Girls soccer: Leyden gets going quickly against Maine East
A quick flurry of goals fueled a 7-0 Leyden victory on Thursday afternoon in Northlake against visiting Maine East in a girls soccer regular-season finale for both sides.
Seniors Michelle Andrade and Yaneli Dorado each had a hand in three of the Eagles' goals.
Dorado scored the first two within 60 seconds to immediately get Leyden rolling, much to the delight of Andrade, Leyden's captain.
"To be a part of Leyden varsity soccer for four years, and win my final game here at home is extra special - but what made this day even better is we played and won for 'Stutz' today," said Andrade, who will attend Xavier University next fall and major in chemistry.
"Stutz" is Eagles assistant Kari Stutzman, who was attending the funeral of a close friend who just passed after battling brain cancer.
"The team got involved with what going on with Kari's friend when they volunteered during the B-T (Brain Tumor) 5K race at Soldier Field," explained Leyden coach Rob Fowler, whose team improved to 10-10-2. "So there was a connection with all the girls, Kari and her friend. And we talked about what all that meant before the game, so there was an obvious purpose in this game today.
"This had been a difficult week with so many distractions pulling at the girls - it's prom this weekend, final exams, the death of Kari's friend. Yet somehow, the team pulled it all together to get .500, which is a great accomplishment."
With three minutes on the clock, Dorado struck the first goal when she ran onto a marvelous cross from Rosalia Trupiano. Dorado doubled the Eagles' advantage moments later with the help of Tania Corona.
The visiting Demons were soon chasing 3 goals when Leyden junior Syuzanna Zelizna slotted a low drive past keeper Deanna Hartogh, who deserved a better fate after a strong effort between the sticks for Maine East coach Guy Anderson.
"We've been the walking wounded down the stretch, and usually finish with just 10 or 11 healthy bodies after 80 minutes, and today was no different," said Anderson. "But I can honestly say this is a great group which has no give in it, and playing in a soccer strong conference like the Central Suburban, you really can't ask for much more than that from your players."
A terrific individual effort from Andrade saw the midfielder rattle the bar before her shot found the back of the net at 24 minutes, and the route was on for the home side.
"This is the first time in my four years that we've reached 10 wins in a season, and that's a great way to end the season and get us ready for the postseason," said Andrade, who led the club in scoring this spring with 9 goals and 9 assists.
The Eagles, who closed out the regular season with 4 wins and a draw, added three more goals after the break, with Elise Roa scoring her eighth of the season in the 48th minute, followed by another from Zelizna and finally Gabriela Castillo putting the icing on the day at 66 minutes.
Maine East will meet top seed sectional seed and defending Class 3A state champion New Trier in its regional opener next week. For Leyden, it a test against No. 5 seed Glenbard East (16-4-0) at the Rams' home park.