Boys soccer: Out-of-state foes tough on St. Viator

St. Viator got a first-hand look at two of the best boys soccer teams in the Midwest, and it's obvious the view from the top is much better than where the Lions find themselves after the last couple of days.

The Lions hosted the annual Mid-State Classic in Arlington Heights at Morris Stadium, playing Missouri and Wisconsin powers Chaminade and Marquette University High. And after a quality effort on Friday in a 1-0 loss to Chaminade, the Lions (2-3-0) were thrashed by Milwaukee's best 4-0 Saturday afternoon.

The Hilltoppers (3-0-0) finished 1-0-1 after a 0-0 draw on Friday to Illinois 2A state power Peoria Notre Dame, while Chaminade was a perfect 2-0-0 defeating the Lions and PND by the same score.

"We weren't happy with our draw on Friday, and felt we could have played much better, so our goal was to come out today with pace and a purpose while creating chances to put St. Viator under from the very beginning, and that's what we were able to do," said coach Steve Lawrence, a former standout at Marquette University as a center-back. "This is a great trip for us to make at this time of the year - we're able to get two games in against strong competition, with different styles, while spending some time away as a team for a couple of days."

Lawrence's team was disciplined and dogged from the opening whistle and had a little too much attacking class for the home side, which was swept away by the pace of the strike-force duo of Joel Migliaccio and Nic Cheung in the opening quarter hour.

"We came out with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder at the start, which showed in the way we attacked and created chances and opportunities in the opening 15-20 minutes," said Lawrence.

"What a difference from last night to today," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor. "We fell behind early last night against Chaminade but came back and played them even the rest of the way. But today we were flat from the very beginning, and against a team like Marquette, your going to pay for that type of play."

One of several bad giveaways in the Lions' own end cost this young team, the first coming in the sixth minute when Osvaldo Sanchez-Arellano found Cheung, who scored past Kyle Borst.

Seven minutes later, Cheung doubled the Hilltoppers' advantage after Dominic Lambo and Jack Dallman stretched the Lions' backline, allowing Cheung to steer his angled shot into the back of the net.

"With so many first-time varsity players on our roster, I think as a team we were a little overconfident after our effort against Chaminade last night," said Borst, who started in goal before being moved the back line unit. "And (Marquette) really took advantage of us, especially in the first half."

David Petrovich got meaningful minutes in goal after Borst.

"We've been wanting to get a look at David," said Taylor, "and he did well after taking over for Borst, so maybe we have another option should we need it."

The Lions' new keeper made an instant impact, stopping a Sam Holton attempt from in close, then moments later showing a good feel for the game when he read potential trouble and left his line to take the ball of the shooting boot of Charlie Lewis.

The Lions' attack came to life after the break with some nice combo work from Jack Marchiori and Jonothan Moyo, who got free on the right side only to have the sequence ruled off-side.

The Hilltoppers added a third goal just before the hour, with Migliaccio rewarded for his work. He later served up a corner which David Newton finished.

Lawrence brought off his starting lineup, while the Lions, shorthanded to begin with, tried to keep fresh legs coming in and out during this warm fall afternoon.

"We're missing four players, and another was hurt during this game, but it's all part of this sport, and after these two games, we know where we are and what we need to work on as we go forward," said Taylor, whose clubs hosts East Suburban Catholic rival St. Patrick on Wednesday.

"There are always high expectations around here because of the tradition of Marquette soccer (they have won 5 of the last 6 Division 1 state titles), said Marquette senior Ben Leas, who will play at Wisconsin next fall. "But it's the type of pressure that helps keep us playing and train at a high level."