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Lions hope to get past St. Joseph to earn first state trip since 2004
By Curt Herron From 1996 to 2004, Saint Viator was a regular at the IHSA finals, capturing six trophies in nine years, including a Class A title in 2003. The Lions haven't been back to state since 2004 but they hope to change that situation when they step on to the field today. A trip to the state semifinals is at stake in today's 4:30 p.m. Class 2A Benedictine University Super-Sectional in Lisle. Saint Viator (21-4-1) will face a very familiar opponent in East Suburban Catholic Conference rival St. Joseph (19-3-1). The two squads settled for a 1-1 draw when they played back on October 10 in Westchester. Coach Mike Taylor's Lions have won five straight matches since falling to ESCC champion Carmel four days after its tie with St. Joseph. Things have come pretty easily for the Lions during the postseason as they've outscored their four opponents by a 25-2 margin. Saint Viator won the Elmwood Park Sectional after beating Fenton 3-0 in the semifinals and then Wells by a 6-1 score in the finals. The Lions are led by senior All-Stater Trevor Wheeler and senior all-sectional selections Kevin Cavers and Alan Aboona. Other Saturday starters were seniors Patrick Windle, Mark Lada, Billy Hamilton and Brendan King, juniors Jack Horvath, Matt Morsches and Dan Loizzi and sophomore Nick Abel. Meanwhile, St. Joseph needed to pull out a 2-1 double overtime win over University High in the St. Francis Sectional title match. Leading the way for coach Stan Niemiec's Chargers is All-State forward Marco Gutierrez, who is one of the top goal scorers in the area. The Chargers have several players back from last year's squad, which claimed a third place finish in the Class 2A tournament. Tuesday's winner will advance to Friday's 1:00 p.m. state semifinal match at North Central College in Naperville. There they'll get to meet the winner of the Illinois-Springfield Super-Sectional, which features Triad and Centennial.
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CLASS 2A STATE PAIRINGS
TUESDAY'S SUPER-SECTIONALS
FRIDAY'S STATE SEMIFINALS
SATURDAY'S STATE FINALS
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