O'Fallon passes up St. Viator
Downstate O'Fallon made its first day in the Chicago area a successful one Friday afternoon at St. Viator.
The Panthers (6-2-0) scored on both sides of each half and used a strike from Bryan Lucas in the 75th minute to seal a 2-0 victory over the Lions in a match which was part of the final weekend of the Pepsi Showdown.
The Lions (5-3-1) will complete tournament play tomorrow with a match against Wheaton Warrenville South at host Lyons Township, while O'Fallon takes on Plainfield Central to end its trip north.
"We sure had some tired legs in that first half, especially after our five-plus hour bus ride, and the high energy play from St. Viator," said O'Fallon coach Jason Turkington, "and although they dominated for most of the first 40 minutes, we were still able to score the lone goal of the first half, then make some adjustments at the break to hold them off before scoring that late goal to get the win."
The Panthers, who last fall lost in OT to eventual final four entry Edwardsville in their sectional opener, were in trouble at the start as the Lions enjoyed the run of play by going through its midfield. Adam Fetter led a midfielding corps which regularly found front-runners Jack Horvath and Bill Krawzak to keep the visitors defending deep in their own end.
"We did a really good job in building our attack from back to front today, but we just couldn't finish our chances when we created them," said Fetter, who watched his mates conjure up no less than a half dozen quality opportunities without finding the back of the net.
"We're getting much better with each match we play," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor, "so I know that we're closer to where we want to be when the playoffs start in another month or so, but we still are struggling in set pieces, which again, led to both of their goals today."
Turkington, who felt his club finally found its pace around the half-hour mark, liked what he saw for the final 10 minutes before intermission. A short while later, the Panthers finished their lone chance of the match to that point when the Lions couldn't clear the area following a Brandon Hall long throw, allowing Tyler Collico to fire in a one-timer from in close at 35 minutes.
"We've made a habit of allowing teams to score on just a few chances, and we've got to get better at that before the games become really important," said Fetter.
The Lions started sharply after the break, testing Panthers keeper Blake Hunter almost immediately with a corner from Fetter that forced the visitors' keeper to turn around the post, and soon after when Horvath unloaded a low drive which was deflected on the way in, resulting in another corner.
Later, Fetter and Tim Hogaboom initiated a nice 1-2 which ended with a left-footed blast from Krawzak that appeared to handcuff Hunter. But the senior stayed with the well struck ball to make the save at 61 minutes.
"We played with a lot of heart in that second half, and I really feel for the second 40 minutes we did a good job against a very skilled and talented team at home," said Turkington.
The Panthers all but put the match away with five minutes remaining in regulation when Collico rattled both sides of the goal with a blistering attempt, giving Lucas an easy chance to finish into a wide-open net.
"O'Fallon is a well-coached, hard-working team, and the kind of ball club we enjoying playing as yet another test for us during the regulation season," said Taylor. "Tomorrow it's another terrific opponent in (Wheaton Warrenville South) as we go forward and prepare for the ESCC race and beyond."