Lions advance to sectional play with win over DG North

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By Dave Owen

Spiros Kass epitomized Lyons Township’s bounce-back ability in the Class 3A York regional finals on Saturday.

In a physical battle between the two WSC Silver rivals, Kass was knocked from the game with 33:47 left in a collision at midfield. But he returned 15 minutes later, just in time to score the clinching goal in a 3-1 LT win.

The Lions (14-4-3) advance to face Morton at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Hinsdale Central sectional semifinals.

“I made a slide tackle in the middle of the field to stop a through ball, and I got kicked in the back of the head,” Kass said of his injury. “But I didn’t have any symptoms of a concussion, so I was pretty determined to get back in and help my team. “

Help he did. Switched from midfielder to defender earlier this season, Kass went on the offensive again by dashing  to the net on a nice 40-yard free kick by Ben Larson and tipping the ball in from near the left post.

 “I wouldn’t say I’ve ever scored a goal like that, especially coming up from the back,” Kass said. “ It’s pretty exciting to get a goal after being switched there.

“ We switched formations to a 4-3-3, so I ended up playing outside back. I enjoy it. It gives me an opportunity to go forward still, and I like playing defense. It’s good for the team.”

LT was on the offensive almost from the start, as it took an acrobatic play from Downers North defender Hugo Pacheco to deny an early score.

On a scramble in front in the seventh minute of play, a header in the crease by Lions’ four-year standout Elliot Borge towards an open net was cleared off the line by a midair kick landing on his back by Pacheco.

A Kovas Zygas header was stopped at the right post by Downers North goalkeeper Garrett Lems six minutes later, but the LT pressure would pay off at the 19:35 mark of the first half.

Lems stopped the initial shot by Spencer Hagan, but Borge pounded in the rebound from in front of the net for a 1-0 lead.

But even with leading scorer Cullen Cummings out of the lineup, Downers North (5-16-2) didn’t wilt in its bid to avenge a 1-0 regular-season loss to the Lions.

The Trojans answered the Borge goal with good threats the rest of the half. The best chances included a 25-yard direct kick just wide of the right post by Reid Melton in the 25th minute and a nice dribble into the box by Daniel Lott seven minutes before the break that was repelled by a Larson blocked shot and Kass clear.

“We thought we did a lot of good things,” Downers North coach Brian Gervase said.

“We had a lot of pressure on them, which is something we wanted to do, but in the end they finished some nice goals. It comes down to individual responsibility, especially in the playoffs.

“This has been a rag tag group all year. We’ve had guys in and out. Cullen (Cummings) our best player was suspended and out today. He’s our leading scorer. But the guys played really hard, and we have a nice junior class with only two senior starters.”

The Trojans’ young upstarts denied another wave of Lions’ pressure eight minutes into the second half. Off a throw in, sophomore defender Jacob  Maurer nicely blocked a shot off the goal line by LT’s Kevin Shaw to become the second Downers North defender of the day to repel a sure score.

But there was no stopping Brett Heimerdinger at the 26:21 mark. Taking a pass from Zygas on the right wing, Heimerdinger nicely angled a 12-yard shot into the far corner of the net to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.

That cushion was short lived. A foul in the box with 24:44 to go gave Downers North’s Joshua Treichel a penalty kick, which he deposited into the lower left corner of the net to cut the LT lead to 2-1. That was the only time the Trojans solved LT goalkeeper Max Hadley, whose saves included a nice leaping grab of a 40-yard Pacheco free kick with 30:50 left and a diving stop to his right of a 20-yard blast by Byron Perez with under 11 minutes to go.

That latter Hadley stop came after Kass had netted the key insurance goal for LT, providing the final lift for the 2009 state champion Lions’ latest bid for postseason glory.

“This was one of the most challenging years, possibly the most challenging regional that I’ve had in my career here,” said Borge, who has played on four straight regional championship squads. “So to come out of it 2-0 is really good for this team.

“Even last year we set the bar pretty high. Those were some pretty quality squads the last couple years. We have a lot to live up to this year, but I think we’re starting to find our rhythm towards the end of the season here. There’s no telling how far we can make it, but we have the potential to go pretty far into this thing.”

An offense led by Borge and the Lions’ rock-solid defense will be keys to that bid.

“I can’t say enough about the guys in the back,” LT coach Paul Labbato said. “Once we’ve gone to four defenders they’ve really shut things down. Matt Thomas is exceptional back there, with good communication. Matt and Kevin Shaw the two center backs have made this team go.”

Labbato and the Lions now brace for the next challenge in No.2  sectional seed Morton,  a team third-seeded LT hasn’t faced this season.

“We’re as good as other teams still alive but aren’t rated as high,” Labbato said. “It feels good to not have that pressure of being the top team where everyone’s gunning for us. “

Downers North must take aim at 2012, where brighter days should await. Goalkeeper Lems, Pacheco, Mario Lozano and Jordan Munar were the lone seniors who saw extensive action on Saturday.

 “We have some seniors who are disappointed,” Gervase said. “It’s a hard year. But we have a lot of good things to look forward to. We’re sad for our seniors but excited for the future.

“We have some seniors who are disappointed. It’s a hard year. But we have a lot of good things to look forward to.”