Stevenson falls short in bid to play for title

The Stevenson boys soccer team had an excellent shot of reaching the finals of the Glenbrook South Titans tournament.

But when the Patriots settled for a 1-1 tie with Leyden, that coupled with St. Viator's 1-1 draw earlier against Loyola Academy gave the Lions the berth.

St. Viator (2-0-3, 1-0-2) will meet host Glenbrook South for the title at 3 p.m. Saturday because the Lions finished 2 points better than the Patriots in the overall tournament standings.

The Titans (4-0, 3-0) won their pool with a 2-0 victory over Mather on Thursday.

The Patriots (2-1-1, 1-1-1) will play Mather for third place Saturday at 1 p.m.

"We didn't have a good one today," said Lions coach Mike Taylor. "We're still working on our positioning. But we don't have senior leadership, nor did we take control. We're lucky to come out with a tie."

The Lions' Alec Simpson scored the tying goal in the 60th minute.

Stevenson scored first against Leyden when senior Colin Pekovitch converted a touch from Michael Goldberg in the 14th minute.

"The ball was poked to me and all I could do is shoot it," said Pekoovitch of his first goal of the season. "I hit into the upper 90 and the keeper (Gerado Franco) didn't see it."

Leyden (1-2-2, 0-1-2) tied the game at 1-1 early in the second half.

The Eagles' Tomas Uriostegui scored in front after taking an end-line pass from Chris Morales.

"I thought (Stevenson) took it to us in the first half," said Leyden coach Mark Valintis. "We could've been more composed. Our keeper (Franco) played good for us and I hope he keeps it up. He made some good saves."

Leyden plays Amundsen in the seventh-place game Saturday at 9 a.m.

The Patriots had numerous chances to score, but they hit the post and a crossbar in the second half..

"We played OK and we're still learning with a lot of young players," said Patriots coach Mark Schartner. "Our ball movement and energy level is great. We made one mistake on defense. We're still a fun team to watch."

• Grayslake Central (1-1-2, 0-1-2) also ended in a 1-1 tie with Amundsen.

The Rams' Michael Davis knocked in a goal 23 seconds into the game, but Amundsen (0-2-1) tied it up in the 54th minute on a Fabian Coronel corner kick goal.

"It was disappointing and poor play from us," said Grayslake Central coach Mike McCaulou. "We've played four games into the season and we're struggling to find offense."

Grayslake Central plays Loyola Academy at 11 a.m. Saturday in the fifth-place game.