Lyons boys soccer coach Paul Labbato has been in this position before.
The only difference is that in past years when the Lions advanced to Class AA sectional play, Labbato was an assistant coach. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Lyons hasn’t missed a beat in Labbato’s first year at the helm.
Now the only question is whether Labbato can pull the right strings to help the Lions advance out of their sectional-something they failed to do a year ago. Lyons had an opportunity Tuesday night to avenge last year’s sectional loss and move one step closer to securing a sectional crown when it faced Morton.
Results were not available at time of publication. A win would place Labbato’s crew in Thursday’s 7 p.m. title game against the winner of the Downers Grove South/Hinsdale Central match. The winner of that game would advance to face the winner of the St. Xavier Sectional in Monday’s Toyota Park Supersectional.
“We like the way we’re playing at the moment, but we know Morton presents a huge challenge,” Labbato said. “They are strong, fast and creative.
“We hope to match their intensity. The last time we played, we beat them 2-1 earlier this season.”
Lyons advanced to sectional play thanks to a 3-1 victory over Downers Grove North in Saturday’s Hinsdale South Regional championship. Matt Solik, Mike Schreiber and Stefan Luetkehans scored for the Lions.
“Having the sectional at home is nice, but we have not played on turf in a few weeks,” Labbato said. “But I don’t see any advantage for us. Morton was able to play their regional on turf at Elmwood Park, so they have a few more games in on it than we do.”
Labbato thinks there are two big keys to whether his team will continue to advance in postseason play.
“Robbie Johnson has to step up his game in goal for us to be successful,” Labbato said. “We do not have a dominant forward, so one of our five guys that get time will have to make a big play.
“Mike Schreiber is hurt. He has not finished any of our last three games. Mike is such a big part of our team and to not have him 100 percent could be a problem.”