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Lyons Township's 18th shutout a monumental feat By Gary Larsen It had only occurred once this year, before Lyons Township’s Sully Fox joined Geneva’s Ryan Ward as the only two players to manage the feat in 2009. Shutting out a previously unbeaten Neuqua Valley team that won 28 games and posted 87 goals this season is a feather in any goalkeeper’s cap. “He came up with some great saves, great punch-aways, getting it in his hands … and he was thinking, to the end,” Lyons Township coach Paul Labbato said of Fox. Naturally, winning a super-sectional title and advancing to the state’s Final Four was the bigger prize for the Lions. There was no shortage of blue and gold in the stands at Benedictine University on Tuesday night, making the 1-0 win over Neuqua even more special to the Lions. “You can’t really describe it in words,” Fox said. “It’s a phenomenal feeling, especially having great, great fan support. To do it in front of those fans is an awesome feeling.” After a scoreless first 60 minutes, the Lions’ Horacio Sanchez scored on a head shot off a perfect Zach Piersall serve to give LT its 1-0 lead. As expected, Neuqua Valley and its top-shelf possession game spent the next 20 minutes in fifth gear, working for an equalizing goal. “We got that goal and all of a sudden, here it comes, (Neuqua) is doing everything they’re used to doing,”Labbato said. “But the defense held strong.” Lyons defenders Billy McGuinness, Dan Wielgos and Peter Kralovec-Kirchherr helped keep Neuqua at bay, and Fox was aggressive and fearless in helping LT (24-3) to its 18th shutout of the year. The chaotic intensity of the game’s final ten minutes had Fox in the center of the storm, for the most pressure-packed 10-minute stretch of his season. Of course, that’s right where every good goalkeeper likes to be, and Fox shined as Neuqua turned up the heat, leaving his line to aggressively cut off crosses, punching balls out, and letting everyone know who owned the goalmouth. “As a goalkeeper you’ve got to love it,” Fox said. “It probably had my parents over there having a heart attack, but as a goalkeeper it doesn’t get any better than that.” Like every good goalkeeper, Fox also tipped his hat to his defense, led by yet another nearly flawless day’s work put in by McGuinness. “Billy McGuinness – just the tenacity and the aggression,” Fox said. “He just comes up with the big plays. When you’ve got someone like that in front of you, as a goalkeeper it’s that much more reassuring.” “We had a game plan,” McGuinness said. “The first half we let (Neuqua) move the ball around the back like they like to do. In the second half we moved the ball better … we were very disciplined defensively, very organized, and we just locked it down.” With the win, Fox, McGuinness and company guaranteed Lyons Township a state finals trophy for the first time since 1972. Obviously, the Lions have their sights set on one trophy in particular. “There’s no way we’re not going to be hungry for it,” Lions junior Kyle Kurfirst said. “Adrenaline can carry us through if we need it to, but we still have the ultimate goal of winning a state championship in mind.” “Beating Neuqua is a great accomplishment, but our goal is to win state and we haven’t done that yet.”
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2009 Schedule
Postseason play
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