Lyons rally takes down top-ranked Morton
Steck’s 64th minute goal is the difference in 3-2 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CICERO — What a glorious way to kick off the most unpredictable of seasons with two historically elite programs at the top of their games.
The marquee season-opener of no. 1 Morton and no. 10 Lyons had built-in multitudes touching all sides -- history, a rivalry with electrifying games and highlight-reel players.
Nothing about this year is likely to be manufactured, not after a 16-month layoff and the absence of action, moments and memories.
The backdrop is now the foreground. In a compressed season with no state tournament, every game takes on elevated meaning and importance.
“I think throughout these 16 months we always came with the mentality that we were going to have a season,” Lyons’ forward Jack Luttrell said.
“I think that really propelled us to where we are now. Every day we knew that was a day closer to our season.”
That season began magnificently with a riveting back-and-forth game. Lyons pulled out the 3-2 comeback victory with an alert and instinctive goal by junior forward Zack Steck in the 64th minute.
Operating out of the counter, Lyons’ midfielder Cameron Labbato punched the ball downfield as the speedy Steck bolted toward Mustangs’ keeper Christopher Barajas and another defender.
“As soon as I saw that they played it back, I just knew I had to keep going,” Steck said. “ I had to push through no matter who was in the way.
“I had to keep going and reach for the ball and get that chance right there.”
Steck dislodged the ball between the two Morton players and finished from about 16 yards for the game-winner.
Nearly 16 months to the day passed since Morton played West Chicago in the Class 3A state championship at Hoffman Estates.
“It’s great the kids have an opportunity to go back out playing something that they love, especially high school soccer,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said.
“There are only four years they get to play high school. Having them back was great, but I think we were a little rusty out there chemistry-wise, just getting together and stuff like that.”
Morton star midfielder Cristian Perez worked his magic with his beautiful and poetic play in the middle that created havoc against the Lions’ backline.
Lyons countered with their size and versatile attack. The divergent styles also illustrated the power and grace of each side.
“We knew the game was going to be up-and-down and would go either way,” Bageanis said. “They score on their throw-ins and their set pieces, and we work off the speed of play.”
Just as impressive, both teams excelled despite playing without significant starters. Morton played without elite midfielder Jesus Perez.
Lyons had to call up junior Luke Stockbridge for his varsity debut at keeper after starter Johnathan Laczynski had two teeth knocked out during a recent practice.
Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
“I was a little bit anxious, but I was very excited,” Stockbridge said. “We played them my freshman year, and we had one half tied at zero-zero, and the rest of the game got rained out.
“I was hyped. Playing Morton the first game of the season was a bit of a daunting task, and I was very excited to take it on.”
Cristian Perez is virtually impossible to cover in space, and he found enough of a crease to score two beautiful first half goals.
His ninth minute goal started the game with a brilliant and flamboyant flourish. Lyons (1-0-0) maintained its composure.
Twice Perez put the Lions behind the curve. Twice Lyons responded.
“We have a senior-led team, and they are very focused,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. “We have a lot of good players, and this was a great group to be around.
“Those equalizers were huge because of the momentum shifts. We’ve been on this field before when we’re down 3-0 before we even knew it.”
Luttrell is a rangy and imposing physical presence. His length and reach makes a very dangerous weapon inside the box.
“As a 6-foot-4 kid, I definitely enjoy being in the air, especially with the long throw. I think that’s what makes us so dangerous is that we have a lot of players with that kind of size.
“I want to use my body a lot in order to turn past people. I also think my speed helps me out a lot. It’s hard to dislodge a 6-foot-4 guy.”
In a game marked by emotion and intensity of feeling, Luttrell said the ability to react against Morton’s devastating precision, balance and speed was crucial to creating the 2-2 tie at halftime.
“We didn’t lose our focus for a second,” he said, “because against a team like this, you are going to get punished. This is not an easy defense to get past, especially since they just went to the state finals.”
Lyons midfielder Jonathan Hill forged the 2-2 tie in the 37th minute off a beautiful connection from forward Maxwell Behm.
That changed everything.
“It’s always big to get a goal right before half, especially against a team like this,” Luttrell said. “I think it rattled them a little bit. I don’t think they were expecting us to come out the way we did, especially going down twice against them.
“Not many teams could do that.”
Luttrell and Steck shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for their superb play.
Lyons carried that momentum into the second half. Luttrell had a dangerous moment inside the box off a throw-in from midfielder John Swicionis that hit off the post in the 41st minute.
Luttrell also broke a double-team for a quick 1-2 move that created another tantalizing scoring chance that Barajas made a terrific, athletic save against.
Perez continued to create havoc and find some vulnerabilities against the Lions’ skilled back. His free kick from just outside the box in the 48th minute just skidded over the top of the bar.
Defender Jackson Turner, described by Paul Labbato as the Lions’ best all-around player, anchored the quick and aggressive back.
Their ability to neutralize the Mustangs in space altered the dynamic.
“It was a great game that could have gone either way,” Morton midfielder Edgar Quintero said. “At the end of the day they were the team that played much harder. Their goal was partly our mistakes, and they used good set plays.
“We are going to use this game to see what we did wrong, and we are going to come back stronger the next game and see how we go from there.”
Perez had another free kick from about 26 yards broken up by the Lions’ wall. The team’s last serious scoring threat was a Perez ball from the right wing that he pulled just wide of the frame.
“We made some mistakes that they capitalized on, and they made us pay for it,” Bageanis said.
Lyons made its own statement.
“Every end of the field, we had our defense, which was very tough going up against a bunch of all-state caliber players, and we were up to the challenge,” Luttrell said.
“I think we proved ourselves out there that we are definitely one of the more competitive teams in our conference and the state with this win.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK: Luke Stockbridge
D: Robert Sullivan
D: Jackson Turner
D: Jackson Sullivan
D: John Schmitt
MF: John Swicionis
MF: Jonathan Hill
MF: Cameron Labbato
F: Timothy Slusarczyk
F: Jack Luttrell
F: Maxwell Behm
Morton
GK: Christopher Barajas
D: Luis Gonzalez
D: Adrian Salto
D: Eddie Barraza
D: Julian Yanez
MF: Jonathan Murillo
MF: Giovanni Gallegos
MF: Edgar Quintero
MF: Cristian Perez
F: Ismael Zepeda
F: Giovanni Alvarez
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jack Luttrell, sr., F, Lyons; Zack Steck, jr., MF, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Morton—Cristian Perez (Giovanni Alvarez), 9th minute
Lyons—Jack Luttrell (Cameron Labbato), 18th minute
Morton—Perez (unassisted), 31st minute
Lyons—Jonathan Hill (Maxwell Behm), 36th minute
Second half
Lyons—Zack Steck (unassisted), 64th minute
Steck’s 64th minute goal is the difference in 3-2 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CICERO — What a glorious way to kick off the most unpredictable of seasons with two historically elite programs at the top of their games.
The marquee season-opener of no. 1 Morton and no. 10 Lyons had built-in multitudes touching all sides -- history, a rivalry with electrifying games and highlight-reel players.
Nothing about this year is likely to be manufactured, not after a 16-month layoff and the absence of action, moments and memories.
The backdrop is now the foreground. In a compressed season with no state tournament, every game takes on elevated meaning and importance.
“I think throughout these 16 months we always came with the mentality that we were going to have a season,” Lyons’ forward Jack Luttrell said.
“I think that really propelled us to where we are now. Every day we knew that was a day closer to our season.”
That season began magnificently with a riveting back-and-forth game. Lyons pulled out the 3-2 comeback victory with an alert and instinctive goal by junior forward Zack Steck in the 64th minute.
Operating out of the counter, Lyons’ midfielder Cameron Labbato punched the ball downfield as the speedy Steck bolted toward Mustangs’ keeper Christopher Barajas and another defender.
“As soon as I saw that they played it back, I just knew I had to keep going,” Steck said. “ I had to push through no matter who was in the way.
“I had to keep going and reach for the ball and get that chance right there.”
Steck dislodged the ball between the two Morton players and finished from about 16 yards for the game-winner.
Nearly 16 months to the day passed since Morton played West Chicago in the Class 3A state championship at Hoffman Estates.
“It’s great the kids have an opportunity to go back out playing something that they love, especially high school soccer,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said.
“There are only four years they get to play high school. Having them back was great, but I think we were a little rusty out there chemistry-wise, just getting together and stuff like that.”
Morton star midfielder Cristian Perez worked his magic with his beautiful and poetic play in the middle that created havoc against the Lions’ backline.
Lyons countered with their size and versatile attack. The divergent styles also illustrated the power and grace of each side.
“We knew the game was going to be up-and-down and would go either way,” Bageanis said. “They score on their throw-ins and their set pieces, and we work off the speed of play.”
Just as impressive, both teams excelled despite playing without significant starters. Morton played without elite midfielder Jesus Perez.
Lyons had to call up junior Luke Stockbridge for his varsity debut at keeper after starter Johnathan Laczynski had two teeth knocked out during a recent practice.
Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
“I was a little bit anxious, but I was very excited,” Stockbridge said. “We played them my freshman year, and we had one half tied at zero-zero, and the rest of the game got rained out.
“I was hyped. Playing Morton the first game of the season was a bit of a daunting task, and I was very excited to take it on.”
Cristian Perez is virtually impossible to cover in space, and he found enough of a crease to score two beautiful first half goals.
His ninth minute goal started the game with a brilliant and flamboyant flourish. Lyons (1-0-0) maintained its composure.
Twice Perez put the Lions behind the curve. Twice Lyons responded.
“We have a senior-led team, and they are very focused,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. “We have a lot of good players, and this was a great group to be around.
“Those equalizers were huge because of the momentum shifts. We’ve been on this field before when we’re down 3-0 before we even knew it.”
Luttrell is a rangy and imposing physical presence. His length and reach makes a very dangerous weapon inside the box.
“As a 6-foot-4 kid, I definitely enjoy being in the air, especially with the long throw. I think that’s what makes us so dangerous is that we have a lot of players with that kind of size.
“I want to use my body a lot in order to turn past people. I also think my speed helps me out a lot. It’s hard to dislodge a 6-foot-4 guy.”
In a game marked by emotion and intensity of feeling, Luttrell said the ability to react against Morton’s devastating precision, balance and speed was crucial to creating the 2-2 tie at halftime.
“We didn’t lose our focus for a second,” he said, “because against a team like this, you are going to get punished. This is not an easy defense to get past, especially since they just went to the state finals.”
Lyons midfielder Jonathan Hill forged the 2-2 tie in the 37th minute off a beautiful connection from forward Maxwell Behm.
That changed everything.
“It’s always big to get a goal right before half, especially against a team like this,” Luttrell said. “I think it rattled them a little bit. I don’t think they were expecting us to come out the way we did, especially going down twice against them.
“Not many teams could do that.”
Luttrell and Steck shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for their superb play.
Lyons carried that momentum into the second half. Luttrell had a dangerous moment inside the box off a throw-in from midfielder John Swicionis that hit off the post in the 41st minute.
Luttrell also broke a double-team for a quick 1-2 move that created another tantalizing scoring chance that Barajas made a terrific, athletic save against.
Perez continued to create havoc and find some vulnerabilities against the Lions’ skilled back. His free kick from just outside the box in the 48th minute just skidded over the top of the bar.
Defender Jackson Turner, described by Paul Labbato as the Lions’ best all-around player, anchored the quick and aggressive back.
Their ability to neutralize the Mustangs in space altered the dynamic.
“It was a great game that could have gone either way,” Morton midfielder Edgar Quintero said. “At the end of the day they were the team that played much harder. Their goal was partly our mistakes, and they used good set plays.
“We are going to use this game to see what we did wrong, and we are going to come back stronger the next game and see how we go from there.”
Perez had another free kick from about 26 yards broken up by the Lions’ wall. The team’s last serious scoring threat was a Perez ball from the right wing that he pulled just wide of the frame.
“We made some mistakes that they capitalized on, and they made us pay for it,” Bageanis said.
Lyons made its own statement.
“Every end of the field, we had our defense, which was very tough going up against a bunch of all-state caliber players, and we were up to the challenge,” Luttrell said.
“I think we proved ourselves out there that we are definitely one of the more competitive teams in our conference and the state with this win.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK: Luke Stockbridge
D: Robert Sullivan
D: Jackson Turner
D: Jackson Sullivan
D: John Schmitt
MF: John Swicionis
MF: Jonathan Hill
MF: Cameron Labbato
F: Timothy Slusarczyk
F: Jack Luttrell
F: Maxwell Behm
Morton
GK: Christopher Barajas
D: Luis Gonzalez
D: Adrian Salto
D: Eddie Barraza
D: Julian Yanez
MF: Jonathan Murillo
MF: Giovanni Gallegos
MF: Edgar Quintero
MF: Cristian Perez
F: Ismael Zepeda
F: Giovanni Alvarez
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jack Luttrell, sr., F, Lyons; Zack Steck, jr., MF, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Morton—Cristian Perez (Giovanni Alvarez), 9th minute
Lyons—Jack Luttrell (Cameron Labbato), 18th minute
Morton—Perez (unassisted), 31st minute
Lyons—Jonathan Hill (Maxwell Behm), 36th minute
Second half
Lyons—Zack Steck (unassisted), 64th minute