The ball popped up in front of Lane Tech’s goal mouth and, with his back to the net, Leyden junior Esteban Hernandez saw a chance that doesn’t come around very often.
Hernandez pounced on that opportunity, executing a perfect bicycle kick from six yards out and sending a shot tearing under the crossbar to lift his teammates into a frenzy.
“That was sick,” Leyden junior Damian Kosakowski said.
“I’ve never done that before,” Hernandez said, “and I don’t even know how I did it.”
Esteban’s rare strike, just 30 seconds before halftime, gave Leyden a 2-0 lead that held up Saturday, Oct. 24, in the Class 3A regional title game at West Leyden. Angel Lopez put the Eagles on the board 16 minutes into the game, but it was Hernandez’s goal that turned a mole hill into a mountain for Lane Tech.
“That goal was key,” Eagles coach Mark Valintis said. “Even though Lane Tech came out hard in the second half, a 2-0 lead is a lot different to deal with than a 1-0 lead.”
Defender Kosakowski was also a key ingredient to a defense in front of keeper Alfredo Recendez that had to deal with Lane Tech forward Owen Finn.
Leyden, the sixth seed at the Glenbrook North Sectional, was set to face Niles North at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the semifinals.
The Eagles were in the stands in the regional semifinals when Lane Tech beat New Trier, thanks to Finn and his magic feet. Finn, a coaches’ all-state player, scored three goals as 14th-seeded Lane Tech upset third-seeded New Trier 4-2 to reach Saturday’s title game.
“He was really strong on dribbling and controlling the ball,” Kosakowski said of Finn. “He could be a menace if we let him turn and go at us, so the goal tonight was not to let him turn.”
Mission accomplished, as Kosakowski, Cesar Franco and the rest of Leyden’s back line slowed Finn throughout.
“We told Damian that he wasn’t man-marking (Finn), but that he had to know where he was at all times,” Valintis said. “I think (Finn) is the best player we’ve seen all year and he only got loose once or twice all game. Taking away their top threat was huge.”
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“Cesar and Damian are amazing in back,” Hernandez said. “They just double-teamed (Finn) the whole time and shut him down.”
Lopez ran onto an Albert Arabik flick and scored from 10 yards out to give Leyden its 1-0 lead.
Krystian Havran took a feed on the right side from Arabik to set up Hernandez’s goal, crossing it less than a minute before halftime.
“I think it bounced up off a defender’s thigh,” Hernandez said. “And it was in a perfect spot.”
Leyden defeated Prospect 3-1 to reach Saturday’s title game. The win gave Valintis’ program its second consecutive regional title and its third in five seasons. Most players from last year’s regional title team returned this season to help the Eagles improve their season record to 15-5-2.
“We passed well, played good possession and we were winning 50-50 balls,” Hernandez said. “Then we were spreading it wide to the wingers and crossing it in.
“This feels amazing because we wanted to do this on our home field for the seniors.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.