Lyons' Behm rides to the rescue vs. York
Junior's OT goal gives Lions a 3-2 win in big WSS game
By Gary Larsen
LA GRANGE -- York was riding the momentum of a gutsy two-goal comeback, and Lyons needed a lift as their Monday game headed into overtime.
Lions coach Paul Labbato went off script and gave it to them. During the five-minute break between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, Labbato decided to put a chip squarely on his players’ shoulders.
He did it by walking away from the team huddle after a few brief but choice words.
“I just kind of looked at the kids and said ‘You better do something, or they’re going to score on you,’” Labbato said. “Basically it was ‘Just get it done’. They had to go prove it. Part of my motive was to just get them (angry) at something. So they could be (angry) at me and go take it out on York.”
A bit of anger was clearly needed to counter the exceptional effort that York put forth. On cue, the Dukes attacked hard to start the overtime and wasted no time in finding a few quality shots.
Then, in the eighth minute of overtime, Lyons junior Max Behm figured out a way to "Just get it done" for his coach.
Behm took a feed from Cam Labbato and took a few touches from right to left across the top of York’s box, before unleashing his left leg on a shot that tore a path under the bar near the post to give Lyons a 3-2 win.
It was a beauty of a shot, and Lyons defender Graham Bearman watched it unfold in from of him.
“I had a perfect view,” Bearman said. “I saw (Behm) cut back and once he had a wide-open shot, I knew. We’ve been seeing him do that all summer — banging those in, top left, every single time. Once I saw him take it, I just knew it was going in.”
With a potential game-winning shot at his feet, Behm heard some voices he’s heard before.
“I got the ball from Cam, and my guys have been telling me to shoot the ball,” Behm said. “So when I saw it was open, that was it.”
For hitting the game-winning shot, Behm earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
The win put Lyons (9-3-2, 4-0-0) alone atop the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, though Glenbard West also still unbeaten in WSS play. Lyons — ranked no. 11 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — plays at Glenbard West (9-3-2, 3-0-0) Thursday and still has Downers Grove North remaining in WSS play.
For no. 21 York (9-6-1, 1-3-0) and coach Lukasz Majewski, Monday’s game was proof of what the Dukes are made of, despite the loss.
“I’m not too into moral victories,” Majewski said, “but the positive out of this is that we were down against a high-quality opponent, and we were able to fight and scratch our way back into the game.
“Hopefully the fortunes will turn themselves around, and the soccer gods are going to even this out for us.”
Through 20 minutes, York’s Sam Musial, Parker Gawne, and Joe Meade all sent shots wide of frame, while Lyons’ Jake Fraser also blistered a low shot past the the post.
Lyons keeper Bradley De Boer saved a shot in a crowd at the goalmouth at 22 minutes, and York keeper Mario Agilar saved a Mike Niedermeyer flick on net one minute later. Agliar then saved a hard one-hopper sent from 18 yards by Lyons’ Julio Torres at 25 minutes.
The back-and-forth continued: York’s Kol Rollins tested De Boer from distance at 27 minutes, and Gawne cleared a dangerous ball from the York goalmouth at 28 minutes.
Torres forced Agilar to save a hard-hit free kick with Niedermeyer charging the net at 32 minutes, and it was Torres who broke the scoreless tie five minutes later.
That's when Torres took a ball aggressively into the York penalty area and was tripped at 38 minutes. His penalty kick goal gave Lyons a 1-0 halftime lead.
Five minutes into the second half, Lyons defender Zack Kristy came up big. As he does in every game, Kristy spent a lot of time against York jogging upfield from his center defender’s position, to employ one of the longest throw-ins Illinois soccer fans will see anywhere.
At 55 minutes, one of Kristy’s long throws paid off. The senior launched a throw from the left side that soared to the far post, where teammate Jake Fraser managed to sneak past security and bury it with his chest to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
“They’re crazy. I don’t know how he does it,” Behm said of Kristy’s big throws. “He just has that back and arm strength.”
Labbato shook his head when asked about Kristy’s throws.
“It’s kind of ridiculous, and it’s ridiculous we don’t score more off that throw-in,” Labbato said. “We should be scoring all the time off it. But as long as we get some timely ones ... …”
With 35 minutes remaining and trailing by two goals on a conference rival’s home field — on Lyons’ Senior Night, no less — York had its work cut out for it.
The Dukes welcomed the challenge, and they had the tools to meet it.
“They had a tricky center-forward (Joe Meade), and he was pretty good,” Bearman said. “They also had really fast wingers. (Gawne) is really fast, and he was probably one of our biggest problems, especially when he was at fullback charging up the field.
“But I feel like our fullbacks did a great job at keeping them under wraps. And (Kristy) did a great job covering us. I thought we worked together as a unit well.”
York cut Lyons’ lead in half at 66 minutes when Sam Musial volleyed home a ball that popped up in the box. With York chasing a mere one-goal deficit, Musial’s goal further elevated the Dukes’ play.
“We kept fighting, and I thought we played very well,” Musial said. “We were creating chances, stopping them for the most part in the back, and we were going to goal. It was just unlucky.”
York’s attack continued to play in swarm-mode and with only 29 seconds remaining in regulation, the Dukes’ George Nolley scored from point-blank range on an Erwin Morales feed to send the game to overtime.
Ultimately, York had the momentum but it was Lyons that gutted out the win.
“We hit a post, had a scramble inside the six — but the message has been the same the entire year,” Majewski said. “If you don’t put your opportunities away, good teams are going to find ways to create their own opportunities and take advantage of your mistakes.”
Musial was proud of the character his side showed Monday.
“We didn’t start the season where we wanted, but we have a lot of seniors that want a state championship. They want to fight,” Musial said. “I think we’ve proven in this game and in the games leading up to it. I thought we played good today.
“We have a good mentality. If we let up a goal, we want to get it back and get back into the game. That’s the best quality of the team.”
Labbato applauded Bearman’s role in the win, plus Niedermeyer’s leadership in rallying the Lions before the overtime period started.
“Considering how talented York is up-top, I felt like we were very disciplined defensively,” Labbato said. “We held our gaps very well. We had good timing on tackles.
“It was a bit of a revenge game. Last year, they beat us on PKs over at their place so we’re trying to avenge some of the losses we took last year. The next one is Glenbard West, who also beat us last year (2-0).”
Starting lineups
York
GK: Shea Kennedy
D: Kalvin Glodz
D: Parker Gawne
D Sebastian Benavides
D: Jack Musial
M: Paolo Favuzzi
M: Chase McNeill
M Sam Musial
M: Kol Rollins
M: Ethan Oder
F Joe Meade
Lyons
GK: Bradley De Boer
D: Sean Shepard
D: Zack Kristy
D: Graham Bearman
D: Teddy Schmidt
M: Alex Becerra
M: Mike Niedermeyer
M: Tommy Abbs
F: Tony Juracic
F: Julio Torres
F: Jake Fraser
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Max Behm, jr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons: Torres (PK) 38 minutes
Second half
Lyons: Fraser (Kristy) 55 minutes
York: S. Musial (Oder) 66 minutes
York: Nolley (Morales) 80 minutes
First overtime
Lyons: Behm (Labbato) 88 minutes
Junior's OT goal gives Lions a 3-2 win in big WSS game
By Gary Larsen
LA GRANGE -- York was riding the momentum of a gutsy two-goal comeback, and Lyons needed a lift as their Monday game headed into overtime.
Lions coach Paul Labbato went off script and gave it to them. During the five-minute break between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, Labbato decided to put a chip squarely on his players’ shoulders.
He did it by walking away from the team huddle after a few brief but choice words.
“I just kind of looked at the kids and said ‘You better do something, or they’re going to score on you,’” Labbato said. “Basically it was ‘Just get it done’. They had to go prove it. Part of my motive was to just get them (angry) at something. So they could be (angry) at me and go take it out on York.”
A bit of anger was clearly needed to counter the exceptional effort that York put forth. On cue, the Dukes attacked hard to start the overtime and wasted no time in finding a few quality shots.
Then, in the eighth minute of overtime, Lyons junior Max Behm figured out a way to "Just get it done" for his coach.
Behm took a feed from Cam Labbato and took a few touches from right to left across the top of York’s box, before unleashing his left leg on a shot that tore a path under the bar near the post to give Lyons a 3-2 win.
It was a beauty of a shot, and Lyons defender Graham Bearman watched it unfold in from of him.
“I had a perfect view,” Bearman said. “I saw (Behm) cut back and once he had a wide-open shot, I knew. We’ve been seeing him do that all summer — banging those in, top left, every single time. Once I saw him take it, I just knew it was going in.”
With a potential game-winning shot at his feet, Behm heard some voices he’s heard before.
“I got the ball from Cam, and my guys have been telling me to shoot the ball,” Behm said. “So when I saw it was open, that was it.”
For hitting the game-winning shot, Behm earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
The win put Lyons (9-3-2, 4-0-0) alone atop the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, though Glenbard West also still unbeaten in WSS play. Lyons — ranked no. 11 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — plays at Glenbard West (9-3-2, 3-0-0) Thursday and still has Downers Grove North remaining in WSS play.
For no. 21 York (9-6-1, 1-3-0) and coach Lukasz Majewski, Monday’s game was proof of what the Dukes are made of, despite the loss.
“I’m not too into moral victories,” Majewski said, “but the positive out of this is that we were down against a high-quality opponent, and we were able to fight and scratch our way back into the game.
“Hopefully the fortunes will turn themselves around, and the soccer gods are going to even this out for us.”
Through 20 minutes, York’s Sam Musial, Parker Gawne, and Joe Meade all sent shots wide of frame, while Lyons’ Jake Fraser also blistered a low shot past the the post.
Lyons keeper Bradley De Boer saved a shot in a crowd at the goalmouth at 22 minutes, and York keeper Mario Agilar saved a Mike Niedermeyer flick on net one minute later. Agliar then saved a hard one-hopper sent from 18 yards by Lyons’ Julio Torres at 25 minutes.
The back-and-forth continued: York’s Kol Rollins tested De Boer from distance at 27 minutes, and Gawne cleared a dangerous ball from the York goalmouth at 28 minutes.
Torres forced Agilar to save a hard-hit free kick with Niedermeyer charging the net at 32 minutes, and it was Torres who broke the scoreless tie five minutes later.
That's when Torres took a ball aggressively into the York penalty area and was tripped at 38 minutes. His penalty kick goal gave Lyons a 1-0 halftime lead.
Five minutes into the second half, Lyons defender Zack Kristy came up big. As he does in every game, Kristy spent a lot of time against York jogging upfield from his center defender’s position, to employ one of the longest throw-ins Illinois soccer fans will see anywhere.
At 55 minutes, one of Kristy’s long throws paid off. The senior launched a throw from the left side that soared to the far post, where teammate Jake Fraser managed to sneak past security and bury it with his chest to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
“They’re crazy. I don’t know how he does it,” Behm said of Kristy’s big throws. “He just has that back and arm strength.”
Labbato shook his head when asked about Kristy’s throws.
“It’s kind of ridiculous, and it’s ridiculous we don’t score more off that throw-in,” Labbato said. “We should be scoring all the time off it. But as long as we get some timely ones ... …”
With 35 minutes remaining and trailing by two goals on a conference rival’s home field — on Lyons’ Senior Night, no less — York had its work cut out for it.
The Dukes welcomed the challenge, and they had the tools to meet it.
“They had a tricky center-forward (Joe Meade), and he was pretty good,” Bearman said. “They also had really fast wingers. (Gawne) is really fast, and he was probably one of our biggest problems, especially when he was at fullback charging up the field.
“But I feel like our fullbacks did a great job at keeping them under wraps. And (Kristy) did a great job covering us. I thought we worked together as a unit well.”
York cut Lyons’ lead in half at 66 minutes when Sam Musial volleyed home a ball that popped up in the box. With York chasing a mere one-goal deficit, Musial’s goal further elevated the Dukes’ play.
“We kept fighting, and I thought we played very well,” Musial said. “We were creating chances, stopping them for the most part in the back, and we were going to goal. It was just unlucky.”
York’s attack continued to play in swarm-mode and with only 29 seconds remaining in regulation, the Dukes’ George Nolley scored from point-blank range on an Erwin Morales feed to send the game to overtime.
Ultimately, York had the momentum but it was Lyons that gutted out the win.
“We hit a post, had a scramble inside the six — but the message has been the same the entire year,” Majewski said. “If you don’t put your opportunities away, good teams are going to find ways to create their own opportunities and take advantage of your mistakes.”
Musial was proud of the character his side showed Monday.
“We didn’t start the season where we wanted, but we have a lot of seniors that want a state championship. They want to fight,” Musial said. “I think we’ve proven in this game and in the games leading up to it. I thought we played good today.
“We have a good mentality. If we let up a goal, we want to get it back and get back into the game. That’s the best quality of the team.”
Labbato applauded Bearman’s role in the win, plus Niedermeyer’s leadership in rallying the Lions before the overtime period started.
“Considering how talented York is up-top, I felt like we were very disciplined defensively,” Labbato said. “We held our gaps very well. We had good timing on tackles.
“It was a bit of a revenge game. Last year, they beat us on PKs over at their place so we’re trying to avenge some of the losses we took last year. The next one is Glenbard West, who also beat us last year (2-0).”
Starting lineups
York
GK: Shea Kennedy
D: Kalvin Glodz
D: Parker Gawne
D Sebastian Benavides
D: Jack Musial
M: Paolo Favuzzi
M: Chase McNeill
M Sam Musial
M: Kol Rollins
M: Ethan Oder
F Joe Meade
Lyons
GK: Bradley De Boer
D: Sean Shepard
D: Zack Kristy
D: Graham Bearman
D: Teddy Schmidt
M: Alex Becerra
M: Mike Niedermeyer
M: Tommy Abbs
F: Tony Juracic
F: Julio Torres
F: Jake Fraser
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Max Behm, jr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons: Torres (PK) 38 minutes
Second half
Lyons: Fraser (Kristy) 55 minutes
York: S. Musial (Oder) 66 minutes
York: Nolley (Morales) 80 minutes
First overtime
Lyons: Behm (Labbato) 88 minutes