Lions edge unbeaten Morton to win first Pepsi title

By Curt Herron

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Paul Labbato had to admit that the odds looked to be against his Lyons Township squad from snapping their frustration in Pepsi Showdown title matches.

After all, the Lions were competing only about 18 hours after dropping an emotional and hard-fought 3-2 loss to their biggest rival, Hinsdale Central.

And they were faced with the task of trying to stop a Morton side that has utilized its skill and speed to claim wins in all 15 of its matches so far.

Further complicating matters for the Lions was that they needed to try to stop the defending state champion Mustangs on the wide pitch at Toyota Park.

But as LT prepared for its fourth Pepsi championship in seven years, Labbato also knew that his team would dig deep to give him whatever they had left.

Motivated to become the first Lions to hoist the Pepsi trophy as well as avenge a season-ending loss to Morton from a year ago, LT rose to the occasion.

LT took the lead on a long free kick from Ben Larson in the 49th minute and then relied on its defense to capture a 1-0 victory on Sunday in Bridgeview.

Keeper Peter Nolan stopped everything that the Mustangs (15-1) directed his way to help the Lions (11-3-1) post their seventh shutout of the campaign.

He was supported by defenders including Larson, Joe Lupano, Dustin Warf, Spiros and Peter Kass, Emilio Godinez, Sam Wenstrup and Nikola Kaplarevic.

LT lost last year's title 2-1 in an overtime to Libertyville, fell 2-1 to Neuqua Valley in two overtimes in the 2009 finals and lost in 2006 to Warren.

It was the fifth close match between the Lions and Mustangs over the past four seasons, which included last year's 4-3 two overtime sectional semifinal.

The Mustangs rallied late for a 2-1 overtime win in the 2010 Pepsi semifinals but LT avenged that by staging a late rally for a 2-1 sectional final win.

"This is a hard tournament to win because there's always going to be outstanding teams in the finals," Labbato said. "We played Libertyville, Neuqua and Warren before and Morton was great today. We tried to get them a little bit out of their rhythm but they persevered and were dangerous and it came down to some special defending.

"We challenged our guys to be emotionally-engaged from the very first minute of this match, and it's hard not to be because it's such a big game. We felt that we were a little flat coming out yesterday and another good team in Hinsdale took advantage of it on the counter. But today we were more focused and that's a tribute to our center backs and goalkeeper.

"Peter (Nolan) was quick to the ball and had a big punch here and there to knock the ball out of the box and we did a better job of clearing the ball in the second half in dangerous situations, where I think over the course of the season we've tried to clear it and on certain occasions it hasn't gone very far but today we got it out of our end."

But after watching his squad fight back after yielding three first-half goals to the Red Devils, Labbato wondered how LT would match up with Morton.

"Nothing was pointing toward us winning this game," Labbato said. "The fact that we played that match yesterday was really looming because it was rough and people were sore. And then to come back against a team that's going to possess the ball and make us chase them on a huge field, nothing suggested that we would be fine.

"But the guys dug real deep and somehow made it through this game. We pinpoint a lot of learning experiences on things that look like the state run and this was a weekend like it with two tough games in a row. We're trying to mimic some of the situations as we move forward and we have a nice record built with quality wins."

In perhaps a sign of good things to come for the Lions, their third Pepsi final in four years was played on a sunny afternoon, as opposed to a rainy one.

However, LT couldn't make much happen during the initial 40 minutes as Morton had most of the possession, as well as the good chances, before the break.

But the tide started turning in LT's direction after Larson put in his long free kick and the Lions then withstood whatever Morton through against them.

To say that the win was a sweet one to three-year varsity performers like seniors Brett Heimerdinger, Jack Thomas and Larson would be an understatement.

"Yesterday was a bad loss for us and we never like to lose to Hinsdale," Larson said. "But we have a lot of character on this team and our guys bounced back and everybody showed that they can play in a big game like this.

"The back line really stepped it up and all of the guys back there played their hearts out. And Peter was great today and he kept us in the game and did an unbelievable job.

"This win means everything to us. I feel great for coach Labbato and coach (Kelly) Neidig and the whole LT staff. We finally brought it home for them and that's what it's all about. Coach does a great job of getting us ready and really cares for his program more than any other coach that I know."

Larson acknowledged that although he wasn't intending to score on the match's decisive play, he'll gladly take the consequence of his well-placed effort.

"I was debating on whether I should just shoot it or not so I sort of put it in a spot where maybe they could run on to it and have maybe have a chance to score," Larson said.

"I never really shoot the ball on my free kicks, I always try to get it one one of the guys' heads. All of the guys are tall so I figure that the best way for us to score is to try to get it on their heads."

After experiencing the disappointment of a loss to their rivals, the Lions were determined to not drop another match and let the Pepsi title elude them.

"After playing two other conference games this week, we knew that coming into this weekend that we had two huge games," Thomas said. "You have to give Hinsdale credit since they came out so hard and they deserved that victory. But we used some of the anger from that loss because we couldn't lose both games.

"I've been on the team for three years and never not seen Morton score a goal against us. This was the first time that we've shut them down in the past three years so we just have to give the credit. We just have to keep doing what we're doing since I know that we'll face them again in the playoffs.

"Morton is a great team and the second half was so mentally stressful for us. We have a lot of team chemistry and I think what separates us from most teams is that we have such a deep roster. As coach said, we played all 21 guys today and that's what we've done all season and it's been working out for us."

While LT had a one-goal lead as things entered the final half hour, it was a safe bet that the Mustangs were going to battle until the final whistle.

Morton, which won its last nine a year ago en route to the Class 3A state title, had several more good chances to try to extend its 24-match win streak.

Abdon Delgado started things with a long free kick that Nolan punched away then a Joel Leon free kick deflected to Abel Guzman, whose header was halted.

Around the midway mark of the final half, Delgado got free but Thomas cleared his shot and then Giovani Garcia saw an attempt deflected away by Larson.

Nolan stopped a try from Mario Romero with just over a quarter of an hour left and then Larson sent a long free kick to Collin Smothers, who was denied.

The Mustangs kept up the pressure with Delgado sending a long free kick to Nolan, who hauled in a header from Leon following another lengthy free kick.

In the final five minutes of play, Abel Guzman was said to be fouled just outside of the box but a subsequent free kick from Leon sailed over the frame.

And then with under half a minute remaining, Leo Delgado had Morton's final challenge, but his liner was thwarted by Nolan and the LT celebration began.

"Our defense was really upset after that game and they stepped it up," Smothers said. "They didn't want to give up any goals today and Peter was exceptional in goal and came out and blocked everything. It was an all-around good job by our team.

"We really wanted to win this one after losing to Hinsdale yesterday. After losing the Silver Brick to Hinsdale, which is such an important game to our coach, we felt horrible and knew that we could not lose both of these games this weekend.

"Morton knocking us out last season was a real heartbreaker. Coach told us that he wanted us to leave everything on the field and didn't let them get much by us. After we scored that goal, we knew that we had the win and it was real exciting."

While Morton spent much of the first half in LT's end, it had few good chances. Nolan halted tries from Edgar Garcia and Guzman in the final 20 minutes.

Although they didn't have many opportunities either, the Lions escaped the opening half unscathed and less than nine minutes later, they owned the lead.

"We were in deep a few times in the first half where we thought we could put one away," Morton coach Mike Caruso said. "It's been a fine line for us this year with a lot of one-goal games. In the back of our minds we felt that if we didn't get a goal it might come back to bite us and it did.

"We knew that it would be another exciting one-goal game like most of them in the recent past have been. Both teams played hard and that's all that you can ask for. I thought it was a great atmosphere out there and that's what it's all about when you get to play here.

"Our guys are battle-tested with a lot of guys back from last year's team and a good group up from the sophomore team. We have a lot of seasoned players who don't back down from anybody. We battled and I thought we held our own today in the air against a bigger team."

As time wound down, an enthusiastic crowd enjoyed both the rivalry between the Lions and Mustangs as well as the pressure of a tournament championship.

With a trumpeter and drummers serenading the fans with music, as well as vuvuzelas frequently blaring, it was clear that this was a special atmosphere.

And as the final whistle blew, disappointments both recent and in the past faded away for the Lions, who thoroughly enjoyed the post-match celebration.

"I think that I can speak for all of the seniors by saying that this is one of the best feelings that I've ever had in soccer," Heimerdinger said. "To be able to beat a team like Morton at Toyota Park is just amazing.

"Defensively we really stepped up and Ben's free kicks were spot on. After we scored, we knew they were going to come pressing at us for the rest of the game so we focused defensively and not giving them any easy chances.

"We were all pretty emotionally- and physically-spent following yesterday. This was probably our toughest weekend of the year and I'm just really proud of our team and how we bounced back after a game like yesterday."

The Lions have a pair of nonconference road matches this week. LT plays at Hinsdale South on Thursday and then travels to Rockford Boylan on Saturday.