McAuley ousts defending champ Lyons

Updated: May 14, 2011 7:52PM

Mother McAuley snapped Lyons’ 48-game win streak during the regular season. On Saturday, the Mighty Macs dealt the Lions the last loss of their title defense.

Adriana Izquerido had four goals – including two from the half-line – and sophomore goalie Sarah Abbott made 13 saves to lead Mother McAuley to a 7-3 win over defending state champion Lyons in a sectional final in La Grange.

For Izquerido, holding the sectional trophy in her arms was sweet redemption for what she felt has been an inconsistent season for both her and her team.

“I’ve had my ups and downs,” Izquerido said. “I pretty much miss one day of practice every week because I had to go to a tutoring session for my ACT score. It’s pretty hard because sometimes I miss new plays or defense practice and I have to catch up more than the other girls do.”

Amy Kopale added two goals and Vicky Arciniega had a goal for Mother McAuley (17-14), which avenged a loss to Lyons in the sectional finals last season.

Abbott, who was installed as the starting goalie midway through the season, made six of her 13 saves in the second half as the Mighty Macs outscored the Lions 4-1 to pull away after taking a 3-2 lead into halftime.

“She gets nervous,” Izquerido said of Abbott. “I always see her get nervous, but she does an amazing job. I’m so proud of her.”

Lizzy Kosin scored all three goals for Lyons (23-6-1), which was looking to defend the first water polo state championship won by a public school.

The Lions brought a 35-game win streak into the season and extended the run to 48 before losing 7-6 to the Mighty Macs on April 8.

Goalie Grace Trilla (three saves, assist) took an extra moment after the game to acknowledge the Mother McAuley players in a classy last act of the Lions’ title defense.

“They’re our enemies in the water, but once you step out of the pool you have to congratulate them on what they did,” Trilla said. “They were the better team.”

For Lyons, it was the end to the title defense that they wanted. But Trilla said this season helped put what the Lions accomplished last season into perspective.

“I remember saying to my teammates earlier in the season that I didn’t realize how good we were last year,” Trilla said. “It’s really something to win a state championship and be undefeated. Last year was special, but so was this year in its own way. We had a lot of fun as a team and feel like we defended our title well.”

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