After stunning OPRF in the Class AA regional opener, Fenwick was a mere six minutes away from pulling off the same feat Friday evening against Lyons.
But just when it looked as though the Friars would be advancing to the sectional semifinals, the Lions found the back of the net twice in the closing minutes to claim a 2-1 victory in the Oak Park Regional championship.
“For 74 minutes, we were the better team on the field,” Fenwick coach Rob Watson said. “We made a couple mistakes in the back, and it seemed like when we did the momentum shifted quickly. It was as if after they scored that first goal, you could tell another one was coming.”
Matt Altier gave the Friars (12-6-1) a 1-0 lead, and that held up until Lyons’ Matt Stolik tied the game at 1-1 with less than seven minutes to play.
“This was a heart-breaking game to lose,” Altier said. “All the seniors on the team put in a lot of work over the summer to get to this point, and to see it disappear in 10 minutes is tough. Our defense played really well, but we couldn’t hold them off.”
Just moments after Stolik scored, junior Ryan Silver punched Lyons’ sectional ticket with his first goal of the season with three minutes left.
“We had just put Ryan in the game when he scored,” Lyons coach Alex Hernandez said. “That’s sort of been the story of our season, the unexpected kid scoring a big goal. Ryan wasn’t in the game for more than a minute and he scored.”
This is the third consecutive season in which the Lions (12-6) advanced to sectional play, which began Tuesday night against St. Joseph in Western Springs.
A win will place Hernandez’s squad in Thursday’s sectional against the winner of Morton and Hinsdale South/York (game is Monday night).
Hernandez had nothing but praise for Fenwick, which went undefeated in 13 of its last 19 games.
“It’s never fun to lose, but I feel good about the season,” Watson said. “The kids worked hard all year. But it’s hard to know that may be the last game some of our 13 seniors ever play.”