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Wildcats, Lions meet for third time with state trip at stake
By Curt Herron Will the third time be the charm for Lyons Township or will Neuqua Valley continue its run as the team to beat at this weekend's state finals? Those questions will be answered tonight when the Lions and Wildcats meet up for the third time this season. The setting will be the Class 3A Benedictine University Super-Sectional in Lisle, which is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Whoever wins the match earns themselves a berth in Friday's state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville. There they'll play a 5:00 p.m. match against today's winner at the Loyola University Super-Sectional, which features New Trier and Lake Forest. Neuqua beat LT 4-0 on August 29 and then claimed a 2-1 double overtime win over the Lions in the Pepsi Showdown finals at Toyota Park on September 20. Coach Tony Kees' 27-0-1 Wildcats, who are top-ranked in Illinois and also highly-ranked in the nation, have won their last 24 matches. But things certainly haven't come easily of late for Neuqua, which had its hands full in its two matches at the Naperville North Sectional. The Wildcats held off Naperville Central 2-1 in the semifinals before getting past Wheaton Warrenville South 2-1 in a shootout in Saturday's finals. Neuqua advanced to state the past two seasons under previous coach Jim Johns, finishing second in 2007 and fourth a year ago. But if it wants to earn a third straight state trip, it will have to complete a three-match sweep over LT, something it did earlier against Waubonsie Valley. Kees took three of his Conant teams to state, with the 1991 squad finishing third and the 1999 team claiming fourth place. The Wildcats are paced by senior All-Staters Bryan Ciesiulka (midfielder), Keegan Balle (defender) and Jack Turanchik (keeper) and senior all-sectional pick Scott Davis (forward). Other starters from Saturday's sectional finals were seniors Nate Freed, Cale Brown, Ricky Marton and Zach Kovacevic and juniors Pat Kaindl, Patrick Doody and Will Butler. Coach Paul Labbato's 23-3 Lions have won 12 straight since dropping a 2-1 decision at Marquette U-High in Milwaukee on September 26. Their other two losses came to the Wildcats, with the second matchup a significant improvement over their initial effort against Neuqua. LT emerged with the Hinsdale Central Sectional title after beating Fenwick 2-0 in the semifinals and the Red Devils 3-2 in two overtimes in the finals. That snapped a two-year stretch where Hinsdale beat LT in sectional play and then went on to capture sectional championships. Now the Lions are hoping that they can earn their first state trip since 2005 by preventing a third straight loss to the Wildcats. If LT gets the win, it will assure the program of its second state trophy, with the other being a fourth place finish from 1972. Other starters on Saturday were seniors Dan Wielgos, Andrew Aviles, Brian Heimerdinger, Zach Pearsall and Sully Fox, juniors Peter Kralovec-Kirchherr and Horacio Sanchez and sophomore Elliot Borge. There's a doubleheader at Benedictine today with the Class 2A super-sectional between Saint Viator and St. Joseph scheduled to be played at 4:30 p.m.
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CLASS 3A STATE PAIRINGS
TUESDAY'S SUPER-SECTIONALS
FRIDAY'S STATE SEMIFINALS
SATURDAY'S STATE FINALS
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