Lyons Township girls soccer coach Bill Lanspeary had reason for concern entering Friday’s Class 3A Morton Regional Final.

Lanspeary said the host Mustangs had earned a reputation as a much-improved group. That made it particularly important that his Lions did not look ahead to a potential rematch against conference-rival Hinsdale Central in the next round.

The coach’s concerns were justified as LT had to rally from a 1-0 deficit to claim its eighth straight regional title with a 4-1 win.

“I kept trying to tell the girls, ‘We can’t look past them,’” Lanspeary said. “It’s hard when you see Hinsdale Central looming. The kids have been gearing up for that.”

LT was set to face the Red Devils Tuesday in a sectional semifinal. The winner advances to Friday’s title match at 4:30 p.m. at St. Ignatius.

Last Friday, the Mustangs (11-7-4) struck in the opening 10 minutes on a goal from senior Alma Salgado. The Lions, however, responded and led 2-1 by halftime.

“I wouldn’t say we started off bad, just a little slow,” said LT sophomore Kelsey Holbert, who netted two goals. “They came out with a lot of intensity. Once they scored that first goal, it was a wake-up call.”

Forward Coco Corrigan answered first for LT (12-8-1), finishing on a cross from Katie Nasenbenny. Moments later, Kelsey Holbert put her team ahead with a header off a Lauren Grissim corner kick.

“I don’t think we surprised them, I think we just finished on one of our early opportunities,” said Morton coach Tim Drews. “We failed to capitalize on the other ones that we had. They were pressuring us most of the time and they moved the ball real well. They wore us down and we ran out of gas a little bit. They’re a good team.”

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Grissim put LT up 3-1. Then with five minutes left, Holbert’s 20-yard blast dipped under the crossbar to ice the game.