Lyons goes back-to-back
against Naperville North
Lions win for 2nd-straight year, surprise Huskies 2-0
By Matt Le Cren
LA GRANGE -- Lyons had to take the field without its best player Thursday.
That’s never a good thing and it’s especially true with Naperville North coming to town.
Senior forward Brian Salvino had to serve a one-game suspension after picking up two yellow cards in the Lions’ season-opening 2-2 tie at Sandburg on Monday.
So, what did the Lions, ranked eight in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll, do? They made lemonade against no. 5 Naperville North and posted a 2-0 win.
It was the second-straight year Lyons has beaten the Huskies.
“We rise to the occasion all of a sudden,” said beaming coach Paul Labbato. “We haven’t been very successful over a 10- 12-year span against them.
“We get one here and there. We got one last year and now this year, so we’re pretty excited after a disappointing result.”
Labbato referred to Sandburg tie, in which the Lions coughed up a late lead and saw Salvino sent off. The result felt like a loss, but 72 hours later it was just a distant memory as the Lions (1-0-1) pulled off an impressive victory over Naperville North (1-1-0).
“It shows that we can win without him,” said goalkeeper Connor Schmitt, who made six saves to record the shutout. “Most of us were pretty sad after our 2-2 tie to Sandburg.
“It was not how we wanted to start the season, so going into the next two practices Tuesday and Wednesday we said we’ve got to show Chicagoland soccer what we’re about. We’ve got to show the teams in our conference what we’re about, and I think we came out here and did that today.”
Indeed, the Lions were the better side throughout the first half and for the final 18 minutes of the second half. They took advantage of an own-goal in the first half and withstood a furious comeback attempt by the Huskies in the second half before junior Jimmy Brejcha sealed the win with his first varsity goal with 17:30 remaining.
Fellow midfielder Will Swicionis started the decisive play with a throw-in from the left side. Brejcha won the ball with a header, then sent a shot from the middle of the box into the upper 90.
“We talked about the moments of the game that matter and how important the second goal is,” Labbato said. “All coaches say those kinds of things, but we needed that second goal.
“It bounced around. I don’t know what happened. But it ended up on the side foot of Jimmy Brejcha, and he volleys it in. This was a big win.”
Every player remembers his first varsity goal. When it comes against a powerhouse program like Naperville North, it’s even more memorable.
“It felt really good,” Brejcha said. “It really did.
“I just won the header, and I just finished it with my leg. They’re a really good defense. I had to work really hard for that; so I’m proud of myself, and we move on.”
The Lions got the better of the visitors in a fast-paced first half that produced little in the way of scoring chances. The Huskies failed to generate any momentum and neither did the Lions until the 14th minute.
That’s when Collin Sullivan got around the right end and centered a cross that was intended for Patrick Kracker. The ball deflected off a defender and into the net for an own-goal.
Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss, who finished with three saves, prevented the Lions from extending the lead three minutes later when he charged out and stopped an open shot from Brejcha. Owen Suda then missed high and wide on the rebound.
“They’re a great team,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Lyons is a great program.
“It’s a huge, big school and they have a fantastic coach and kids that get after it and play hard. I’ve always said we’re very similar programs.
“Every year it’s a tight, well-fought game, and this year they definitely came out and had a way better first half than us. They really took it to us physically.”
But the Lions knew that was unlikely to continue. The Huskies began the second half with vigor, putting the host side on its heels for the first 20 minutes after intermission. That surprised no one.
“I think we played the whole first half better than them,” Schmitt said. “I thought it was a great goal we had. It did hit a defender, but it was a great cross.
“They came out really physical in the second half, and I was like, “Ooh, this could be a long 40 minutes.’ But thanks to Jimmy, we got our goal, and I think they shut down after that.”
Schmitt deserves some of the credit, too. He made five of his saves after the break, including a diving stop to parry Aidan McMahon’s open shot wide of the right post with 38:55 to go and two saves on Naperville North's two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Alex Barger, the first of which came on a dropping 30-yard free kick which Schmitt leaped to catch.
“I remember watching him last year (against) Luke Stockbridge, our first-team all-state goalie,” Schmitt said of Barger. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, that kid’s great. I can’t wait to play him next year.’
“I’ve been looking forward to it for a year now, and I rose to the occasion.”
Even with the defeat, Konrad was satisfied with the Huskies’ effort.
“I thought second half we responded and did better, gave up a goal again, but we generated a couple of chances, at least,” Konrad said. “We had a couple good chances, and then they caught us on the restart.
“That’s something we talked about. We like to be perfect there, and we weren’t today.
“Both times we had a bad clear that led to them having a second chance, and they buried it so credit to them.”
The Huskies had to play the final 8:43 without left back Alex Arredondo, who suffered an elbow injury while making a slide tackle. That added injury to insult.
“It’s just a very humbling experience, because as North we want to win every single game possible,” said Arredondo, who was planning to get an X-ray after the game. “Getting that punch in the mouth is very humbling.
“We really have stuff to work on, and we’ve got to bounce back from this.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Huskies, who host Morton at 2 p.m. on Saturday. That will conclude a week in which North has played three opponents who have all won state titles since 2009.
“That’s why we play great teams the first week,” Konrad said. “We start with three state champs back-to-back-to-back and we learn where we have to get better.
“There’s some places that we need to work on, and we will.”
Not surprisingly, the Huskies would like another crack at the Lions.
“It will be awesome if we get to play them again at the end of the year,” Konrad said. “It means we’ll be in the Final Eight if we’re lucky enough to get there.”
As satisfying as the win was for the Lions, Brejcha sounded like he has already put it behind him.
“It’s a really nice win,” he said. “Now we move on. We focus on the next game and get some more wins.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Reed Goss
D Alex Arredondo
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Connor Hanrahan
M Owen Gaccione
M Caden Hill
M Alex Barger
M Noah Radeke
F Aidan McMahon
F Jaxon Stokes
Lyons
GK Connor Schmitt
D Collin Sullivan
D Liam Carolan
D Daniel Svelnis
D Igor Chrobotowicz
M Will Swicionis
M Patrick Kracker
M Austin Wisniewski
M Ben Swicionis
M Larry Martinez
F Haris Sarajulja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Connor Schmitt, sr., GK, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons – own-goal 26:48 remaining
Second half
Lyons – Jimmy Brejcha (Will Swicionis) 17:30 remaining
against Naperville North
Lions win for 2nd-straight year, surprise Huskies 2-0
By Matt Le Cren
LA GRANGE -- Lyons had to take the field without its best player Thursday.
That’s never a good thing and it’s especially true with Naperville North coming to town.
Senior forward Brian Salvino had to serve a one-game suspension after picking up two yellow cards in the Lions’ season-opening 2-2 tie at Sandburg on Monday.
So, what did the Lions, ranked eight in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll, do? They made lemonade against no. 5 Naperville North and posted a 2-0 win.
It was the second-straight year Lyons has beaten the Huskies.
“We rise to the occasion all of a sudden,” said beaming coach Paul Labbato. “We haven’t been very successful over a 10- 12-year span against them.
“We get one here and there. We got one last year and now this year, so we’re pretty excited after a disappointing result.”
Labbato referred to Sandburg tie, in which the Lions coughed up a late lead and saw Salvino sent off. The result felt like a loss, but 72 hours later it was just a distant memory as the Lions (1-0-1) pulled off an impressive victory over Naperville North (1-1-0).
“It shows that we can win without him,” said goalkeeper Connor Schmitt, who made six saves to record the shutout. “Most of us were pretty sad after our 2-2 tie to Sandburg.
“It was not how we wanted to start the season, so going into the next two practices Tuesday and Wednesday we said we’ve got to show Chicagoland soccer what we’re about. We’ve got to show the teams in our conference what we’re about, and I think we came out here and did that today.”
Indeed, the Lions were the better side throughout the first half and for the final 18 minutes of the second half. They took advantage of an own-goal in the first half and withstood a furious comeback attempt by the Huskies in the second half before junior Jimmy Brejcha sealed the win with his first varsity goal with 17:30 remaining.
Fellow midfielder Will Swicionis started the decisive play with a throw-in from the left side. Brejcha won the ball with a header, then sent a shot from the middle of the box into the upper 90.
“We talked about the moments of the game that matter and how important the second goal is,” Labbato said. “All coaches say those kinds of things, but we needed that second goal.
“It bounced around. I don’t know what happened. But it ended up on the side foot of Jimmy Brejcha, and he volleys it in. This was a big win.”
Every player remembers his first varsity goal. When it comes against a powerhouse program like Naperville North, it’s even more memorable.
“It felt really good,” Brejcha said. “It really did.
“I just won the header, and I just finished it with my leg. They’re a really good defense. I had to work really hard for that; so I’m proud of myself, and we move on.”
The Lions got the better of the visitors in a fast-paced first half that produced little in the way of scoring chances. The Huskies failed to generate any momentum and neither did the Lions until the 14th minute.
That’s when Collin Sullivan got around the right end and centered a cross that was intended for Patrick Kracker. The ball deflected off a defender and into the net for an own-goal.
Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss, who finished with three saves, prevented the Lions from extending the lead three minutes later when he charged out and stopped an open shot from Brejcha. Owen Suda then missed high and wide on the rebound.
“They’re a great team,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Lyons is a great program.
“It’s a huge, big school and they have a fantastic coach and kids that get after it and play hard. I’ve always said we’re very similar programs.
“Every year it’s a tight, well-fought game, and this year they definitely came out and had a way better first half than us. They really took it to us physically.”
But the Lions knew that was unlikely to continue. The Huskies began the second half with vigor, putting the host side on its heels for the first 20 minutes after intermission. That surprised no one.
“I think we played the whole first half better than them,” Schmitt said. “I thought it was a great goal we had. It did hit a defender, but it was a great cross.
“They came out really physical in the second half, and I was like, “Ooh, this could be a long 40 minutes.’ But thanks to Jimmy, we got our goal, and I think they shut down after that.”
Schmitt deserves some of the credit, too. He made five of his saves after the break, including a diving stop to parry Aidan McMahon’s open shot wide of the right post with 38:55 to go and two saves on Naperville North's two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Alex Barger, the first of which came on a dropping 30-yard free kick which Schmitt leaped to catch.
“I remember watching him last year (against) Luke Stockbridge, our first-team all-state goalie,” Schmitt said of Barger. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, that kid’s great. I can’t wait to play him next year.’
“I’ve been looking forward to it for a year now, and I rose to the occasion.”
Even with the defeat, Konrad was satisfied with the Huskies’ effort.
“I thought second half we responded and did better, gave up a goal again, but we generated a couple of chances, at least,” Konrad said. “We had a couple good chances, and then they caught us on the restart.
“That’s something we talked about. We like to be perfect there, and we weren’t today.
“Both times we had a bad clear that led to them having a second chance, and they buried it so credit to them.”
The Huskies had to play the final 8:43 without left back Alex Arredondo, who suffered an elbow injury while making a slide tackle. That added injury to insult.
“It’s just a very humbling experience, because as North we want to win every single game possible,” said Arredondo, who was planning to get an X-ray after the game. “Getting that punch in the mouth is very humbling.
“We really have stuff to work on, and we’ve got to bounce back from this.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Huskies, who host Morton at 2 p.m. on Saturday. That will conclude a week in which North has played three opponents who have all won state titles since 2009.
“That’s why we play great teams the first week,” Konrad said. “We start with three state champs back-to-back-to-back and we learn where we have to get better.
“There’s some places that we need to work on, and we will.”
Not surprisingly, the Huskies would like another crack at the Lions.
“It will be awesome if we get to play them again at the end of the year,” Konrad said. “It means we’ll be in the Final Eight if we’re lucky enough to get there.”
As satisfying as the win was for the Lions, Brejcha sounded like he has already put it behind him.
“It’s a really nice win,” he said. “Now we move on. We focus on the next game and get some more wins.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Reed Goss
D Alex Arredondo
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Connor Hanrahan
M Owen Gaccione
M Caden Hill
M Alex Barger
M Noah Radeke
F Aidan McMahon
F Jaxon Stokes
Lyons
GK Connor Schmitt
D Collin Sullivan
D Liam Carolan
D Daniel Svelnis
D Igor Chrobotowicz
M Will Swicionis
M Patrick Kracker
M Austin Wisniewski
M Ben Swicionis
M Larry Martinez
F Haris Sarajulja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Connor Schmitt, sr., GK, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons – own-goal 26:48 remaining
Second half
Lyons – Jimmy Brejcha (Will Swicionis) 17:30 remaining