Red Devils and Lions in a barnburner
Lyons Township wins 3-2 on late goal

By Gary Larsen

Every game is a test that builds to the postseason, and Hinsdale Central and Lyons Township tested the heck out of one another on Tuesday.

In front of nearly 1,000 soccer fans and playing in the Red Devils’ football stadium for only the second time in Hinsdale Central history, the Lions and Red Devils showed just how thrilling a soccer game can be between heated rivals.

The Lions’ 3-2 win earned them the right to retain the Silver Brick, but they had to earn it against a Red Devils team that played a whale of a game against the defending state champs.

“That was probably one of our best games of the year,” Central senior Andrew Worthington said. “Going against LT we all want to play our best. A couple mistakes in the first half cost us but in the long run we played a fantastic game.”

“It’s a big step forward, and now we want to finish out the (regular) season strong.”

The Lions’ Kyle Kurfirst and the Red Devils’ Taylor Cole traded counterpunches in the scoring column, both with two goals on the night. Cole tied the game at 2-2 with only four minutes remaining before Kurfirst answered with a wicked head shot and the game-winner, not 30 seconds later.

“It was disappointing that we didn’t (stop) that third goal, and it just came down to a winger not tracking his man,” Red Devils coach Mike Wiggins said. “(Kurfirst) punched it in and it was a well-scored goal.

They earned it and it was another great battle. A great night, a great turnout, and it was great that the AYSO and our communities get recognized. I think both programs are trying to demonstrate how important communities are to high school programs, and that’s really what tonight is all about. It’s not only one of the top Illinois rivalries in history, it’s also recognizing one of our most important resources, and that’s the kids in both communities.”

The American Youth Soccer Organization was honored before the contest for its contribution, specifically Regions 210 and 300 which feed the two programs.

Tuesday’s boisterous crowd saw a 1-1 game develop by the 12th minute. Kurfirst finished a ball at the goalmouth after a long throw-in 8 minutes in, and four minutes later Cole tied the game on a perfect cross from Lenny Zavala in transition.

Cole settled the feed on the right side, took a touch, and blasted a shot inside the far post.

LT grabbed a 2-1 lead on a Brett Heimerdinger goal before halftime, and the Red Devils brought the heat after the break, disrupting the possession game the Lions had established through 40 minutes.

“You never had much time to turn at midfield. There’s always one or two guys on your back and they were able to shut us down for a while,” said Lions midfielder Elliot Borge.

The Red Devils kept the Lions squarely on their defensive heels for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“As much as I thought they did a very good job of possessing and building their attack, I thought we had an increasingly better advantage as the game went on,” Wiggins said.

All in all, just a lot of guts, heart, and desire on our part. Taylor Cole had a breakout game today. Those were two huge goals as we were fighting to get back. We were fighting to get back into the game today and that was great to see.”

“No major changes at halftime,” Worthington said. “We just came out flying because we knew we wanted to win. It’s rough to lose to them but hopefully we’ll see them again in the playoffs. We definitely want to play them again.”

In only the second night game ever played at Central, emotions and intensity picked up down the stretch, until Cole found another game-tying goal near the goalmouth, with only four minutes remaining in regulation.

The Lions answered back quickly, however, with Kurfirst blasting in a head shot from 15 yards out for the game-winner.

The Red Devils are always battle-tested by season’s end, and this year’s squad plans to go deep into the postseason.

“We just need to eliminate some mistakes,” Worthington said. “We always finish the season strong and we know we’ll do it again. We’ll keep working and keep getting better in practice.”

“We saw growth tonight,” Wiggins said. “Phillip Gutman was matched up with one of the best midfielders in Illinois in Elliot Borge, and Phillip stood right up to him and was terrific. He played about as good a game as I’ve seen him play. He really took a step forward tonight.

But I’m really proud of so many of our guys. I wouldn’t know where to begin. Mitch (Reavis) was relentless, Taylor played such a big game, and Mark (Tyler) has gotten better and better with every game he’s played. But up and down the lineup, a lot of guys have stepped up at different times.”