Lisle heads to state title match
Lisle's student-athletes are used to shooting for 100 when in the classroom.
On Saturday they'll aim for No. 100 and a state title on the soccer field.
Behind 3 goals from senior midfielder Grant Fitzgerald, Lisle defeated Stillman Valley, 3-2 in double overtime on Friday at North Central College in a Class 1A semifinal match.
The Lions will play Peoria Christian at 7:30 p.m. today for a state championship and a chance to give coach Paul Kohorn his 100th victory at Lisle.
“You can't write this stuff, can you?” Kohorn asked. “I would never think of stuff like that, but as you're getting records ready for the state program, all of a sudden I realized, and in the first practice after we won sectional I told the guys, if we win this, it's No. 100 and they said, ‘It's fate, coach, it's fate.'”
The lively celebration for the Lions began at 4:20 in the second overtime when junior Pat Webb served a corner kick to Fitzgerald, who snuck it past Stillman Valley goalkeeper Andrew Larson.
“The keeper wasn't coming out so I just put it right out on the keeper,” Webb said. “Grant just came in and scored it like he has done so much this season.”
At the suggestion of Fitzgerald, Kororn put freshman Kyle Hendzel in the middle and moved Fitzgerald up top for the overtime periods.
“I think everyone wanted to get the ball to Grant, that's what we do,” Kohorn said. “Pat (Webb) got it to him on the corner kick, and that's why we're here.”
Stillman Valley (21-4) forced overtime with 11:09 remaining in regulation when Devin Standard hustled to run down the ball near the end line. Standard's feed to Uriel Perez was headed past Lisle goalkeeper Kazin Khan, who made 14 saves on the night.
Lisle (16-9-1) put its butterflies at ease when only a little more than three minutes into the match Eric Osika assisted on Fitzgerald's first goal.
“You could tell when we first came out that the team was nervous,” Fitzgerald said. “Right before the game, my keeper (Khan), said, ‘Go out and get one early' and I tried and I went out and it happened and I think it really settled us down.”
Scoring against the Cardinals has been difficult for opponents this season. Heading into Friday's semifinal, Stillman Valley had shut out 10 of its previous 11 opponents and had surrendered more than one goal in a game just once this fall.
Still, the Cardinals battled their way back. Perez made it 1-1 with 25:30 remaining in the first half, but the Lions roared ahead with 5:49 in the first half when A.K. Kamara found Fitzgerald to put the Lions up 2-1 at halftime.
“I thought (Stillman Valley) executed better than we did, but Kazin (Khan) was awfully tough in goal tonight,” Kohorn said. “We need to do better (tonight). We'll have to do a better job of executing our offense.”