Lions blank Falcons to win Mid-State Classic title

By Curt Herron

It's always nice to win a tournament championship, especially when you're the host team, just as Saint Viator was on Saturday night.

While the Lions captured their own Mid-State Classic at Schaumburg's Olympic Park, coach Mike Taylor was looking for something more.

And that was an improved performance, especially after the veteran coach felt that his team had played poorly earlier in the day.

The Lions rallied to claim a 2-1 double overtime victory over Wheaton Academy in the semifinals, much to the chagrin of their coach.

But Taylor walked away from a 2-0 championship victory over Wheaton North with a smile on his face after his squad played efficiently.

Also pleasing to the Lions coach was the fact that some of his regulars didn't participate since they sat out the match due to injury.

Saint Viator took the lead for good with about 10 minutes remaining in the opening half following a penalty kick by Jack Horvath.

And then with around five minutes left in the match, Bill Krawzak took a pass from Ashwin Cornelius and connected from close range.

The Lions (12-4-2) take a current four-match winning streak into Tuesday's key East Suburban Catholic Conference at Carmel Catholic.

On Wednesday, Saint Viator gets a chance to play on the big field when it meets up with Metea Valley in a 6 p.m. match at Toyota Park.

Click to hear Mike Taylor interview

While the Falcons (5-9-2) came up a bit short in the championship match, coach Bryce Cann was pleased with his team's two-day showing.

Wheaton North beat Waterloo Gibault 2-1 on penalty kicks in Friday's opener before capturing a 2-0 win over Evanston in the semifinals.

Those two victories improved the Falcons to 4-0-1 over their last five matches, with the lone defeat a 2-0 loss to Naperville Central.

Click to hear coach Bryce Cann interview

The Falcons had the wind advantage during the opening half, but it wasn't as significant as it was at the same site earlier in the day.

It looked like they might be able to escape the opening half without allowing the Lions to find the net, but a freak play intervened.

Shortly before halftime, a Saint Viator attempt was lined toward keeper Nick Barry, who got his hands on the ball but couldn't stop it.

The ball deflected into the hands of a Falcon player, thus resulting in a hand ball in the box that produced Horvath's penalty kick.

There were more opportunities from both sides during the final 40 minutes of play, but again only the Lions were able to find the net.

Barry punched away a shot try in the opening minutes of the new half and Falcons Andrew Carlburg and Joey McKinley were wide on shots.

Saint Viator then got a wide try from Matt Morsches and a grounder from Tim Hogaboom and a free kick from Nick Abel that were halted.

The Lions continued to apply the pressure on the Falcons' keeper during the final 20 minutes of play but Barry made several big stops.

One came on a follow up to a corner kick from Morsches, the next on a liner by Cornelius that was deflected away by the Falcon keeper.

That set up a corner kick with about five minutes left and on the play, Krawzak ended up with a loose ball and put it in for a score.

Click to hear Bill Krawzak interview

The Lions continue to show good signs of improvement as Taylor works on finding the right mix of players for the upcoming stretch run.

Replacing so many talented players from last year's Class 2A champions has been a challenge for the veteran, who sees positive signs.

Among the many changes that Taylor has employed, one was bringing freshman Spencer Moore up to help provide some more offensive spark.

Click to hear Spencer Moore interview

In the semifinals, the Lions trailed Wheaton Academy 1-0 at the break and tied things on a goal by Krawzak with about 15 minutes left.

Then as the second overtime was winding down, Horvath sent a pass to Cornelius, who connected to send Saint Viator to the title match.

Meanwhile, the Falcons were able to avoid any late match drama after scoring goals in each half of a 2-0 semifinal win over Evanston.

North made the most of the wind at its back to get a score from Sam Klatt, off an assist from Isaac Oberlin, to grab a 1-0 advantage.

Henok Russell added a goal in the second half and Barry got the win in goal as the Falcons posted their third shutout in six matches.

The Falcons close out their home schedule on Tuesday against Naperville North and then travel to Wheaton Academy on Friday evening.