Morton salts away 2nd PepsiCo title
Lyons loses two leads in PK thriller
By Alison Moran
CHICAGO -- Sunday's Pepsico Showdown at the pristine Wish Field at DePaul University was a game for the ages. It pitted aggressive, attacking Morton (14-1-2), deprived of a tournament championship for four seasons, and intrepid Lyons (13-4), which played in its fourth championship game in six years.
With scoring deadlocked at two through 90-frenzied minutes and a 10-minute overtime, it was Morton's four penalty kicks to the Lions' two that sealed the win for the Mustangs.
The longtime 'bitter rivals,' as Lions coach Paul Labbato phrased it to senior forward Cam Dowling, knew that this was going to be a tough game. After the Lions clinched a spot in Sunday's game with a 1-0 win over New Trier, Dowling wrote on his PepsiCo blogsite:
"Just one more game....which happens to be ANOTHER biggest game of the year....yep, we play Morton, and they are no pushover, they are one of the best teams in the state."
Morton, however, hadn't won a PepsiCo Showdown since 2010, but was the runner-up to Lane Tech and Lyons in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Adding to the intense atmosphere on Wish Field was the fact that both teams came off tough weekend losses. Morton lost its first game of the season 2-1 Friday night at West Chicago; Lyons fell 1-0 at Hinsdale Central, and lost the rivalry's Silver Brick trophy.
Under a blazing sun, cloudless blue sky, and the benevolent gaze of a statue of St. Vincent de Paul, (DePaul soccer's version of Touchdown Jesus?) several players crossed themselves as the match began.
Through the first 40 minutes, Lyons had the upper hand. Goalie Donald Darrus, a junior, stopped seven Morton shots through the first half to keep the first half of his sheet clean.
Morton goalie Ian Chacon, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, had his hands full stopping five shots on goal, but another got away. In the 13th minute, Chacon saved a 30-yard free kick from Lyons' senior midfielder Harry Hilling, but Lions' senior forward Patrick Duncan put home the rebound off the crossbar for a 1-0 advantage that held through the middle of the second half.
Mike Caruso, Morton's head coach, remembered those anxious minutes after the game.
"Those first 15-20 minutes, we were up and down, couldn't get anything going," he said, shaking his head.
The Lions went into halftime with a large chunk of the momentum.
Caruso did his best to fire up his squad.
"This is your moment, YOUR moment, " Caruso preached during his halftime speech to the team.
The second half remained tight, until the game's 70th minute when a burst of scoring electrified the match.
Morton junior forward Jorge Mercado sailed a free kick past Darrus to the far right corner to tie the score at 1. Less than two minutes later, senior transfer Daniel Gutierrez bounced one in off the post, putting the Lions back in the lead 2-1.
Incredibly, 18 seconds later, Morton tied the score. Senior midfielder Edgar Garcia passed to former defender Rafael Herrera, whom Caruso has moved to the midfield in past situations like this.
Herrera rewarded his coach's confidence, tying the score as the Morton supporters and cheerleaders roared. The announcement of Herrera's goal could could barely be heard over the crowd.
How did Morton keep coming back? Caruso was circumspect.
"We were composed," he said. "We battled. They battled back. We moved Herrera up top. He scores within a minute of their scoring. It was just back-and-forth, great soccer."
That's how the teams ended regulation.
In a 10-minute overtime where a Golden Goal would win it, both teams managed just one shot on frame.
It came down to penalty kicks. As the large crowd, estimated at close to 1,000, held their collective breath: Chacon stopped Guitierrez; and Jorge Mercado put one past Darrus for Morton.
Lions senior forward Cole Gilchrist was stopped, but Morton junior midfielder Leo Delgado scored to give the Mustangs at 2-0 edge.
Lyons senior forward Duncan solved Chacon before Mario Delgado stepped forward and made the sign of the cross and then sent a hard kick just past Darrus.
A miss or make away from victory, Morton waited as Hilling's kick kept the Lions alive.
Then Herrera, the former defender, made it final with a definitive kick past Darrus to seal the 2014 PepsiCo Showdown Championship for Morton as the Mustang faithful went wild: "Fuego, fuego! Viva Mustangs!"
"This was a typical LT-Morton matchup, " said Paul Labbato, Lyons head coach. "It was up and down, a battle all the way. But congratulations to Morton. They're a great team."
Man of the Match Chacon struggled to put what he was feeling into words.
"It's overwhelming," he said. "I'm so happy for all of our team. We worked really hard for this."
Caruso also gave credit to the game's 'unsung hero,' senior sweeper Edgar Oleguez, who was the very definition of his position Sunday -- someone who's fast and tough, and can direct adjustments on the field.
"He did a nice job breaking up some (Lyons) plays back there," Caruso said. "Our last man out there ... he really came through for us."
When Oleguez was told what Caruso said of him, he, too, was nearly speechless.
"Wow," he said of the praise "We waited three years for this. It's great to finally beat (Lyons)."
As great as this victory was for Morton, more challenges await as regular season winds down to the playoffs. On Tuesday, they host undefeated Downers Grove South (9-0-3) in what Caruso described as a game that "barring an upset, should be for the conference championship."
He says the boys will be prepared.
"We'll give them today for celebration," he said. "Monday, when reality sets in, we'll have practice, and if anyone thinks this match was hard...DGS is going to be just as difficult."
Starting lineups
Morton
GK: Ian Chacon
D: Rafael Herrera
D: Diego Lopez
D: Diego Aguilar
D: Edgar Oleguez
MF: Rigo Lozaro
MF: Edgar Garcia
MF: Mario Romero
MF: Christian Tovar
F: Jorge Mercado
F: Steven Tovar
Lyons Township
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Oliver Martinez
D: John Mazur
D: Tim Nolan
D: Leo Gabrek
D: Daniel Thomas
MF: Isaiah Nieves
MF: Paul Fulop
MF: Harry Hilling
F: Daniel Guitierrez
F: Patrick Duncan
Man of the Match: Ian Chacon, Morton
Officials: Manuel Montiel, Francisco Laureano, Tim Csuri.
Lyons loses two leads in PK thriller
By Alison Moran
CHICAGO -- Sunday's Pepsico Showdown at the pristine Wish Field at DePaul University was a game for the ages. It pitted aggressive, attacking Morton (14-1-2), deprived of a tournament championship for four seasons, and intrepid Lyons (13-4), which played in its fourth championship game in six years.
With scoring deadlocked at two through 90-frenzied minutes and a 10-minute overtime, it was Morton's four penalty kicks to the Lions' two that sealed the win for the Mustangs.
The longtime 'bitter rivals,' as Lions coach Paul Labbato phrased it to senior forward Cam Dowling, knew that this was going to be a tough game. After the Lions clinched a spot in Sunday's game with a 1-0 win over New Trier, Dowling wrote on his PepsiCo blogsite:
"Just one more game....which happens to be ANOTHER biggest game of the year....yep, we play Morton, and they are no pushover, they are one of the best teams in the state."
Morton, however, hadn't won a PepsiCo Showdown since 2010, but was the runner-up to Lane Tech and Lyons in 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Adding to the intense atmosphere on Wish Field was the fact that both teams came off tough weekend losses. Morton lost its first game of the season 2-1 Friday night at West Chicago; Lyons fell 1-0 at Hinsdale Central, and lost the rivalry's Silver Brick trophy.
Under a blazing sun, cloudless blue sky, and the benevolent gaze of a statue of St. Vincent de Paul, (DePaul soccer's version of Touchdown Jesus?) several players crossed themselves as the match began.
Through the first 40 minutes, Lyons had the upper hand. Goalie Donald Darrus, a junior, stopped seven Morton shots through the first half to keep the first half of his sheet clean.
Morton goalie Ian Chacon, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, had his hands full stopping five shots on goal, but another got away. In the 13th minute, Chacon saved a 30-yard free kick from Lyons' senior midfielder Harry Hilling, but Lions' senior forward Patrick Duncan put home the rebound off the crossbar for a 1-0 advantage that held through the middle of the second half.
Mike Caruso, Morton's head coach, remembered those anxious minutes after the game.
"Those first 15-20 minutes, we were up and down, couldn't get anything going," he said, shaking his head.
The Lions went into halftime with a large chunk of the momentum.
Caruso did his best to fire up his squad.
"This is your moment, YOUR moment, " Caruso preached during his halftime speech to the team.
The second half remained tight, until the game's 70th minute when a burst of scoring electrified the match.
Morton junior forward Jorge Mercado sailed a free kick past Darrus to the far right corner to tie the score at 1. Less than two minutes later, senior transfer Daniel Gutierrez bounced one in off the post, putting the Lions back in the lead 2-1.
Incredibly, 18 seconds later, Morton tied the score. Senior midfielder Edgar Garcia passed to former defender Rafael Herrera, whom Caruso has moved to the midfield in past situations like this.
Herrera rewarded his coach's confidence, tying the score as the Morton supporters and cheerleaders roared. The announcement of Herrera's goal could could barely be heard over the crowd.
How did Morton keep coming back? Caruso was circumspect.
"We were composed," he said. "We battled. They battled back. We moved Herrera up top. He scores within a minute of their scoring. It was just back-and-forth, great soccer."
That's how the teams ended regulation.
In a 10-minute overtime where a Golden Goal would win it, both teams managed just one shot on frame.
It came down to penalty kicks. As the large crowd, estimated at close to 1,000, held their collective breath: Chacon stopped Guitierrez; and Jorge Mercado put one past Darrus for Morton.
Lions senior forward Cole Gilchrist was stopped, but Morton junior midfielder Leo Delgado scored to give the Mustangs at 2-0 edge.
Lyons senior forward Duncan solved Chacon before Mario Delgado stepped forward and made the sign of the cross and then sent a hard kick just past Darrus.
A miss or make away from victory, Morton waited as Hilling's kick kept the Lions alive.
Then Herrera, the former defender, made it final with a definitive kick past Darrus to seal the 2014 PepsiCo Showdown Championship for Morton as the Mustang faithful went wild: "Fuego, fuego! Viva Mustangs!"
"This was a typical LT-Morton matchup, " said Paul Labbato, Lyons head coach. "It was up and down, a battle all the way. But congratulations to Morton. They're a great team."
Man of the Match Chacon struggled to put what he was feeling into words.
"It's overwhelming," he said. "I'm so happy for all of our team. We worked really hard for this."
Caruso also gave credit to the game's 'unsung hero,' senior sweeper Edgar Oleguez, who was the very definition of his position Sunday -- someone who's fast and tough, and can direct adjustments on the field.
"He did a nice job breaking up some (Lyons) plays back there," Caruso said. "Our last man out there ... he really came through for us."
When Oleguez was told what Caruso said of him, he, too, was nearly speechless.
"Wow," he said of the praise "We waited three years for this. It's great to finally beat (Lyons)."
As great as this victory was for Morton, more challenges await as regular season winds down to the playoffs. On Tuesday, they host undefeated Downers Grove South (9-0-3) in what Caruso described as a game that "barring an upset, should be for the conference championship."
He says the boys will be prepared.
"We'll give them today for celebration," he said. "Monday, when reality sets in, we'll have practice, and if anyone thinks this match was hard...DGS is going to be just as difficult."
Starting lineups
Morton
GK: Ian Chacon
D: Rafael Herrera
D: Diego Lopez
D: Diego Aguilar
D: Edgar Oleguez
MF: Rigo Lozaro
MF: Edgar Garcia
MF: Mario Romero
MF: Christian Tovar
F: Jorge Mercado
F: Steven Tovar
Lyons Township
GK: Donald Darrus
D: Oliver Martinez
D: John Mazur
D: Tim Nolan
D: Leo Gabrek
D: Daniel Thomas
MF: Isaiah Nieves
MF: Paul Fulop
MF: Harry Hilling
F: Daniel Guitierrez
F: Patrick Duncan
Man of the Match: Ian Chacon, Morton
Officials: Manuel Montiel, Francisco Laureano, Tim Csuri.