Boys soccer: Lukas Kleronomos’ header in final minute caps Yorkville’s stunning comeback to tie Oswego

YORKVILLE – Lukas Kleronomos followed the flight of his header into the goal, then joined his Yorkville teammates in a wild celebration near the corner of the field.

Game-winning goal? No, but it sure felt like one.

Kleronomos headed in a rebound shot with 46 seconds left. It completed Yorkville’s stunning comeback from three goals down in the second half for a 4-4 tie with Oswego in Tuesday’s Southwest Prairie Conference matchup.

“We were battling to the end,” said Kleronomos, a senior midfielder. “The whole team was just fighting. I think we just wanted it more than them.”

Kleronomos scored two goals and assisted a Joseph Kallan goal. Kleronomos’ first goal, with 3:21 left, closed Oswego’s lead to 4-3.

In a mad scrum in the final minute, Kleronomos rose above a sea of Yorkville and Oswego players in the box for the shot that produced the draw.

“Everybody is in there fighting,” Kleronomos. “It’s just a battle of who wants it more.”

It’s the second time Yorkville (5-1-2, 0-0-2), has come back from three goals down this season; the Foxes also did so in a 4-3 win over Batavia.

This carried extra weight.

Yorkville came into Tuesday’s match 0-5 against Oswego since joining the Southwest Prairie Conference in 2019. The Foxes had been outscored by a combined margin of 25-3 in those matches with three shutouts.

“I’m proud of the boys. This is a team effort,” Yorkville coach Chris Palmisano said. “Oswego is a quality program, have a lot of respect for them. We battled a great opponent today. Coming from three down is impressive. Can’t be prouder of the guys.”

Enrique Castaneda scored two goals, and Victor Rios and Lucas Ensign one each for Oswego (2-4-4, 0-1-1).

Ensign’s goal in the 27th minute gave the Panthers a 1-0 halftime lead, a margin that could have been greater as Oswego had multiple chances it couldn’t cash in on.

Goals by Rios and Castaneda made it 3-0 with 25:06 left, a seemingly commanding lead.

“I was trying to get my second string an opportunity to play, and that’s when everything went down,” Oswego coach Gaspar Arias said. “Put my starters back in, we went back up 4-2, we thought we got this, gave those guys a chance again, and we messed up. It’s a game to learn.

“That was on us, the coaches. We made the decision, and it happened.”

Kallan’s goal, assisted by Kleronomos, got Yorkville on the board with 21:22 left. The Foxes scored a minute later on a penalty kick.

“Halftime we just had to re-evaluate, get some new tactics in, switch a formation,” Kleronomos said. “We knew we had to keep fighting when we were down, had to attack more, kept the ball a little bit better.”

Castaneda’s second goal, with 14:58 left, allowed Oswego to reclaim a two-goal lead. Castaneda, a sophomore, is one of a group of youngsters the Panthers are counting on after returning just five players with varsity experience from a 17-win team. Oswego had won its last two games coming into Tuesday after an 0-4-2 start to the season.

“He [Castaneda] has been scoring almost every game,” Arias said. “We’re still excited. It’s not a bad result. We need to mature a little bit. We’re still young. Some of these guys get a little nervous and don’t keep the same intensity. We have a lot of JV players from last year adapting to the speed of the varsity level. They will get there.”

Yorkville, meanwhile, has already surpassed its win total from last season. The Foxes potentially could be on track for the program’s first winning season since 2016.

“Great start, but a lot more work to be done,” Palmisano said. “We need to stay humble and get back on the practice field, look at film and shore up things that can be done better. We’re trying to build every day, a quality group, 24 strong.”