Lyons Township enjoying the rarefied air

By Gary Larsen

The longest days of any high school soccer player’s life are the few days after his team qualifies for the state finals, when he’s stuck waiting for the tournament to begin.

You try sitting in a classroom on a Wednesday when you know you’ll be playing for a chance at a state title on Friday.

“I don’t even know what’s real,” Lyons Township captain Andrew Aviles said. “I can’t concentrate in school. In the classroom, homework – I’m writing words down wrong. I don’t even know what’s happening. The feeling is unbelievable.”

Fellow Lions captain Chris Meingast concurs.

“This has been a nuts week, between (Hinsdale) Central, our arch rival, and Neuqua,” Meingast said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet but it’s going to get really real tomorrow.”

The Lions’ 2-0 win over New Trier in Friday’s state semifinal game set up a rematch against Lake Zurich in Saturday’s 3A title match. Lyons Township (25-3) won 1-0 over Lake Zurich (21-4) on September 19.

“They’re big, physical, and fast,” Aviles said of the Bears. “If it’s us and them in the final, it’s going to be a battle.”

A sectional title win over Hinsdale Central and a super-sectional win over previously unbeaten Neuqua Valley preceded the Lions’ 2-0 state semifinal win over New Trier on Friday at North Central College in Naperville.

After scoring the game-winner over Neuqua Valley, Horacio Sanchez scored again in the win over New Trier. “How many times is Horacio going to do it? Hopefully one more time,” Lions coach Paul Labbato said.

Lyons Township has won 11 state titles in track and cross country in its history, one state title in golf, two in baseball, and two in basketball. The last time the school won a team state title came in baseball in 2003.

“Our school is very good in a lot of sports. It’s just hard to make it to this point,” Labbato said. “It’s just not easy to do.”

Lions fans have supported their soccer team all season, and were present in force for Friday’s semifinal win over New Trier.

“The fans – I don’t know that many people,” Meingast said. “They’re coming out of the woodwork for us. It’s been great. They made up posters of us. I’ve never been on a poster before.”

 “Our fans are great. Just walking down the halls, people are wishing us good luck. It’s been great,” Aviles said.

“We probably had fifty or sixty teachers here tonight,” Labbato said. “Some of these kids will go on to play college soccer, and many of them won’t; it will be the last time they play tomorrow night. It’s nice that they get to feel the community getting behind them.”

After Tuesday’s emotional win over Neuqua Valley, Labbato received emails from coaches like St. Charles North’s Eric Willson and Sandburg’s Jack Ferraro, urging him to stop and smell the roses at this weekend’s tournament.

“I’m sleeping well, not getting myself upset, and just having a great time,” Labbato said. “Some very smart people have emailed me, telling me to just enjoy this because it’s fun, and you may never get here again.”

“I’m enjoying every little bit of it, and I think the kids are just following the calmness I’m trying to put out there.”

The Lions have indeed played composed soccer in high-pressure games throughout the postseason.

“The good thing about our team is that we’re never complacent,” Aviles said. “And nobody gets on each other’s backs or anything. Everyone knows that if we stick together as a team, we can do anything.”

“We set all of these goals at the beginning of the year, and we’re meeting them. It’s a rush of excitement. It’s surreal.”

The soccer community will likely see a heated, quality soccer game between the Lions and Bears when the title match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. at North Central on Saturday.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence now and this has been the goal all year,” Meingast said. “It’s great to get to the title game but now we’ve got to get out of cloud nine and focus in on the game.”

Lyons Township's path to the state final
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Postseason play