Lions' 1-0 win sends them to a super sectional
By Gary Larsen

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Saint Viator had more horses all over the field in its Class 2A sectional title game against Harvard, and the Lions never lost their grip on the eventual  1-0 win, which sends them to a super sectional game on Tuesday.

But they want to play better. Much better.

“We came in strong the first twenty minutes but after that we couldn’t really connect, and then we had a lot of opportunities that we couldn’t finish, which could have put the game away,” senior defender Troy Wheeler said. “And with not finishing those, it kept Harvard in the game, and then if they put one away, it’s a whole different game.”

Viator coach Mike Taylor agreed.

“We didn’t lose control today – I never felt in danger of losing the game – but we lost our sharpness, and they have to understand that if you talk, it makes all the difference,” Taylor said. “A lot of times we had two guys going for the same ball today, and that messes up your play.”

It wasn’t until the game’s 50th minute that the Lions (18-3-3) finally got the goal they needed, when senior defender Wheeler swept up the left side of the field and served a ball to the goalmouth. Mateo Leudo ran onto it and finished from point-blank range, and the day’s scoring was done.

Wheeler is also one of Viator’s chief threats in the air on dead ball chances, and it was suggested to him afterwards that he might make a good forward.

Wheeler smiled. “I’ve been telling (Taylor) that for three years,” he said.

Truth be told, Wheeler is a vital and dominant central defender for the Lions, who barely allowed Harvard a decent sniff of the goal for 80 minutes.

Still, a scoreless tie at halftime meant that the Hornets were only a counter away from the lead, despite Viator’s considerable edge in possession, shots, and restarts in their final third.

The Lions’ Spencer Moore dribbled in on the left side at 43 minutes and centered a pass to Jackson Owens, who slid it to Gyuricza on the right side, but Gyuricza’s sent a good chance just wide. A Viator throw-in resulted in a Harvard defender blocking and clearing a shot off the line at 48 minutes.

After Leudo scored, the Lions continued to grind it out, maintaining control and preserving their eighth shutout of the season, but never quite finding the fifth gear of their attack.

“We played a good 20 minutes in the first half and good for 10 or 15 minutes of the second half. I think part of the problem sometimes is that our forwards want to do too much by themselves, instead of working with each other,” Taylor said. “But I think it will come. We just have to get past some of the nervousness. And sometimes it’s a case of going through the motions, and as a team maybe sometimes we’ve been going through the motions.

“They know they’re a good team and I think sometimes they sit back and rely on that, instead of saying ‘okay, we’ve got to be good all the time’.”

The best stretch of play that the Lions have exhibited thus far in 2012 came arguably during the Mid-State Classic tournament on Sept. 28 and 29, when they beat Wheaton North, Wheaton Academy, and West Chicago, and looked good doing it.

“I agree,” Wheeler said.  “We kind of fell off after that and haven’t been playing to our potential. We have to get our mentality back, the way it was in that tournament. We were connecting, talking, and moving the ball much better.

“Once everyone starts talking on the field, everything becomes so much easier for us.”

Taylor was happy to see senior leader Ashwin Cornelius back on the field Saturday, for his first action since he suffered a knee injury six weeks ago, and Saturday’s game included flashes of solid play around the pitch for the Lions.

“I liked some of the stuff (Moore) did today, and we’re still finding our rhythm with Jackson (Owens) back in the lineup,” Taylor said. “I thought Mike Duszynski played well today. He’s always solid in the middle for us.”

Saint Viator travels to Hampshire on Tuesday as one of the Illinois’ final eight teams in Class 2A. The Lions will take on East Moline United, a 3-2 winner over Kaneland in their sectional title game.  The Lions haven’t advanced this far into the postseason since their state-title winning run in 2009, when Wheeler was a freshman, sitting on the outside looking in as his brother Trevor helped the program to a state title.

“It’s good to finally get (to a super sectional game), especially after my brother’s year and how they made it all the way to state,” Wheeler said. “I wasn’t on that team as a freshman, so it feels good to get this far in my senior year.”