Lisle Soccer Going for Repeat; Girls Volleyball Team Ends Season

The forecast in downstate Normal for this weekend’s boys Class 1A state championship looks good—no threat of rain or lightning.

The Corn Crib, site of the tournament, has lights.

So it appears that Mother Nature, which has wreaked havoc on the Lions the past week, won’t be a factor as they prepare to go for their second straight 1A championship.

The Lions’ sectional semifinal contest, you may remember, went into overtime and was suspended because of darkness until the following day, when Lisle won it in three overtimes.

Then, Lisle’s supersectional game against Hinckley-Big Rock on Tuesday night—another overtime affair—was delayed twice by lightning. Officials gave the OK to re-start the game at around 9 p.m., but they were prepared to suspend it until the next day in the event of more lightning. Three minutes after the game restarted, senior Pat Webb scored with under a minute to play in overtime to propel the team into the state tourney.

Of course, neither Webb nor head coach Kevin Perez wanted to come back on Wednesday and finish the match. They wanted to end it that night.

“I didn’t want that to happen,” Perez said. “They would suspend the game and continue it at 7 (the next night). I didn’t want that to happen so as soon as they gave the all-clear we went outside. We did a quick two-minute warm-up, if that, and went on and finished the game. Luckily there was no lightning, and luckily Pat scored the goal.”

“We played really well; we just couldn’t score,” Webb said. “It was a great feeling, but it was also a relief that we finally got that goal.”

Given everything they’ve experienced so far this postseason, the Lions should be well-prepared to deal with whatever situation they may face over the weekend.

Most of the team also is back from the 2010 state title squad. Neither of this year’s three other state finalists—Francis Parker, Quincy Notre Dame and Warrensburg-Latham, whom the Lions take on in their opener starting at 5 p.m. Friday—qualified last year.

“We’re the only team that has been in it,” said Perez, who was the Lions’ assistant coach last year. “We know how to prepare mentally; we know what it takes. We have that drive to win it. We have the same guys as last year. Those guys are older, they’re stronger, they’re more talented and they’re more mature. So we have that chemistry, that team cohesion. That’s the confidence that we carry in with us so that’s to our advantage.”

“There’s definitely a lot of experience, and that should help us when it comes down to the wire in tense situations,” Webb added.

Warrensburg-Latham, located just outside of Decatur, enters the tourney 21-3-1. Midfielders Bryce Hawthorne and Austin Cearlock, and forward Cody Drew, have combined for 79 goals this season for the Cardinals. Quincy Notre Dame is 18-6-2, and Francis Parker (Chicago) has a 16-8-1 record.

“We know they (Warrensburg-Latham) have a pretty good record,” Perez said. “Who’ve they’ve played, it’s tough to say. They could be poor teams; they could be good teams; they could be both.”

Perez acknowledged that there is pressure on the Lions to repeat, but it’s not as intense as one might think.

“There’s been pressure all season long,” he said, “and the fact that we made it to the tournament, some of that pressure might be off; not as much as before. There’s still pressure; you want to win the whole thing, but the fact that we’re there now, it might be a little easier.”

“We just have to take it one game at a time, like always,” Webb said. “It’s probably going to be a little bit of pressure as state champions going in, but all of these teams haven’t been to state and we were there last year.”

Webb has 14 goals and 17 assists to lead the Lions. Senior Eric Ozika, who’s delivered some clutch playoff goals, has tallied 17. Senior goalkeeper Kazim Khan owns a stingy 0.73 goals-against average with 65 saves. He was in the nets last year when Lisle won it all.

Lisle girls volleyball falls at regional

The Lions’ stellar season came to an end Wednesday evening at the Class 2A Westmont regional as Immaculate Conception ousted Lisle in three games, 24-26, 25-22 and 25-21.

Lisle, seeded No. 2 in the Winnebago sectional complex, had defeated IC earlier this season, but the Knights avenged that loss to advance to the sectional semifinals next Tuesday.

Outside hitter Vanessa Abernante led the Lions with 11 kills, while right-side hitter Beth Plucinski added eight. Anita Urban contributed 24 assists.

The Lions finished 2011 with a 25-11 record and went undefeated in the Interstate Eight’s North Division to win that title. They’ll lose a plethora of seniors to graduation, including Abenante, Plucinski, Urban, Darian Payne, Frankie Parrillo, Shelby Kretman, Becky Fuys and Kayla Hanley.