St. Viator chows down against Triad; state title match up next

St. Viator had Triad for lunch Friday afternoon, devouring the Raiders so quickly, that dessert was ready to be served long before the final whistle was blown.

Now for the main course.

The Lions roared to a 3-0 halftime lead before dismissing the southern Illinois side 5-0 to win its Class 2A semifinal match at North Central College and advance into Saturday's final against top-rated Peoria Notre Dame at 1 p.m. in a match the Lions have been looking forward to ever since a 3-2 loss to the Irish back in early October.

"This is the match we've been waiting for, and I really feel the two best clubs (in 2A) are going to put on quite a show," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor.

"There's a lot of history between us two, going way back to when the (Class 1A) state tournament was played at SIU-Edwardsville, and some of those classic matches that played ... and we're ready for another one (Saturday) afternoon."

In keeping with tradition, the Lions, to a man, dyed their hair blond, hoping it would bring the same good luck as it did in 2003, when the Lions won a Class 1A title.

"My brother (T.J., currently an assistant coach) and the 2003 team dyed their hair just before the state tournament, so we knew we had to do the same to keep with tradition this weekend," said defensive captain Brendan King, who along with Joe Surdam and sophomore Brad Abel had an easy day at the office along the back. That allowed King to go forward and score 2 goals.

The Lions (22-4-1) fashioned a strong opening during the first 10 minutes, and it appeared from the start that the Knights (14-10-2) would have no answer to the midfield trio of Wheeler, Kevin Cavers and Billy Hamilton, who helped launch a combative attack all afternoon.

"I'll put those midfielders up against all others, and today they showed just how much of a force they are when we're going forward," said Taylor.

Things began to go horribly wrong for the Raiders when Wheeler struck for the only goal his club needed at 26 minutes. The all-state senior began from 30 yards and tricked his way to the right side of keeper Jake Terveer before hitting a low drive the other way.

King made it 2-0 at 37 minutes when a pinpoint serve from a Hamilton corner just outside the 6-yard box allowed the senior to elevate and thump a header into the back of the net.

Moments later, Cavers breached the Raiders' defense once again with a cracker off the far post which bounded over the endline to make it 3-0 as intermission neared.

"Typically we had a good start, then fell off before finding our pace and getting that first goal," said Wheeler, "but I knew if we got (that) first one, 2 to 3 more would follow."

A brilliantly played sequence of possession led to Cavers smashing home his 17th on the season, thanks in part to Hamilton and King in the 45th minute, and when King found the far inside netting off his own free kick when the hour struck, Taylor began to bring off most of his first 11 for a little rest in preparation of the championship match.

"I thought we played a little cautious at the beginning, trying to see what we could do and what they (had), but once we turned up the pressure on both sides of the ball, we were able to open things up, and put this game away," said Taylor.

Peoria ND 6, Freeport 0: The junior tandem of Vince Cicciarelli and Cody Gilfillan had 2 goals apiece and combined for 3 assists for defending 2A champion Peoria Notre Dame (23-2-1).

The Irish led 4-0 at halftime on Freeport (22-3-4). Cicciarelli and Gilfillan have 27 goals apiece for a team which beat Viator 3-2 in Peoria on Oct. 3.

This is the fifth time Notre Dame and Viator have met in the state finals but the first time for the championship. Viator won semifinals in 2000 and 2003 and Notre Dame won semifinals in 2001 and 2004.

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