of the net through the smallest of openings for his 18th of the year. The tally brought the Leyden faithful to a stunned silence.

On the Lane side of the bleachers at New Trier's West Campus, the mood was pure joy and jubilation with a scant 29 seconds left in regulation.

"Like I said, there is just no give with these guys," said Ricks. “They truly play until the final whistle.”

Valintis, along with his staff and players on the touchline, stood in disbelief after having their hands ripped off of the big trophy and now facing the challenge of at least 20 more minutes of soccer.

"It was hard to believe what happened in those closing moments of this game, but high school soccer can do that to you," said Valintis.

Almost lost in all of the euphoria during the game-tying sequence was a red card shown to Champions senior William Huge for taunting the Leyden audience.

However, playing a man down the rest of the way did not bother the Champions who enjoyed most of the play during the first extra session.

Three corners, and a pair of deep throws kept the ball in the Leyden end. At this point, both teams were forced to bring on fresh legs as they dealt with a leg cramps and fatigue.

Leyden used its one-man advantage to threaten during the second 10 minutes of extra time. The Eagles looked sharper and built some combination play to earn a couple of corner kicks and opportunities for Rafael Burciaga and Puga-Hernandez.

Once in pens, the two clubs started well.

In the third round, Lane’s Kanan Kraus missed high, and Brilee Molina gave the Eagles a 3-2 advantage. The senior used plenty of pace to go past a diving Burgess, who guessed correctly toward his right.

Julian Strelow drew the Champions back even at 3-3 to set-up the second big save of the night by Burgess, who turned away a left-footed cracker from David Tracewicz.

The first five shooters ended up tied 4-4. Lane took its only lead of the night when Miles Morrow’s blast evaded a valiant save attempt from Leyden keeper Daniel Llanos.

The Eagles players and bench sank to the turf when Ramos went just wide by inches. The Lane players gleefully made a mad dash toward Burgess as this titanic clash came to a stunning end.

"I am rarely at a loss for words. …," Ricks began. “Wow! What a feeling right now for this group of players, our fans and the Lane Tech community.

"Mark Valintis is all class."

"From the time he ran a terrific summer league and into their season, which was so amazing; I really feel for him and his guys right now, because this is a tough way to go out.

"We've had a wild ride this week. Now we can celebrate this win, then get ourselves ready for our supersectional on Tuesday."

The Champions will meet the St. Charles North Sectional champion, which will be either top-seeded Geneva (14-4-2) or sixth-seeded upstart Conant (14-8-2), at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Conant.

Geneva will look to advance to the state final for the fourth time in program history and first since 2004. Conant is after its fifth trip to the tournament and first since 2016, when manager Jason Franco led the Cougars to a fourth place trophy.

Scoring summary

First half 
Leyden: Ramos (unassisted), 18'

Second half
Lane: Lacerda (Wimmer), 62'
Leyden: Ramos (unassisted), 70'
Lane: Trinter (unassisted), 80'

First overtime
No scoring

Second overtime
No scoring

Shootout

Lane
LaCerda (goal), Trinter (goal), Kraus (over), Strelow (goal), Audinelle (goal), Morrow (goal)

Leyden
DeLaCruz (goal), C. Esquivel (goal), Molina (goal), Tracewicz (save), Andrino (goal), Ramos (wide)

Referee: Kevin Parker