State champs: Lyons Township senior trio realizes dream

Zach Pearsall, Chris Meingast and Billy McGuinness joined the Lyons Township varsity soccer team in 2006 as naive freshmen with lofty dreams of a state title.

Four years later, that naivety turned into reality, and it was only fitting that in overtime of the Class 3A championship game against Lake Zurich on Saturday night, it was Pearsall, Meingast and McGuinness — the only four-year members on the Lions’ squad — who combined to score the game winner and give the program its first state title.

Pearsall delivered a low line-drive corner kick 3 minutes and 29 seconds into overtime toward Meingast, who made a run from the top of the penalty area toward the near post. Instead of trying to take a shot, though, Meingast intentionally let the ball go between his legs to fake out his defender and let it continue its flight toward the front of the goal. Seeing Meingast make his run, McGuinness followed suit and put himself in position to receive the ball off one bounce and score with his chest to give LT a 2-1 win.

“We’re sending the script to Disney,” Meingast joked. “I think they might write up a movie.”

The senior midfielder then got serious when talking about the significance of the goal.

“It’s so fitting that Billy scored that last goal because he’s been the leader of this team for four years,” Meingast said. “It’s great to see him put it away. No one deserved it more than him.”

McGuinness is not known for his scoring abilities but rather his ability to anchor LT’s imposing defense, which he did almost flawlessly Saturday. But McGuinness also has a keen eye. He noticed earlier in the game that in a similar position, Meingast let the ball roll through his legs, but that time there was no Lions’ player behind him.

He made sure the same thing didn’t happen again.

“I saw that (Meingast) didn’t really have the angle, so I had a notion that he was going to let it go through,” McGuinness said. “I couldn’t really get my head down to it, so I just tried to get anything behind it and knock it towards the goal.”

The ball skipped off McGuinness’ chest and into the left side of the net beyond Lake Zurich goalie Tyler Raineri’s reach. Pearsall did not care about McGuinness' style points for the goal, just as long as the ball found the back of the net.

“He knew the ball needed to go in the goal and that’s where he put it,” Pearsall said. “That’s all that matters at the end.”

The Lions (26-3) got into overtime thanks to junior Horacio Sanchez, who gave LT a 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the second half. Sanchez received a pass down the left sideline from senior Brian Heimerdinger, cut back toward the middle of the field and found himself with an opening. Sanchez fired a shot from 30 yards out that one-hopped into the far post’s side netting.

The Bears (21-5) responded eight minutes later when senior Eric Pothast headed home a throw-in from Tim Kreutz.

“They’re a handful,” LT coach Paul Labbato said of Lake Zurich. “We knew they were just really big and fast and had good touches and great players.

“We squeaked one out.”

While the Lions’ coach sounded relieved afterward, his players — namely his three veterans — never seemed to doubt the outcome. During the five minute break between the end of regulation and overtime, it was not Labbato who brought the team together. It was Pearsall, Meingast, McGuinness and the rest of the senior class who gathered the team and simply said, “Let’s end it.”

And when it was all said and done, it was those same three standing before several thousand screaming fans, waiting to accept the championship trophy. McGuinness got a hold of the hardware first and gave it a quick kiss before raising the trophy in celebration.

This is what he and his teammates dreamt of.

This is now their reality.