Top-ranked Lyons shut down Trojans

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:14PM

Defense was supposed to be a weakness for the Lyons boys soccer team this season.

Don't tell that Downers Grove North. The No. 1 Lions shut out the No. 5 Trojans for the second time in 48 hours Thursday, doing a masterful job of stopping one of the area's most high-powered offenses in a 1-0 victory in a Pepsi Showdown quarterfinal match in LaGrange.

It was the third straight shutout and sixth overall for the host Lions (8-0-2), who will face Morton in Saturday's semifinals. The reigning Class 3A state champs were coming off a 2-0 conference win Tuesday against Downers North (8-2-1), which before facing the Lions had been averaging over three goals per game and had not been blanked.

‘‘I am surprised,'' Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. ‘‘[Defense] was probably supposed to be the weakest part of our team and if it comes together we're pretty formidable.''

"We have some good players back there and they've been waiting their turn and they've stepped in and they're learning how to play together."

Fullbacks Peter Kralovec-Kirchherr, Alex Economou and Matt Thomas completely stymied Downers North star Paul Hogan, who managed only two shots, both of which were saved by goalie Max Hadley. Kralovec-Kirchherr also helped out offensively, as his long throw-in from the right side was headed in by Kyle Kurfirst for the game's only goal with 29:06 left in the second half.

"It's not that we've really changed our style or anything; it's that we're starting to jell as a defense more," Kralovec-Kirchherr said. "We're understanding each other's moves and so we're playing as a team now.

"At the same time, we can't get cocky after these two wins. We're playing another really good team on Saturday, so we can't just look past them and say, ‘We have this because we beat Downers.'"

The Lions, who used a 4-5-1 formation to emphasize defense in the first half before switching back to their usual 4-4-2 after intermission, completely dominated in the midfield until the final 10 minutes, when the Trojans made a late push.

"They did a nice job of matching us man-for-man," said Downers North coach Brian Gervase, whose team was making its first Pepsi Showdown quarterfinal appearance. "They played five in the midfield with us so that was a nice adjustment by them.

"We weren't really intense out there today. You've got to be hungry to score goals and we were not hungry today. That's not us."

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