Lions blank Hawks in Pepsi Showdown opener

By Curt Herron

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NOTE: MATCH PHOTOS WILL APPEAR A BIT LATER

Paul Labbato was perfectly content to just sit back and enjoy a pleasant Saturday afternoon at West field in LaGrange.

Beside some duties as the host coach on the opening-day of the 32-team Pepsi Showdown, Labbato also had to lead his team against Bartlett.

But the Lyons Township coach didn't have to deal with very much drama due to the efficient performance which was turned in by his squad.

LT got a first-half goal against the Hawks and added an insurance score shortly after the break to pretty much wrap things up in a 2-0 win.

Unlike some matches this season where the Lions coach has seen more intrigue than he cared to, things went pretty much as the hosts hoped.

And that's certainly not to take anything away from a Hawks squad who definitely didn't play like a team still seeking their first victory.

Brett Heimerdinger connected following an assist from Frankie Kocimski in the 16th minute to put the Lions ahead for good in the match.

And then in the 42nd minute, a throw-in by Kocimski bounced around briefly in front of the net before Emilio Godinez eventually scored.

Keepers Peter Nolan and David Fiflis each played a half as LT posted its third shutout on a day in which every Lion saw some playing time.

As a result of its win, LT (5-2-1) moves on to Tuesday's second round when it hosts Loyola Academy, which won 4-0 over Plainfield Central.

"The guys played well and they were fun to watch today," Labbato said. "It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a good crowd and it was a nice day for soccer.

"Obviously every coach talks at halftime about getting an early goal and we talked about and we actually did it, which only seems to work out about 10 percent of the time. Scoring that goal obviously helped since it helped us to kind of take over the game.

"David didn't have to touch the ball in the second half, which is good. And we interchanged all 21 players and they all got meaningful time. Bartlett is very similar to a lot of teams we've seen and it will win some games when they figure out their offense.

"As for us, we're still trying to figure out our defense, so maybe this helps us. The Pepsi is such a fun tournament and you always look ahead to playing a team that we don't know a lot about. Loyola presents a different challenge for us in our next game."

Although Bartlett lost its eighth-straight match and suffered its sixth shutout of the season, coach Ben Beary's squad battled throughout.

While goal-scoring is a key concern after a third-consecutive scoreless effort in a year where they have three goals, Beary remains upbeat.

That's because the Hawks are already playing well on the defensive side and their coach feels that the offense will eventually come around.

"There's no one else that we'd rather play in this situation," Beary said. "To play Lyons on their home turf in the Pepsi Showdown is a great opportunity for my guys to learn and I think we will since we've managed to learn from our past mistakes.

"We continue to hold our own against good teams and we're still waiting for our offense to come around, so it's the same story. But we're a young team and we'll figure it out. We had a couple of chances in the first half nut not in the second half.

"This team's record doesn't define who they are or how hard they play. We come out expecting to win and that makes us a tough opponent if teams take us for granted. This team doesn't let any defeat get them down and I really enjoy coaching them."

The Bartlett coach was pleased with several of his players' efforts, especially along the backline and also in the net, against the Lions.

"Senior Alex Smith on the back right side played huge today," Beary said. "When you play a team like Lyons that's strong, you have to either match that or you'll continue to get run over. Above all, I think that Alex matched that type of play.

"Justin Busch is a first-year keeper at any level, but you'd never know that by watching him. He was in the center mid last year on j-v and now he's our starting goalie. You need to have your goalie pick you up and he had a couple of huge saves.

"Carlos Avina is our captain in the back and he and Adam Jones are a great tandem in the middle and clear us out of a lot of situations. Chris Kibler is another senior on the left side. Those guys have kept us in games against some good teams."

Shortly after Collin Smothers was denied by Busch, LT moved ahead for good when Kocimski sent a cross to Heimerdinger, who hit a close try.

Not long after the first half's nmidpoint, Ben Larson sent a free kick to Busch and then Marcus Singleton responded with the same to Nolan.

Bartlett threatened again a bit later when a throw-in from Mike Parzy went to Singleton, whose line drive was headed away by Joe Lupano.

During the final 10 minutes of the opening half, Busch came out to stop a threat by Cristian Sanchez and Zane Kaiser had a liner denied.

The Hawks mounted one more challenge shortly before the break but Juan Garcia's shot from the side was eventually cleared by Dustin Warf.

LT took control not long after the intermission when a goal off Kocimski throw-in was credited to Sanchez, who said that Godinez scored.

Busch was back at it a few minutes later when he knocked down a line drive from Heimerdinger and then thwarted an attempt from Sanchez.

Not long after the half's midpoint, Kevin Kokaska saw a shot from the side cleared by Alex Smith before the keeper finally snuffed it.

Little happened the rest of the way as LT effectively ran out the clock but Busch did haul in one more late effort from Harry Hilling.

"We wanted to come out strong in our first game of the Pepsi Showdown," said Sanchez, who's a freshman. "We also wanted to score first and we were focused on not letting them score quickly against us so we also came out strong defensively.

"We know that we're going to have good possession in the middle and that we're going to also attack well and that should lead to some goals. Another good thing for us is that beside having a good starting group, our bench is also strong.

"I really like the chemistry on our team and we compete hard in practice and that makes us a lot better. Since the start of the season, we're getting more and more comfortable with each other and now we're starting to perform really well."