Morton, Lake View roll in playoff openers

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Morton boys soccer coach Mike Caruso will be the first person to tell people that he didn’t expect his team to be 22-2-1 heading into Saturday’s Class 3A Young Regional final.

“I would say we’ve overachieved a little this year,” Caruso said.

But just as the case seems to be every fall, Caruso’s squad is eyeing another state-title run after opening the Class 3A playoffs with a 5-1 victory over Proviso West Monday evening in Chicago.

Daniel Ortiz, Ivan Chavez, Stipo Zeba, Fabian Martinez and Joel Salmeron scored for Morton, which will face the Young-St. Ignatius winner in Saturday’s regional final. That match will be played as part of a doubleheader at Winnemac Stadium.

* Lake View (15-7) cruised to a 7-1 victory over Rauner behind the solid play of forward Oscar Ortiz in a Class 2A Chicago Academy Regional semifinal.

Decent the muddy, wet field conditions, the sophomore found the back of the net three times. Ruben Flores and Angel Bustamante also tallied for Lake View.

“We feel confident in our ability,” Ortiz said. “As long as we keep talking out on the field and do the little things, we will have a chance.”

Lake View will try to claim its first regional crown when it faces the winner of Chicago Academy and Payton on Saturday.

“The weather conditions were tough today, but we came through,” Lake View coach Fernando Rodriguez said. “We actually played one of our better games of the year.”