Prowling Lyons finally
pounces for Reavis Regional title
Survives major scare from Kelly with 2 second half goals
By Dave Surico
BURBANK -- It could have been a great sectional or supersectional final, perhaps beyond. But instead Lyons and Kelly, with 36 wins between them, played for their playoff lives in a mere regional final on a beautiful fall Friday afternoon at Reavis High School.
In another piece of evidence in the long line of exhibits for the need to tweak the Illinois High School Association playoff alignment, the Lions needed two second half goals to defeat Chicago Public League runner-up Kelly for the Reavis Regional title.
Lyons knew it was in for a battle.
"Coming into this game our coaches told us that Kelly was going to be a lot like (top-ranked) Morton," said Lions midfielder Harry Hilling. "So coming off playing the Pepsi final against Morton (a loss in PKs), we all knew how good a team Kelly was going to be ... Kelly was just a great team today. And we were fortunate because we struggled finishing. We managed to come out. It wasn't pretty."
Despite having a large advantage in restarts, corner kicks, throw-ins and scoring opportunities, Lyons found itself on the short end of a 1-0 score at halftime.
Kelly junior midfielder Martin Villegas hit a restart from 55 yards into the Lyons box. With teammate Aldo Vazquez milling about in the area, a Lions defender misfired on a header and the ball deflected past goalkeeper Donald Darrus into the upper left side of the net in the 37th minute.
"They get something in the back of our net, and suddenly it's a real game," said Lyons coach Paul Labbato. "We talked about it over halftime how you've got to press and press and continue to believe."
Lyons pumped up the pressure right from the start of the second half. The sectional three-seed forced senior Kelly keeper Victor Montoya into a diving save of a Patrick Duncan shot in the 46th minute.
A minute later Montoya charged off his line for a sliding grab before a rushing Nick Economou could get to the ball. In the 50th minutes, Economou, who showed off his long distance throw-in skills throughout the game, found Leo Gabrek, who put his header just over the net in the 50th minute.
After another header over the bar from Duncan, Lyons found its equalizer.
From 45 yards out on the left side, Hilling put his restart toward the far post. There it found a wide-open Daniel Gutierrez, whose header tied the game in the 52nd minute.
As the clock ticked down, the tension swelled on the field and in the stands, where vocal Lyons and Kelly fans made themselves heard.
Twenty minutes after their first goal, the Lions scored the game-winner. Hilling sliced through the midfield before he delivered a perfect through-ball to the right side.
Forward Cole Gilchrist ran on to the ball, took one touch and then lifted the ball inside the right post past a defenseless, charging Montoya.
"Great effort on Harry's part getting the ball down and then laying it through, perfect pass on the ground," said Gilchrist, who called the goal the most important of his soccer life "so far."
"Goalie came out. and I just slid it past him," he continued. "The feeling was great, awesome."
Hilling received Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors for facilitating the Lions scores. The first came from his deft restart touch, the game-winner from his playmaking and vision.
"We transitioned really well, and I managed to keep my head up and noticed Cole running right on the outside," he said. "I was shielding the ball from a guy as best as I could and the last second I just poked it through as I drew the defender in.
"I was surprised (how open Gilchrist was). But that's going to happen especially in the playoffs -- both teams are going 100 percent in each direction and finally towards the end of the game teams are going to screw up."
Kelly tried to force overtime in the final 8:58, but was thwarted by the larger Lions.
The result left the winners coach relieved.
"They're very, very good. People don't realize that about Kelly," said Labbato. "We've played them over the past couple years and every time we play them they're very classy on the field. They do a great job motivating their kids and coaching their kids. They have difference makers on the field, and it's challenging."
Kelly made an immediate impression when it controlled the run of play at the start. Led by hardworking senior midfielder Ricardo Vega, the Trojans put their best foot forward.
The senior rocketed a hard, chest-high shot that Lyons keeper Darrus corralled in the fourth minute.
Six clicks later, Emmanuel Rodriguez came away empty when he couldn't get enough of the ball on a difficult, 180-degree twisting volley attempt from 10 yards.
Kelly hit the crossbar in the 14th minute in their version of a quick kick restart. From 40 yards out, Roberto Pimentel flicked the ball up and Villegas hit it low off the ground and lobbed it goalward. The floater got over Darrus and hit the crossbar.
The Trojans oopportunities included a Vazquez open 18-yard shot from the right side that sailed high in the 29th minute, and Alejandro Ayala's shot that forced Darrus to make a diving save in the 30th minute.
"Our kids left their hearts and souls on the field. We're very proud of them," said Kelly coach Stan Mietus, who's put in 20 years of work on the sidelines. "Two great teams played today, no? To win it all you have to beat the best."
Mietus praised his keeper Montoya and called his performance "spectacular."
He was right.
"I expected all this pressure. They're a great team also" said the senior. "We felt confident that we were going to take this. We just stopped focusing and stopped passing the ball. We were just playing hard balls through. Playing on small fields, it hurts us; it gets crowded."
The Trojans, who lost to Lane Tech in the Chicago Public League tournament final, finished the season 16-6-1.
Lyons (21-5) accomplished it's goal and moved on to the sectional it hosts.
"We're lucky to sneak out of that," Labbato said. "We had our chances in the first half. I felt we could have had some goals in us. They played fantastic off the line. They're keeper played very well, and they were diving in front of everything."
Now the Lions move back home with a for revenge. First on the list is second-seeded Hinsdale Central, whom they meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. If they get past the Red Devils, they get another shot at Morton.
"We've lost to both of them. We'll hope to correct some things going forward," Labbato said.
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Daniel Thomas
D: John Mazur
D: Grant Thomas
D: Tim Nolan
M: Leo Gabrek
M: Paul Fulop
M: Harry Hilling
F: Daniel Gutierrez
F: Cole Gilchrist
F: Patrick Duncan
Kelly
GK: Victor Montoya
D: Roberto Pimentel
D: Alejandro Lopez
D: Daniel Romero
M: Emmanuel Rodriguez
M: Alejandro Cervantes
M: Jose Pineda
M: Martin Villegas
M: Ricardo Vega
M: Adolfo Tapia
F: Luz Castaneda
Man of the Match: Harry Hilling, M, Lyons
Officials: John Washo (center); Francisco Rojas; Matthew Johnson.
pounces for Reavis Regional title
Survives major scare from Kelly with 2 second half goals
By Dave Surico
BURBANK -- It could have been a great sectional or supersectional final, perhaps beyond. But instead Lyons and Kelly, with 36 wins between them, played for their playoff lives in a mere regional final on a beautiful fall Friday afternoon at Reavis High School.
In another piece of evidence in the long line of exhibits for the need to tweak the Illinois High School Association playoff alignment, the Lions needed two second half goals to defeat Chicago Public League runner-up Kelly for the Reavis Regional title.
Lyons knew it was in for a battle.
"Coming into this game our coaches told us that Kelly was going to be a lot like (top-ranked) Morton," said Lions midfielder Harry Hilling. "So coming off playing the Pepsi final against Morton (a loss in PKs), we all knew how good a team Kelly was going to be ... Kelly was just a great team today. And we were fortunate because we struggled finishing. We managed to come out. It wasn't pretty."
Despite having a large advantage in restarts, corner kicks, throw-ins and scoring opportunities, Lyons found itself on the short end of a 1-0 score at halftime.
Kelly junior midfielder Martin Villegas hit a restart from 55 yards into the Lyons box. With teammate Aldo Vazquez milling about in the area, a Lions defender misfired on a header and the ball deflected past goalkeeper Donald Darrus into the upper left side of the net in the 37th minute.
"They get something in the back of our net, and suddenly it's a real game," said Lyons coach Paul Labbato. "We talked about it over halftime how you've got to press and press and continue to believe."
Lyons pumped up the pressure right from the start of the second half. The sectional three-seed forced senior Kelly keeper Victor Montoya into a diving save of a Patrick Duncan shot in the 46th minute.
A minute later Montoya charged off his line for a sliding grab before a rushing Nick Economou could get to the ball. In the 50th minutes, Economou, who showed off his long distance throw-in skills throughout the game, found Leo Gabrek, who put his header just over the net in the 50th minute.
After another header over the bar from Duncan, Lyons found its equalizer.
From 45 yards out on the left side, Hilling put his restart toward the far post. There it found a wide-open Daniel Gutierrez, whose header tied the game in the 52nd minute.
As the clock ticked down, the tension swelled on the field and in the stands, where vocal Lyons and Kelly fans made themselves heard.
Twenty minutes after their first goal, the Lions scored the game-winner. Hilling sliced through the midfield before he delivered a perfect through-ball to the right side.
Forward Cole Gilchrist ran on to the ball, took one touch and then lifted the ball inside the right post past a defenseless, charging Montoya.
"Great effort on Harry's part getting the ball down and then laying it through, perfect pass on the ground," said Gilchrist, who called the goal the most important of his soccer life "so far."
"Goalie came out. and I just slid it past him," he continued. "The feeling was great, awesome."
Hilling received Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors for facilitating the Lions scores. The first came from his deft restart touch, the game-winner from his playmaking and vision.
"We transitioned really well, and I managed to keep my head up and noticed Cole running right on the outside," he said. "I was shielding the ball from a guy as best as I could and the last second I just poked it through as I drew the defender in.
"I was surprised (how open Gilchrist was). But that's going to happen especially in the playoffs -- both teams are going 100 percent in each direction and finally towards the end of the game teams are going to screw up."
Kelly tried to force overtime in the final 8:58, but was thwarted by the larger Lions.
The result left the winners coach relieved.
"They're very, very good. People don't realize that about Kelly," said Labbato. "We've played them over the past couple years and every time we play them they're very classy on the field. They do a great job motivating their kids and coaching their kids. They have difference makers on the field, and it's challenging."
Kelly made an immediate impression when it controlled the run of play at the start. Led by hardworking senior midfielder Ricardo Vega, the Trojans put their best foot forward.
The senior rocketed a hard, chest-high shot that Lyons keeper Darrus corralled in the fourth minute.
Six clicks later, Emmanuel Rodriguez came away empty when he couldn't get enough of the ball on a difficult, 180-degree twisting volley attempt from 10 yards.
Kelly hit the crossbar in the 14th minute in their version of a quick kick restart. From 40 yards out, Roberto Pimentel flicked the ball up and Villegas hit it low off the ground and lobbed it goalward. The floater got over Darrus and hit the crossbar.
The Trojans oopportunities included a Vazquez open 18-yard shot from the right side that sailed high in the 29th minute, and Alejandro Ayala's shot that forced Darrus to make a diving save in the 30th minute.
"Our kids left their hearts and souls on the field. We're very proud of them," said Kelly coach Stan Mietus, who's put in 20 years of work on the sidelines. "Two great teams played today, no? To win it all you have to beat the best."
Mietus praised his keeper Montoya and called his performance "spectacular."
He was right.
"I expected all this pressure. They're a great team also" said the senior. "We felt confident that we were going to take this. We just stopped focusing and stopped passing the ball. We were just playing hard balls through. Playing on small fields, it hurts us; it gets crowded."
The Trojans, who lost to Lane Tech in the Chicago Public League tournament final, finished the season 16-6-1.
Lyons (21-5) accomplished it's goal and moved on to the sectional it hosts.
"We're lucky to sneak out of that," Labbato said. "We had our chances in the first half. I felt we could have had some goals in us. They played fantastic off the line. They're keeper played very well, and they were diving in front of everything."
Now the Lions move back home with a for revenge. First on the list is second-seeded Hinsdale Central, whom they meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. If they get past the Red Devils, they get another shot at Morton.
"We've lost to both of them. We'll hope to correct some things going forward," Labbato said.
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Daniel Thomas
D: John Mazur
D: Grant Thomas
D: Tim Nolan
M: Leo Gabrek
M: Paul Fulop
M: Harry Hilling
F: Daniel Gutierrez
F: Cole Gilchrist
F: Patrick Duncan
Kelly
GK: Victor Montoya
D: Roberto Pimentel
D: Alejandro Lopez
D: Daniel Romero
M: Emmanuel Rodriguez
M: Alejandro Cervantes
M: Jose Pineda
M: Martin Villegas
M: Ricardo Vega
M: Adolfo Tapia
F: Luz Castaneda
Man of the Match: Harry Hilling, M, Lyons
Officials: John Washo (center); Francisco Rojas; Matthew Johnson.