The Byki traveled to Libertyville last Sunday hoping to extend their winning streak versus newly-promoted CKS Warta B. The took the lead through Russ Haynes' second-half goal, but were unable to repel Warta's late-game pressure and wound up with a split of the points in a 1:1 draw. The Red Team move to 1-1-2 for the season.

The Byki were forced to construct a makeshift lineup due to a slew of absent players. Coach Joe Gambino took his place between the pipes and made several fine saves. Gambino has now played goalkeeper for both the Red and Blue Teams.

The match's status was in question up until the previous Thursday. Warta has requested that the match be rescheduled two weeks ago, due to several of their players having a conflict with their high school graduations. The Byki tried to work with Warta to find a mutually acceptable date to replay the game, but when none could be found, the teams decided to proceed with the match as originally scheduled.

Gambino arranged his team in a 3-4-3 formation. His objective was to improve team defense by forcing the forwards to get involved in putting pressure on Warta in their end of the field. The tactic appeared to work well enough, as Warta were limited to only a handful of scoring chances in the first half.

The Byki had the first good opportunity of the match in the 10th minute when Luis Arredondo found space on the right side of the penalty area. The keeper made a very good save, the shot deflecting off the crossbar.

Haynes nearly gave the Byki the lead in the 35th minute when he came in alone on a breakaway. He tried to get the ball through an opening at the near post, but the goalie made a good reaction to keep the ball out of the net.

The Byki switched back to their traditional 4-4-2 after the break. They maintained a strong defensive posture, but the scoring chances that Warta did manage to create were all very dangerous. The Byki were fortunate that Warta lacked the skill to cash in.

The Byki grabbed the lead in the 58th minute when Haynes beat his man in the box, leaving the goalkeeper as the last line of defense. The keeper was no match for Haynes, who rounded him handily and slipped the ball into the empty net for his second strike of the season.

Later in the second half, the Byki went down to ten men when Haynes committed his second bookable offense after a skirmish with a Warta player. The Byki became more resolute in their defending, leaving just one player up front.

Warta evened the score ten minutes from the end when they played a ball over the top of the Byki defense. Sweeper Doug Towsey tried to shepherd the Warta player wide, but Towsey's weak-side help was non-existent. The Warta player sent a cross through the goal area and a teammate arrived unmarked to tap the ball in at the far post.

The Byki chose to push players forward to try to regain the lead, which led to a frenzied endgame. Abrahan Ruiz was in great position to make it 2:1, but his open header sailed over the goal. Two minutes from time, Warta sprang a player free on a breakaway. The Warta player was so sure that he had Gambino right where he wanted him that he began celebrating the apparent winning goal just after he shot the ball. Gambino, however, made the celebration a moot point by stabbing the ball away to preserve the 1:1 scoreline.

Joe Gambino contributed to this story.

BYKI LINEUP
(3-4-3): Gambino – Towsey, Mansur, P Jr, Casey (c) – Daniel, Bouzoukis, Taylor, Samp, Arredondo – Haynes, Ruiz, Albalawi. Bench: Domek, Frischmann, Rose, Torossian.

BYKI SCORING SUMMARY
Haynes 2; 58th; 0:1.