Lyons keeps Silver Brick with OT win
Gradilla's throw, Clarke finish gives hosts 2-1 win over Hinsdale C.
By Matt Le Cren
WESTERN SPRINGS – Lyons forward Charlie Clarke had an interesting take on what it takes to win the Silver Brick.
“It is probably most about desire in rivalry games,” Clarke replied. “It doesn’t come down to skill most of the time; it comes down to winning the first and second ball and playing hard when you’re tired.”
Clarke is the Lions' leading scorer, so he obviously has plenty of skill, but it was pure desire that allowed him to score the game-winning golden goal Friday night as the host Lions knocked off Hinsdale Central 2-1 in double overtime.
The last of Eric Gradilla’s many long throw-ins went into the middle of the Hinsdale Central penalty area, where Clarke headed it forward.
The ball bounced off a defender back to Clarke, who booted a 12-yard shot through traffic and inside the right post with 4:09 left in the second overtime.
That allowed the Lions, ranked ninth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, to retain the Silver Brick and stay in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division race. Lyons now leads the all-time series between the two schools 24-21-4. Twenty-nine of the 49 games have been decided by one goal, including nine of the last 12.
“(Each side) played so hard,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. "It’s such a great rivalry and such fun to be a part of and the Silver Brick is a fun trophy.
“It’s great to win it two years in a row. For a while I didn’t know if we would ever win it back. It was four years of losing that game.
“At some point it starts to feel like you’re never going to win again against Hinsdale, like there’s a jinx.”
The teams have contested the Silver Brick every year since 2008. The series is now tied 5-5 since then.
“I give a lot of credit to our guys,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins said. “We had a lot of guys really develop tonight.
“We had several guys that really understood biggest game, biggest moment, so that was nice to see.”
And it was a big game, not only a rivalry game with conference title implications but also a possible sectional preview. A large crowd witnessed a spirited battle on an unseasonably warm night that caused the players to suffer a lot of muscle cramps but did nothing to lessen their purpose.
“It was a playoff environment,” Wiggins said. “It’s a state finals environment.
“It’s no quit, a lot of emotion a lot of spirit and everyone working hard. This is what kids should be excited about. You’ve got several hundred people in the stands, a lot of pride in their school. It’s exciting to see.”
Much of the action was exciting, with end-to-end play, dangerous set pieces, several goal line clearances and an ending that was fitting, if not fine art.
Gradilla caused havoc for much of the second half with his long heaves, leading Labbato to think one was bound to lead to a goal. It did, but not before the visiting Red Devils (8-5-1, 0-3-0) controlled most of the two overtime periods.
“Yes, that second half we had so many chances in the run of play and through crosses and the long throw-ins that I thought we were going to get one,” Labbato said. “And then they come out and dominate for 16 minutes of overtime.
“Then we get one opportunity, and it goes in the goal. We’re very lucky to squeak out of here without having to go to penalty kicks.”
The Lions (9-4-1, 2-1-0) were unlucky not to take the lead in regulation. Gradilla tossed a throw from the right side into a maelstrom in front with 5:30 remaining and Lyons beat Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Alex Gama not once, not twice, but three times.
Incredibly, one of the shots hit off the right post and the other two were cleared off the line by defenders. But the sequence increased Clarke’s confidence.
“The one in the second half with about five minutes left where it hit the post and bounced around, from that point on our coach even said a throw-in is pretty much as good as a point-blank shot because (Eric) is going to get it there,” Clarke said.
Gradilla, who like Clarke and six other seniors was playing in their final Silver Brick match, was anxious despite all his varsity experience.
“Before the game it was just all nerves for me,” Gradilla said. “I was listening to music all day just getting my mind ready for this game.
“Once we started, my mind just went into the game and wouldn’t get out.”
Indeed, Gradilla was thinking just one thing when he triggered the game’s final play.
“I saw my spot on the line,” Gradilla said. “I saw I could get it in the middle of the box.
“I was thinking of hitting Clarke straight in the head, but when I saw how deep I was and how they were all set up, I just thought go to the middle, and it will get bobbled around.”
That’s exactly what happened.
“I think I flicked it, and it hit someone’s back, and I just kicked it,” said Clarke, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. “Obviously no finesse there.”
Maybe not, but it was effective. The ball rolled through traffic and out of the reach of Gama.
“I saw it rolling, and I knew it was going to go in the second I saw it hit off Clarke’s foot,” Gradilla said. “Right when it started bobbling around in the middle I started running because I knew it was going in.”
For a while it looked like nothing would go in. The Lions were lackluster in the first half, mustering only three shots, none on goal.
Hinsdale Central had the better of the possession and the chances before intermission, peppering Lyons goalkeeper Matt Vear with a series of booming free kicks from midfield off the lead foots of defenders Trey Tabachka and Zach Drescher.
Vear, who finished with seven saves, stopped Drescher’s drives from 56 and 59 yards in the first half and a 68-yarder that would have gone in the net on the fly midway through the second half. He also made diving denials on a hard liner from Brady McKay and a Tabachka volley in the crease.
The Lions then seized a 1-0 lead with 38:02 to go in the second half when sophomore Joey Fitzgerald took a 50-50 ball away from a defender at the top of the box and beat the charging Gama to the lower right corner.
But Gama made a game-changing play eight minutes later when he charged off his line to smother a point-blank shot by Mike Niedermeyer, who was sprung by a lead pass from Charles Hall.
The Red Devils immediately launched a counterattack and tied the game 20 seconds later on McKay’s composed finish inside the left post at the 29:43 mark.
“Brady came up with a big-time goal,” Wiggins said. “For him to rebound the way he did when we were down 1-0, that was exciting to see.”
But it wasn’t enough to overcome Gradilla’s throw-in skills.
“I thought we had some pretty dangerous throw-ins, too,” Wiggins said. “It just so happened that they got the one that counted in the end.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Alex Gama
D Gavin Schwarz
D Trey Tabachka
D Jackson Harris
D Zach Drescher
M Donald Chow
M Kosta Kinnas
Justin Kim
Alex Cole
Nicolas Maritz
Brady McKay
Lyons
GK Matt Vear
D Tate Riordan
D Nick Jacobs
D Quinn Frzer
M Phil Panopoulos
M Charles Hall
Adam McGahay
Sam DeBoer
Eric Gradilla
Joey Fitzgerald
F Charlie Clarke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Charlie Clarke, sr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Lyons – Joey Fitzgerald 38:02
Hinsdale Central – Brady McKay 29:43
2nd overtime
Lyons – Charlie Clarke 4:09
Gradilla's throw, Clarke finish gives hosts 2-1 win over Hinsdale C.
By Matt Le Cren
WESTERN SPRINGS – Lyons forward Charlie Clarke had an interesting take on what it takes to win the Silver Brick.
“It is probably most about desire in rivalry games,” Clarke replied. “It doesn’t come down to skill most of the time; it comes down to winning the first and second ball and playing hard when you’re tired.”
Clarke is the Lions' leading scorer, so he obviously has plenty of skill, but it was pure desire that allowed him to score the game-winning golden goal Friday night as the host Lions knocked off Hinsdale Central 2-1 in double overtime.
The last of Eric Gradilla’s many long throw-ins went into the middle of the Hinsdale Central penalty area, where Clarke headed it forward.
The ball bounced off a defender back to Clarke, who booted a 12-yard shot through traffic and inside the right post with 4:09 left in the second overtime.
That allowed the Lions, ranked ninth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, to retain the Silver Brick and stay in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division race. Lyons now leads the all-time series between the two schools 24-21-4. Twenty-nine of the 49 games have been decided by one goal, including nine of the last 12.
“(Each side) played so hard,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. "It’s such a great rivalry and such fun to be a part of and the Silver Brick is a fun trophy.
“It’s great to win it two years in a row. For a while I didn’t know if we would ever win it back. It was four years of losing that game.
“At some point it starts to feel like you’re never going to win again against Hinsdale, like there’s a jinx.”
The teams have contested the Silver Brick every year since 2008. The series is now tied 5-5 since then.
“I give a lot of credit to our guys,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins said. “We had a lot of guys really develop tonight.
“We had several guys that really understood biggest game, biggest moment, so that was nice to see.”
And it was a big game, not only a rivalry game with conference title implications but also a possible sectional preview. A large crowd witnessed a spirited battle on an unseasonably warm night that caused the players to suffer a lot of muscle cramps but did nothing to lessen their purpose.
“It was a playoff environment,” Wiggins said. “It’s a state finals environment.
“It’s no quit, a lot of emotion a lot of spirit and everyone working hard. This is what kids should be excited about. You’ve got several hundred people in the stands, a lot of pride in their school. It’s exciting to see.”
Much of the action was exciting, with end-to-end play, dangerous set pieces, several goal line clearances and an ending that was fitting, if not fine art.
Gradilla caused havoc for much of the second half with his long heaves, leading Labbato to think one was bound to lead to a goal. It did, but not before the visiting Red Devils (8-5-1, 0-3-0) controlled most of the two overtime periods.
“Yes, that second half we had so many chances in the run of play and through crosses and the long throw-ins that I thought we were going to get one,” Labbato said. “And then they come out and dominate for 16 minutes of overtime.
“Then we get one opportunity, and it goes in the goal. We’re very lucky to squeak out of here without having to go to penalty kicks.”
The Lions (9-4-1, 2-1-0) were unlucky not to take the lead in regulation. Gradilla tossed a throw from the right side into a maelstrom in front with 5:30 remaining and Lyons beat Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Alex Gama not once, not twice, but three times.
Incredibly, one of the shots hit off the right post and the other two were cleared off the line by defenders. But the sequence increased Clarke’s confidence.
“The one in the second half with about five minutes left where it hit the post and bounced around, from that point on our coach even said a throw-in is pretty much as good as a point-blank shot because (Eric) is going to get it there,” Clarke said.
Gradilla, who like Clarke and six other seniors was playing in their final Silver Brick match, was anxious despite all his varsity experience.
“Before the game it was just all nerves for me,” Gradilla said. “I was listening to music all day just getting my mind ready for this game.
“Once we started, my mind just went into the game and wouldn’t get out.”
Indeed, Gradilla was thinking just one thing when he triggered the game’s final play.
“I saw my spot on the line,” Gradilla said. “I saw I could get it in the middle of the box.
“I was thinking of hitting Clarke straight in the head, but when I saw how deep I was and how they were all set up, I just thought go to the middle, and it will get bobbled around.”
That’s exactly what happened.
“I think I flicked it, and it hit someone’s back, and I just kicked it,” said Clarke, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. “Obviously no finesse there.”
Maybe not, but it was effective. The ball rolled through traffic and out of the reach of Gama.
“I saw it rolling, and I knew it was going to go in the second I saw it hit off Clarke’s foot,” Gradilla said. “Right when it started bobbling around in the middle I started running because I knew it was going in.”
For a while it looked like nothing would go in. The Lions were lackluster in the first half, mustering only three shots, none on goal.
Hinsdale Central had the better of the possession and the chances before intermission, peppering Lyons goalkeeper Matt Vear with a series of booming free kicks from midfield off the lead foots of defenders Trey Tabachka and Zach Drescher.
Vear, who finished with seven saves, stopped Drescher’s drives from 56 and 59 yards in the first half and a 68-yarder that would have gone in the net on the fly midway through the second half. He also made diving denials on a hard liner from Brady McKay and a Tabachka volley in the crease.
The Lions then seized a 1-0 lead with 38:02 to go in the second half when sophomore Joey Fitzgerald took a 50-50 ball away from a defender at the top of the box and beat the charging Gama to the lower right corner.
But Gama made a game-changing play eight minutes later when he charged off his line to smother a point-blank shot by Mike Niedermeyer, who was sprung by a lead pass from Charles Hall.
The Red Devils immediately launched a counterattack and tied the game 20 seconds later on McKay’s composed finish inside the left post at the 29:43 mark.
“Brady came up with a big-time goal,” Wiggins said. “For him to rebound the way he did when we were down 1-0, that was exciting to see.”
But it wasn’t enough to overcome Gradilla’s throw-in skills.
“I thought we had some pretty dangerous throw-ins, too,” Wiggins said. “It just so happened that they got the one that counted in the end.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Alex Gama
D Gavin Schwarz
D Trey Tabachka
D Jackson Harris
D Zach Drescher
M Donald Chow
M Kosta Kinnas
Justin Kim
Alex Cole
Nicolas Maritz
Brady McKay
Lyons
GK Matt Vear
D Tate Riordan
D Nick Jacobs
D Quinn Frzer
M Phil Panopoulos
M Charles Hall
Adam McGahay
Sam DeBoer
Eric Gradilla
Joey Fitzgerald
F Charlie Clarke
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Charlie Clarke, sr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Lyons – Joey Fitzgerald 38:02
Hinsdale Central – Brady McKay 29:43
2nd overtime
Lyons – Charlie Clarke 4:09