Patrick Wojciuk’s late goal lifts Lane over Young

For 70 minutes in a bruising and very physical showdown of top Public League rivals, Young and Lane danced and moved around one another as each waited for the other to break down or force an error that changed the balance of the game.

Lane saw its chance and struck.

Senior midfielder Artur Kielar created a break after a Young player failed to control a loose ball around midfield and drove down the right flank and left a picture-perfect assist for Indians senior forward Patrick Wojciuk.

Wojciuk drilled the ball into the back of the net in the 71st minute as the Indians snapped a two-game slide with a 2-0 victory in Premier play Tuesday night at Lane.

“We just kept attacking and going after it,” Kielar said. “We waited for the mistake and we pounced.”

Wojciuk scored his team-leading 13th goal. “I thought Artur had a great dribble and he was going to finish it himself,” Wojciuk said. “He was very unselfish there, and he just played it back to me and it was an easy finish.

“He gets most of the credit.”

Kielar’s value was magnified throughout the game. He had several strong forays at the Dolphins’ goal, drilling a left-footed ball from about 12 yards out in the 31st minute and following up with another brisk ball in the 40th minute.

Lane (9-4, 3-1) was still smarting over back-to-back shutout losses against ranked New Trier and Libertyville in the PepsiCo Showdown. Returning home and playing in Premier provided a chance to get back to its winning ways.

“I think we were in a slouch after the two previous losses but as the game went on we started doing better and better,” Kielar said.

Young (4-7, 1-2) also participated in the PepsiCo Showdown and the disappointing conclusion to the Lane game paralleled its failure to close out late leads. The Dolphins suffered their third straight loss.

“They obviously get the goal because we made an individual mistake, and that hurts,” Dolphins coach Ian McCarthy said.

McCarthy calls his standout 6-2 forward Jaime Alonso the best player in the city. Alonso created the best scoring chances for the Dolphins, one off a long free kick from 42 yards out in the first half and several long service balls that Young failed to put away. “The difference between a championship team or a team that is going to win is you have to finish off those chances,” McCarthy said.

“Jaime is serving some pretty nice balls in and we have to have guys get at the end of them,” he said.

Senior forward Ivan Alejandre added the insurance goal in the 75th minute. Wojciuk initiated the scoring sequence on a counterattack. He drove the ball down the left flank before crossing to Kielar, who advanced the ball to midfielder Riggio Cordero.

Cordero worked the ball down the left edge and worked a cross that Alejandre put away in front of the Young goal. “By that point we kind of took away their hopes,” Alejandre said. “I just followed up on the play, but otherwise, it was all Riggio.”