HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Lane made sure Friday that its first ever trip to the state finals would be a successful one.

The Champions rallied from an early deficit to defeat Edwardsville 3-2 in a Class 3A semifinal match to punch their ticket to the championship game.

Quite a feat for a school that had never before advanced out of the round of 16.

“We’ve been to the sweet 16 four times prior to this year,” said longtime Lane coach Andrew Ricks, “and this is the first time we ever broke through the top 16 to the supersectional.

“Now we’re here, and it feels great.  It was a difficult match, and I applaud Edwardsville.  They’re always a tough team.”

After the Tigers put a goal on the board early, Lane scored the next three to take a commanding lead

But the Tigers scored again with 25 minutes remaining to make it 3-2. At that point, Lane senior forward Grayson Trinter said he was getting a little bit nervous.

He was thinking about his team's last two matches, and hoping against hope that the game wouldn’t go to penalty kicks like those had done.

Lane won both their sectional contest title against Leyden and their supersectional game versus Conant in shootouts.

“When it got to be a one score game,” said Trinter, “I’ve got to be honest, I was a little scared.

“But I trusted my team, and I knew we were going to find a way.”

Edwardsville, unlike Lane, has been a regular visitor to the state tournament final four.

In the last 24 years, they’ve won two state titles (2000 and 2013), finished second twice, third twice and fourth one time.

Tigers coach Mark Heiderscheid knows what an honor it is to qualify for the final weekend of the season.

“It’s always exciting,” Heiderscheid said.  “I’ve seen this semi a few times now, and I’ll be honest, it’s always such a gift for the kids to play in something that has such a great atmosphere.

“It’s tough for them now, because they were so close to playing in a  championship game.  That’s what they were looking forward to since the beginning of the season, but only two teams of the final four can advance. Two do not, and that’s something that you’ve got to deal with.”

The Champions, with a record of 17-2-4, will take on Hersey, a 1-0 winner over Hinsdale Central, for the crown Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Edwardsville (15-9-1) plays Hinsdale Central at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the third place match.

“I’m super proud of our kids,” Heiderscheid continued, “and proud of the opportunity. Losing this game was a huge disappointment for them, but getting here was a great feat and the weekend is not over.”

The Tigers made the first strike Friday, taking a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute on a 30-yard free kick from senior Majd Hamad.

Lane junior keeper Evan Burgess got a touch on it, but the ball crossed the goal line and nestled in the back of the net.

The Champions recovered to equalize in the 11th minute.

Senior forward William Huge cleaned up a rebound that was given up off a long-range shot by teammate Sebastian Wimmer. Huge blasted the ball home from eight yards.

“I ran (toward the goal) hoping something would happen,” Huge said, “and I just worked my way in and got it.  It was amazing.”

Lane took a 2-1 advantage just five minutes later.

Wimmer, a junior forward who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his outstanding play, fired an attempt that hit the post and bounded away.

But senior teammate Benicio Lacerda was in the right spot to settle the rebound and finish from seven yards on the right flank.

"Sebastian's shot banged off the near post," said Lacerda, "and I always like to do a trailing run inside the box.

"I saw it bounce off the post and I said 'I'm there' and just tapped it in.

"This was an intense game. They (Edwardsville) got that early goal, but we've been in situations like that before.

"Against Leyden we were down 2-1 with less than 30 seconds to go, and we scored there. We've been in that position a lot so trailing tonight was kind of like a comfort zone for us."

The Champions made it 3-1 in the 51st minute.

Trinter outfought an Edwardsville defender for a loose ball in Tigers territory and skittered a well-placed shot from 34 yards that found the back of the net just inside the near post.

"I kind of pride myself on my goal-scoring," said Trinter, who now has 19 tallies on the year to go along with six assists.

"I felt bad that I didn't get one in our last game (the win over Conant), and I actually missed a penalty kick. So I knew I had to get back on track.

"On this goal, I just cut inside and figured I might have a shot. It managed to find its way."

Lane had a two-goal lead and all the momentum on its side, but Edwardsville quickly met the challenge and cut the advantage to one.

In the 55th minute Hamad was fouled in the box. Classmate and defender Ben Leardi took the penalty and buried it, top shelf and to his left.

Edwardsville picked up the energy down the stretch and had several good opportunities, but the Lane backline was up to the challenge.

The Tigers had a great chance in the 73rd minute when senior midfielder Lincoln Alwart looked like he had a clear shot at an open net from 20 yards away.

On a terrific play, however, Lane defender Alexander Bornstein was able to tackle the ball away from Alwart before he could get the attempt off.

With under a minute left, Edwardsville advanced the ball deep into Lane territory looking for one last shot to try and tie the game up.

But the ball was booted away the length of the field by Champions defender Jasper Grove, enabling the final seconds to tick off the clock,

And when the final horn sounded, the entire Lane team raced over to the stands, including a large group that jumped on the fence, to salute the cheers and support of the large fan base that made the trip to Hoffman Estates.

"This feels great," Huge said. "First time in history we even won sectionals, and now we're in the state final."

Ricks added that Friday's victory by Lane, which plays in the Chicago Public League Premier Division , was a triumph not only for his side but for Chicago schools overall.

The Champions won the league this season by posting a 6-0-1 mark.

"We're here, and we're relevant," said Ricks. "For city schools in 3A, this is unprecedented. We're making special memories."

Trinter added that the Champions came into this season with three specific goals.

"Win conference, win city, and win state," the senior said. "We're well on our way now to earning all three."

 

 

Starting lineups

 

Lane
GK: Evan Burgess
D: Jasper Grove
D: Cam Chitnis
D: Adrian Onofre
MF: Benicio Lacerda
MF: Andrew Hwu
MF: Kanan Kraus
MF: Leo Vera
F: Grayson Trinter
F: William Huge
F: Sebastian Wimmer

Edwardsville
GK: Collin Schlechte
D: Gavin Lieberman
D: Kaveen Shrestha
D: Ben Leardi
MF: Lincoln Alwart
MF: Declan Hoeferlin
MF: Owen Lunsford
MF: Owen Mahler
MF: Parker McMillian
F: Majd Hamad
F: Henry Vivian

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sebastian Wimmer, jr., F, Lane

 

 

Scoring summary

First half
E: Hamad (unassisted), 8'
L: Huge (Wimmer), 11'
L: Lacerda (Wimmer), 16'

Second half
L: Trinter (unassisted), 51'
E: Leardi (penalty), 55'