Lyons Vear on course, leads Lions
over Deerfield for Pepsi finals berth
Sub keeper shines in PKs to give Lions 4th title game in 5 years
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — The moment could not have been more plain or direct in its meaning. One play was set to tell the story. Lyons keeper Matt Vear was the final line of defense against Deerfield's fifth shooter in a penalty kick shootout.
Deerfield held the 3-2 lead. A successful shot would propel the Warriors to the highest stage of the PepsiCo Showdown. Vear entered the game in the 76th minute of regulation. He has divided time in the net with Donald Darrus.
"I've been brought in with five or 10 minutes to play," he said. "Don put me in a good position when he made a great kick save against [Deerfield star Nick Klabjan], and it left me with a 1-1 draw"
This was unequivocal. No ambiguity. Either record a save and extend the shootout or lament what might have been after Lyons gave up a late goal in regulation. Vear heightened the drama and then some.
The sophomore blocked the Warriors' fifth shooter off the post and then made another dramatic stop and the Lions' Camilo Drobny converted the game-winner as the sixth shooter as the fourth-seeded Lions ousted the no. 9 Warriors 4-3 on PKs afternoon.
The Lions (7-2-1) advance to meet six seed Libertyville in the championship game next Sunday at DePaul. The game is a rematch of the 2011 title that Libertyville won in overtime. This marks the fourth title appearance in the last five years for the Lions.
Lyons, ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, won the shootout phase by storming back from an improbable 3-1 deficit. Isaiah Nieves and Aaron Onion converted in the first round. After Vear's denial of the Warriors' fifth shooter, Alex Contreras drilled in a ball for the 3-3 deadlock. In the sudden death portion of the shootout, Vear again made an athletic stop to smother a ball.
Drobny followed and drilled the ball into the right corner.
"I don't really have a side," Drobny said. "I'm pretty good technically, and I like to have whole goal as an option. I want to make sure I hit the corner, and I always go for the back post or side netting. I'm using pretty consistent with my penalty kicks. Pressure doesn't usually get to me, so I'm always confident."
Deerfield's superb keeper Zach Zusman was equally impressive in the shootout, stopping one shot and forcing a Lions' shooter to go wide on his attempt. The stage was set for Drobny.
"I went into that sixth [penalty kick] as me going to win the game for my team," he said. "I had faith in our goalie that he was going to stop it. Once he did I knew this game was mine for the taking.
"I just put my head down, stayed focused and relaxed and picked a corner and stayed with that corner and hoped for the best."
Lyons won its sixth match in a row and effectively two games in one day. The penalty kick drama punctuated a strange though deeply satisfying last three days for the rapidly improving team. Lyons beat fifth-seeded St. Charles North in a quarterfinal that required three days to finish. The game began on Thursday and was postponed with the game tied at 1-1 after 15 minutes of play because of rain and lightning. Resumed on Friday, Lions held a 2-1 lead when the game was again delayed by weather.
Keyed by two goals by Nieves, Lyons finally prevailed 3-1 as the final 23 minutes were played Saturday morning at the turf field at the school's South campus.
"We're all club kids, and we're used to playing two or three games a day on the weekend so that didn't really affect us," Drobny said. "It was only 25 minutes, and it probably helped us get into an early rhythm."
The Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match, Vear proved it is the quality, not the quantity, of a player's deeds. He saw just 15 minutes during the run of play. He was sensational in the shootout. He set the tone right at the start, blocking the Warriors' first shooter. The game-winning save on the fifth shooter changed everything.
"What was going through my mind there was they went the same way four times in a row," Vear said. "I figured he was thinking I was going to go that way. He was kind of staring down that way, so I took the odds the other way [to my right] and fortunately I got a tip on it."
The stunning turn of events proved a heartbreaker for the Warriors (7-2-1). Deerfield made a major statement by defeating top-seed and defending tournament champion Morton in a quarterfinal Thursday. After experiencing a couple of down years, the Warriors are formidable with their opportunistic offense and stellar back.
Deerfield, which held the 16th spot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 this week, appeared destined for the title game.
"This is a team that fights a lot," coach Elliott Hurtig said. "They don't ever give up, and they support each other. I'm proud of the effort. It's a very disappointing loss, because I thought we had it in the [shootout]."
After the teams jostled in the first half trying to build offensive chances, Lyons' defender Dylan Jones stunned the Warriors by smashing home a header from Diego Lopez in the 42nd minute.
"Lyons is a very talented team," Hurtig said. "I thought they were fast in the midfield and very good at shutting down our midfield. The fact we didn't have much time with the ball shows what kind of talent they have there."
With Wisconsin-recruit Klabjan and forwards Steve Shore and Matt Grady pushing forward, the Warriors never let up and applied consistent pressure for the balance of the second half. Shore created the equalizer in the 69th minute off a terrific set piece as Klabjan's free kick floated over the top of the Lions' back perfectly to Grady, whose header to a streaking Shore was collected in stride for the easy putaway.
"It was awesome how we came together as a team even though we were in a bad spot after giving up that goal right after the start of the second half," Shore said. "That was such a devastating thing to happen to us. We came together, kept making passes, and finally we got the goal."
Deerfield never flinched and showed confidence and resilience in fighting back.
Deerfield went 3-1 against elite competition and surrendered just one goal in the four games.
"This is like playoff soccer," Hurtig said. "We have this great experience of playing in front of big crowds and pressure situations. It's fun. You're playing against some of the top teams in the state, so to make it to the semifinals is something to be really proud of."
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Zach Zusman
D: Evan Gerke
D: Will Schmetterer
D: Ari Patterson
D: Levi Goldstein
D: Michael Such
M: A.J. Simo
M: Matt Record
M: Nick Klabjan
F: Steve Shore
F: Matt Grady
Lyons
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Dylan Jones
D: Nick Economou
D: John Mazur
D: Devin Ekstam
M: Alex Contreras
M: Aaron Onion
M: Camilo Drobny
F: Isaiah Nieves
F: Diego Lopez
F: Adrian Valadez
Man of the Match: Matt Vear, GK, Lyons
over Deerfield for Pepsi finals berth
Sub keeper shines in PKs to give Lions 4th title game in 5 years
By Patrick Z. McGavin
LA GRANGE — The moment could not have been more plain or direct in its meaning. One play was set to tell the story. Lyons keeper Matt Vear was the final line of defense against Deerfield's fifth shooter in a penalty kick shootout.
Deerfield held the 3-2 lead. A successful shot would propel the Warriors to the highest stage of the PepsiCo Showdown. Vear entered the game in the 76th minute of regulation. He has divided time in the net with Donald Darrus.
"I've been brought in with five or 10 minutes to play," he said. "Don put me in a good position when he made a great kick save against [Deerfield star Nick Klabjan], and it left me with a 1-1 draw"
This was unequivocal. No ambiguity. Either record a save and extend the shootout or lament what might have been after Lyons gave up a late goal in regulation. Vear heightened the drama and then some.
The sophomore blocked the Warriors' fifth shooter off the post and then made another dramatic stop and the Lions' Camilo Drobny converted the game-winner as the sixth shooter as the fourth-seeded Lions ousted the no. 9 Warriors 4-3 on PKs afternoon.
The Lions (7-2-1) advance to meet six seed Libertyville in the championship game next Sunday at DePaul. The game is a rematch of the 2011 title that Libertyville won in overtime. This marks the fourth title appearance in the last five years for the Lions.
Lyons, ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, won the shootout phase by storming back from an improbable 3-1 deficit. Isaiah Nieves and Aaron Onion converted in the first round. After Vear's denial of the Warriors' fifth shooter, Alex Contreras drilled in a ball for the 3-3 deadlock. In the sudden death portion of the shootout, Vear again made an athletic stop to smother a ball.
Drobny followed and drilled the ball into the right corner.
"I don't really have a side," Drobny said. "I'm pretty good technically, and I like to have whole goal as an option. I want to make sure I hit the corner, and I always go for the back post or side netting. I'm using pretty consistent with my penalty kicks. Pressure doesn't usually get to me, so I'm always confident."
Deerfield's superb keeper Zach Zusman was equally impressive in the shootout, stopping one shot and forcing a Lions' shooter to go wide on his attempt. The stage was set for Drobny.
"I went into that sixth [penalty kick] as me going to win the game for my team," he said. "I had faith in our goalie that he was going to stop it. Once he did I knew this game was mine for the taking.
"I just put my head down, stayed focused and relaxed and picked a corner and stayed with that corner and hoped for the best."
Lyons won its sixth match in a row and effectively two games in one day. The penalty kick drama punctuated a strange though deeply satisfying last three days for the rapidly improving team. Lyons beat fifth-seeded St. Charles North in a quarterfinal that required three days to finish. The game began on Thursday and was postponed with the game tied at 1-1 after 15 minutes of play because of rain and lightning. Resumed on Friday, Lions held a 2-1 lead when the game was again delayed by weather.
Keyed by two goals by Nieves, Lyons finally prevailed 3-1 as the final 23 minutes were played Saturday morning at the turf field at the school's South campus.
"We're all club kids, and we're used to playing two or three games a day on the weekend so that didn't really affect us," Drobny said. "It was only 25 minutes, and it probably helped us get into an early rhythm."
The Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match, Vear proved it is the quality, not the quantity, of a player's deeds. He saw just 15 minutes during the run of play. He was sensational in the shootout. He set the tone right at the start, blocking the Warriors' first shooter. The game-winning save on the fifth shooter changed everything.
"What was going through my mind there was they went the same way four times in a row," Vear said. "I figured he was thinking I was going to go that way. He was kind of staring down that way, so I took the odds the other way [to my right] and fortunately I got a tip on it."
The stunning turn of events proved a heartbreaker for the Warriors (7-2-1). Deerfield made a major statement by defeating top-seed and defending tournament champion Morton in a quarterfinal Thursday. After experiencing a couple of down years, the Warriors are formidable with their opportunistic offense and stellar back.
Deerfield, which held the 16th spot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 this week, appeared destined for the title game.
"This is a team that fights a lot," coach Elliott Hurtig said. "They don't ever give up, and they support each other. I'm proud of the effort. It's a very disappointing loss, because I thought we had it in the [shootout]."
After the teams jostled in the first half trying to build offensive chances, Lyons' defender Dylan Jones stunned the Warriors by smashing home a header from Diego Lopez in the 42nd minute.
"Lyons is a very talented team," Hurtig said. "I thought they were fast in the midfield and very good at shutting down our midfield. The fact we didn't have much time with the ball shows what kind of talent they have there."
With Wisconsin-recruit Klabjan and forwards Steve Shore and Matt Grady pushing forward, the Warriors never let up and applied consistent pressure for the balance of the second half. Shore created the equalizer in the 69th minute off a terrific set piece as Klabjan's free kick floated over the top of the Lions' back perfectly to Grady, whose header to a streaking Shore was collected in stride for the easy putaway.
"It was awesome how we came together as a team even though we were in a bad spot after giving up that goal right after the start of the second half," Shore said. "That was such a devastating thing to happen to us. We came together, kept making passes, and finally we got the goal."
Deerfield never flinched and showed confidence and resilience in fighting back.
Deerfield went 3-1 against elite competition and surrendered just one goal in the four games.
"This is like playoff soccer," Hurtig said. "We have this great experience of playing in front of big crowds and pressure situations. It's fun. You're playing against some of the top teams in the state, so to make it to the semifinals is something to be really proud of."
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Zach Zusman
D: Evan Gerke
D: Will Schmetterer
D: Ari Patterson
D: Levi Goldstein
D: Michael Such
M: A.J. Simo
M: Matt Record
M: Nick Klabjan
F: Steve Shore
F: Matt Grady
Lyons
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Dylan Jones
D: Nick Economou
D: John Mazur
D: Devin Ekstam
M: Alex Contreras
M: Aaron Onion
M: Camilo Drobny
F: Isaiah Nieves
F: Diego Lopez
F: Adrian Valadez
Man of the Match: Matt Vear, GK, Lyons