LTHS Soccer Advances to Regional Final

With a dominant 4-0 win in the opening round of the IHSA postseason, the Lyons Township High School soccer team made a definitive statement. If the statement were written down, it would read: "It's going to take a heck of a lot to beat us."

The team picked up right where the 2009 state championship squad left off, significantly overmatching John F. Kennedy High School of Chicago to open its 2010 playoff account with a bang.

"It feels good to just take a team like that out early," goal scorer Horacio Sanchez said. "[The win] gives us a boost and confidence. We went out there, got the job done, and everyone feels good about it."

Sanchez—who contributed the second goal of the afternoon after in form junior Elliot Borge put the Lions ahead early—has 16 goals in 2010, and attributed his success to maturity.

"This year I kind of had to step it up," Sanchez said. "It's my senior year and it's my last year of high school soccer. I just want to go out there and have fun, and I know I can have fun when I'm scoring goals."

And when LTHS scores goals, it wins games; in the last 50 matches, the Lions have won every game in which they scored more than two goals.

"We're just going to try to feed those forwards the ball," senior winger David Ellis said. "They're hot right now, they've been scoring lately, and when it comes down to it, we really want them to have the ball and to keep scoring."

Elliot Borge added his ninth score of the season to set the tone for Lyons early in the first half. Sanchez's strike sent the La Grange based side into halftime relatively comfortably.

On the other side of the break, senior outside midfielder Taylor Halamka and junior midfielder Kovas Zygas added goals to complete the Lions' comprehensive victory.

Despite LT's triumph, head coach Paul Labbato insisted that there is still room for improvement.

"Each game gets a little bit more difficult," Labbato said. "We're going to have to finish in the box [better]. The game could have been 5-0 in the first half, and I told the guys at halftime, 'if you let teams hang around, that's when they surprise you'. That's when you lose games: when you don't make good on your chances."

One issue that Lyons Township has faced all year stems from the goalkeeping position. Losing athletic graduate Sully Fox—a keeper from the 2009 team—hasn't gone unnoticed in '10; official starting goalie Kevin Beglen has battled injuries all year, and senior newcomer Jeremiah Enright is yet to prove himself against consistently tough competition.

Still, Labbato has faith in his the goalkeepers currently on the roster.

"I like the two guys in the net," Labbato said. "I think they're both very solid keepers with a very good defense in front of them. Teams will have to do something very special to get goals."

LTHS will meet the winner of St. Ignatius College Prep vs. Thomas Kelly High School in the regional final at St. Ignatius's home stadium. The match, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. this Friday, will determine the team that advances to the IHSA sectional round.