Defending state champion Lions play to a 1-1 draw

By Matt Le Cren

Saint Viator goalkeeper Scott Faul and Lyons Township midfielder Kyle Kurfirst had something in common Friday afternoon.

The two seniors were eager to take the field following frustrating absences.

Faul had missed his team's first three games after fracturing his shoulder blade in practice while Kurfirst had to sit out a game after receiving a red card last Saturday against Neuqua Valley.

Both played huge roles for their respective squads as the much-anticipated matchup between reigning Class 2A state champion Saint Viator and defending Class 3A champion LT – both teams are the Lions – ended in a 1-1 tie in LaGrange.

Kurfirst wasted little time in making an impact as he opened the scoring just 3:35 into the contest.

Taylor Halamka poked a ball into the Saint Viator box and an alert Kurfirst was able to beat Faul to it and punch it in.

"It was frustrating when I had to sit out," Kurfirst said. "Obviously, I always want to be on the field, so it felt good to get out there today. We had all the fans out there and there was just sort of adrenaline throughout the game.

"I kind of had some rested legs because I sat out a game, so I was able to just get after it quickly and get on the scoreboard pretty quick. It was a fun atmosphere and to get a quick one was good."

For long stretches in both halves it appeared that host LT (3-0-2) would extend the lead, but Faul came up big time and again, making eight saves, including a point-blank stop on Horacio Sanchez at the 14:45 mark of the first half.

Less than two minutes later, Adam Fetter tallied the equalizer for Saint Viator (2-1-1) when he headed home a high ball from Nick Abel with 12:58 left in the opening half.

The visitors barely missed taking the lead eight minutes later as Jack Horvath hit the crossbar from 22 yards out.

"I thought Jack did well," Saint Viator coach Mike Taylor said. "He hit the crossbar with one, we had some good plays and I thought the defense showed up.

"We had a little miscommunication in the back at the beginning. They were the best team today. They have a very nice team, but as I said to the kids, it shows how resilient we were.

"We got dominated there for a while and we fought against the wind in the second half, but I'm pleased."

The howling north wind was in the face of the visitors in the second half, which proved painful to Faul.

After seeing a few punts get knocked down by the wind, he resorted to throwing passes to distribute the ball and did a good job of it, though he paid a price for it.

"I have a fractured shoulder blade and I'm trying to play through it," Faul said. "I was distributing the ball pretty poorly.

"The throws hurt, let me tell you, but the people in front of me - Abel, [Joe] Surdam, all my defensemen, Troy [Wheeler] did a great job. Jack was a great leader; Adam played a pretty good game.

"Tying the No. 1 team in the state, there's nothing better than that. I just wish it was a little warmer."

Faul suffered the injury two and a half weeks ago and was told by his doctor it could take six weeks to heal, but he told Taylor it was "time to suck it up" and asked to play.

His performance against LT, especially in the second half when he had to leap for several wind-blown free kicks and was hit on his bad shoulder in a collision with Kurfirst, brought a smile to Taylor's face.

"He's a difference-maker," Taylor said. "He's still hurt but he's got confidence, the defense has more confidence when he's back there and does different things. It's huge to have him back."

The visitors won some admirers on the home sidelines, as well.

"Saint Viator played extremely well," Kurfirst said. "I wouldn't even say that we outplayed them. I'd say it was even.

"They had a good 12 or so minutes in the beginning of the second half and then we got some control and it was back-and-forth. I'd say it was pretty much evenly matched in the midfield and throughout."

In a sense, the two teams are mirror images of each other. Both played very directly and were eager to attack and both are trying to overcome heavy graduation losses.

"They're a handful," LT coach Paul Labbato said. "They're like us, I think, where they graduated some key kids and they're trying to field guys in different positions and see what sticks.

"[For us] this is pretty much an all-new defense. We're just trying to figure it out."

LT was still not at full strength as midfielder Peter Gabrek served a one-game suspension after getting a red card in the Lions' 4-3 win over St. Charles East on Wednesday.

"We missed Peter,” Labbato said. "Kovas Zygas did a great job in there, but Peter Gabrek has a creativeness to his game that is unmatched and between Peter, Kyle and Elliot [they control the midfield]. They'll all be ready to play next Tuesday [against Oswego]."