Lions settle for 2-2 draw in back-and-forth fray

By Curt Herron

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Most squads are usually not pleased about playing to a draw, especially if they can point to various reasons why they could have prevailed.

That's especially so for a side that sees two leads slip away or for one which feels that it allowed a pair of easy goals for its opponent.

Those were the scenarios which unfolded in Friday's nonconference match between Saint Viator and Lyons Township at West field in LaGrange.

While fans were entertained by an ample amount of good scoring chances from both teams, both coaches saw some things that displeased them.

But that said, both Mike Taylor and Paul Labbato were happy to have an early match such as this in order to see where their squads are at.

For the record, the pair of Lions exchanged scores throughout with the hosts starting things and the visitors responding in the 2-2 draw.

Ashwin Cornelius scored a pair of goals to pace Saint Viator while Frankie Kocimski and Cristian Sanchez each found the net once for LT.

Jack Thomas assisted on both tallies for the host squad while Spencer Moore and Ethan Wolf each chipped in with assists for the visitors.

Saint Viator (2-0-2), which had scored 10 goals and allowed just one in its initial three matches, was forced to play catch-up on Friday.

LT (3-2-1), which had yielded one score while posting two shutouts in its last three, connected both early and late in the opening half.

But Viator equalizers, spaced less than 20 minutes apart surrounding the intermission, were a preview of the drama of the last half hour.

Both sides had great opportunities thanks to a variety of restarts that challenged the keepers, Mike McGrath and the host's Peter Nolan.

"We go up against good teams like Saint Viator early in the season in order to put our kids under situations that hopefully they can learn from," Labbato said. "We're unhappy right now that we had two leads and let them come back both times. It was good play on their part but we need to clean up our defense.

"I am encouraged about our last 15 minutes of the half in which we were really pressing and had multiple opportunities where a lot of balls were crossing the box. We had an offside goal that could have put us up and a couple of services that went across the box that we missed open nets, but that's the way it is.

"We've got a little time off now before we play last year's conference champ, Glenbard West, and then we're into the Pepsi, so things don't get any easier. I'm proud of the hard work that the kids are putting in and the composure both teams showed when calls were going against them, which is what you need for the playoffs."

It's usually a safe bet that hall of famer Taylor would be unhappy whenever his squad allows scores both early and then late in a half.

And that's just what happened as the visitors fell behind in the fourth minute and then found themselves down again in the 37th minute.

Then throw in the fact that he viewed both scores as being the result of breakdowns on defense and his reaction wasn't that surprising.

"We started off well but then we gave them a gift, dropping it right in front of the platter," Taylor said. "When you make a defensive mistake against a good team like Lyons, it puts you behind the eight ball and you have to play catch-up. But then we came back and were able to score a good goal.

"Then we don't play defense again and let a guy get around the corner on us and clear the ball straight to their guy who puts it away. But then we scored again and I thought that the Ashwin goal from Spencer was tremendous. Defensively we didn't play well today, we didn't step up and mark our guys.

"I thought that we stepped up pretty well in the second half. But we're still in the process of actually finding out what our formation is right now. We're trying to see if it's going to be Spencer and Ashwin in the midfield. Kevin McMahon and Kevin Klinkenberg both got into the mix and played well."

LT capitalized on its first chance of the match when Sanchez sent a pass to Kocimski, beginning a sequence of three straight attempts.

McGrath was able to deflect short tries by Kocimski and Thomas before the former finally connected to give the hosts the early lead.

After Ryan Henry was denied a short time later by LT keeper David Fiflis, the hosts had a trio of tries around the half's midway mark.

Brett Heimerdinger was stopped on an attempt and headers from both Nikola Kaplarevic and Matt Murphy were both hauled in by McGrath.

Saint Viator evened things for the first time in the 31st minute when Wolf directed a throw-in to Cornelius, who then flicked it in.

Not long after a Cornelius corner kick was deflected away, LT struck again, this time grabbing a 2-1 lead which it took into the break.

On the play, Thomas made a nice pass to Sanchez, who placed a close attempt just inside the post to give the hosts some new momentum.

The first half wasn't over, however, and Viator had two last-minute chances, but Fiflis denied a free kick and a corner from Cornelius.

Following the break, Moore sent a nice try from near the endline that Ben Larson cleared before the hosts threatened with a sequence.

Kocimski's header off a Larson corner was deflected and Sanchez's subsequent header was halted, as was a later free kick from Larson.

Saint Viator forced its second tie in the 50th minute on a great combination where Moore crossed to Cornelius, who dove for a header.

Before the half's midpoint, Kevin Klinkenberg was denied on a header and LT responded with deflected attempts by Kocimski and Larson.

The final quarter hour featured plenty of oohs and aahs from both sides, but neither could find the combination to result in a winner.

Nick Winter, Cole Gilchrist, Kyle Sukowicz and Emilio Godinez exchanged tries for the visitors and hosts to kick off the wild frenzy.

In the 74th minute, a Larson free kick looked like it might have led to a go-ahead goal, but it was disallowed due to an offside call.

A short time later, Cornelius nearly scored again, but his effort hit the crossbar and Larson responded by lining a corner to McGrath.

In the late going, Kocimski was twice denied by defender Troy Wheeler and then Jackson Owens had a try deflected away to end the drama.

"I like to think that we've had one of the toughest schedules so far," Larson said. "We've definitely been tested and coach Labbato likes to do that to us to find out where we stand and where we have to improve. I love this team because we have great chemistry and do things together.

"Last year we had a little trouble scoring but this year, guys have stepped up. Christian is only a freshman but he's been brilliant so far, Frankie has been playing great, as has Brett in the center mid. We have a lot of guys who can score goals for us and that's been a difference.

"This is still like an audition right now and coach is trying to find out what players he can put in what spots. We're still trying to figure things out our backline and coach is still looking for a starter at goalkeeper. But we're still a new team with a lot of juniors this season."

Both squads compete again on Thursday in home conference matches. LT meets Glenbard West while Saint Viator takes on Nazareth Academy.