Bears big winners ... twice

In less than 24 hours, the Lake Zurich Bears boys soccer team hit a most impressive daily double.

On Saturday afternoon, the host Bears toppled New Trier, one of the state's best teams, by a 4-2 margin in nonconference action.

That triumph followed closely on the heels of the Bears' 3-0 victory Friday night over Stevenson that clinched the North Suburban Conference Lake Division title.

The Bears (16-1-3, 5-0-1) host Prairie Division champion Round Lake (14-2-1, 6-0) on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. for the NSC championship.

Endurance and dealing with warm temperatures were issues Saturday against the state-ranked Trevians (14-1).

"We just worry about ourselves and each individual game right now," said Bears coach Mike Schmitz. "We just look for effort and contribution in each game.

"We had effort and team contribution. Every single player got in and did what they were supposed to do. They gutted it out on a hot day and guys stayed out there the entire time. End of the season and playoffs (coming up), that's what you need to see. New Trier is a great team and solid at every position."

The Bears' Tim Kreutz scored twice, and Nick Janus and Brett Harper added goals. Brady Rein, Brad McCurley and goalkeeper Taao Scarnato were credited with assists. Scarnato also made 9 saves.

Early in the second half, the Bears netted 2 goals in less than a minute.

Kreutz made it 2-1 in the 45th minute when he took a threaded through ball from Rein and shot it past the New Trier defense.

"We tried to play with the feet," said Kreutz, who has a team-high 19 goals. "(New Trier's) defense all around is real good. It was a real good ball and I don't know how it got through. I expected them to clear it, and all of a sudden it's on my foot."

Less than a minute later, Janus broke free past the Trevians defense, taking a long punt from Scarnato and scoring a goal.

"You just didn't expect something like that," said Trevians coach Craig Fairbairn of the 2 quick Bears goals. "We didn't come out like the way we finished the first half. We came out like we were a little bit off.

"(Lake Zurich) outworked us and worked harder than we did. It was a case of us not finishing our opportunities and they finished their chances. You just come up on the short end of the stick."

The Trevians' Matthew Strauss cut the lead to 3-2 in the 64th minute with a shot that ricocheted off the far post.

But the Bears answered with a late insurance goal in the 79th minute, as Kreutz scored off Brad McCurley's assist.