Lions get by Schaumburg in Mid-State Classic Opener
Goals from Krawzak and Morsches enough to send Viator through

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By Mike Garofola
Photos courtesy of Jim McMahon

Winning ugly - a phrase used by many all around the sports world, and one that Saint Viator coach Mike Taylor said perfectly described his side’s victory over Schaumburg on Friday.

But a win is a win is a win – and by winning the Lions advanced into the second round of the championship bracket at the Mid-State Classic. Saint Viator will face Wheaton Academy in a 9:00 AM semifinal match at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.

"Yeah it was ugly out there today, probably not one of our better efforts of late," said Taylor, who helped organize this tournament a number of years ago when the Lions were a small school power in the old 2-class system of the IHSA.

The tournament was born to offer a replica 'mini' state tournament with the likes of Springfield Sacred-Heart, St. Joseph, and others, including Quincy Notre Dame – which is present this year with its head coach Greg Reis, a former ODP player for Taylor back in the day.

"It kind of started when we missed two great chances from inside the 6, and we didn't really do a whole lot of good things in this match,” Taylor said. “But we got ourselves a win and the chance to play a very good opponent tomorrow morning here."

The Lions (10-4-2) might have been fortunate to have the struggling Saxons (3-8-0) as their first-round foe. Schaumburg head coach Hamid Mehreioskouei, the former all-state striker at his alma mater and scoring star later at Bradley University, has watched his side fail to find the back of the net this season, scoring just 12 goals in 11 matches this fall.

"We just do not have a finisher, and when you see us create a couple of chances and not even get close to scoring, you can see why we have the record that we do, and why we could not compete harder today against Saint Viator," said Mehreioskouei.

The Saxons' faithful had to be thinking that good fortune would fall upon their heroes after the Lions’ Billy Krawzak missed from in close on two occasions in the first 3 minutes. The first came just off the opening whistle when the unmarked striker couldn't put his header past Saxons’  keeper Ben Beard.

The Lions would pepper the Saxons' backline with plenty of balls out of the back from Nick Abel and Dan Loizzi, and while most had plenty of pace and purpose, their mates rarely made something happen from these serves, allowing easy clearing to slow the Lions attack to a crawl.

"We were very slow at the start, and really never got our attack going the way that has been lately, but I thought we finished up much better, and we did find a way to win today," Loizzi said of the Lions’ rather pedestrian 80-minute effort.

"There never was really any rhythm in our play, and for the most part, the chances we created came from long throws from (Abel) and the free-kick, and hardly anything from the run of play," added Taylor.

Spencer Moore, recently called up to the big club, did provide some much-needed pace off the bench just minutes after Taylor brought on the freshman. Moore would later be the architect in the Lions’ second goal at 57 minutes to all but put away the Saxons for good.

Long before that strike, Krawzak sent a looping serve from the far left end line, only to see his attempt sail up and over Beard and into the far inside netting to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.

Just before intermission, the Saxons’ duo of Jake Savino and Blake Nelson each fired bending balls around the wall on consecutive free kicks from just outside the box, forcing Lions’ keeper Scott Faul to make his first two saves of the first-half.

Beard would elevate to push a speeding long throw from Abel out of the area just after the break, and for a short while afterward, the Saxons would put together their best stretch of soccer on the day. Savino headed a corner over the bar, and Faul stopped a cracker from Matt Murphy from the right side during the run.

Perhaps inspired by the Saxons’ short uprising, the Lions group of Jack Horvath, Ashwin Cornelius, Krawzak and Moore came alive to help create the Lions' second goal. Matt Morsches struck a marvelous finish from a tough angle, off a wonderful serve from the left end line by Moore.

"Spencer is beginning to 'get' what we want and expect of him out there, and today you saw some good things from him here and there to help our attack get up off the ground," offered Taylor.

The Lions lost midfield playmaker Adam Fetter to a lower leg injury near the hour mark, and the junior would not return, further throwing the Lions’ attack off-line the rest of the way.

Still, despite their struggles on Friday, the Lions have played another tough schedule and are poised to see it pay off down the season’s stretch.

"Even with a little step back in our game today, I've seen us improve with each and every match that we've played," began Loizzi.

"Everyone is beginning to understand their role on this team, and for our defense, I really feel like Nick (Abel), Joe Surdam, Troy (Wheeler) and myself, that all of us have really come around and are playing the way we all know that we can."