Sycamore retained possession of El Classicorn traveling trophy Tuesday after coming from behind during the last 13 minutes of the second half to beat archrival DeKalb 5-3.

The only goal in the first half, scored in the opening minute, put DeKalb in front. The single strike held up until the second half when the offense on both sides came alive. After the Barbs took a 3-2 lead in the 57th minute, the Spartans scored three unanswered goals to win the non-conference grudge match.

Last year, Sycamore won El Classicorn Cup, sponsored by DeKalb County United Soccer Club, for the first since the trophy was introduced in 2022.

“It didn’t start off very well. We have to do better defensively but it’s an 80-minute game and we kept shooting,” Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said. “They fought to the end. These guys have been battling all season. We’ve been down in this position before and they could have easily quit, but they didn’t .”

DeKalb (7-9-2) needed only 39 seconds to successfully complete its first attack of the match. Maurico Jasso drove up the left side of the pitch and crossed the ball into the box to Nolan Tobin. The sophomore headed the pass from the right post into the net.

The early score did not deter the Spartans.

“We’ve been playing through adversity the whole season. We’ve had injuries, we’ve come back in plenty of games, and we weren’t really fazed at halftime,” Gavin Crouch said. “We just knew we needed to do - just come out hard and win the game eventually.”

The score remained 1-0 until the 37:24 mark of the second half when officials awarded the Spartans a penalty kick. Senior Aiden Sears buried the spot boot in the lower right corner of the net.

The Barbs retook the lead in the 55th minute after Jasso dribbled up the left wing and let loose a blast from the left corner of the box.

The lead was very short-lived. A minute later, Crouch connected from the top of the 18 to retie the match.

Not to be outdone, DeKalb needed less than 60 seconds to pull back in front, 3-2 when Julian Godinez found the back of the net.

With 13:13 left on the clock, Sycamore tied the match for a third time. Andre Crouch’s shot for the right wing into the box bounced off a DeKalb defender and into the net.

Gavin Crouch notched a brace and his 23rd goal of the season with an up-close goal to put Spartans in front for the first time, 4-3.

With 2:41 left to play, Leo Padilla delivered the insurance strike from the left corner of the box.

“I said at halftime that I thought we were efficient enough to tally more than one in the first half. Unfortunately, I think that came back and haunted us a little bit,” said DeKalb coach P.J. Hamilton, “I thought we defended well, and, at the end of the day, I thought we positioned ourselves to have a chance to win.

The cup battle has increased interest in high school soccer.

“I just want to thank DKCU (DeKalb County United for hosting this. What a great atmosphere we had today,” Bickley said. ” There are probably 500, 600 people here to watch an exciting 5-3 match.”