LZ overcomes manpower deficit

Missing its standouts Tim Kreutz and Nick Janus along with backline stalwart John Jordan, it appeared Lake Zurich would be hard-pressed to overcome Rockford Boylan as each side prepared for the third-place match in tournament play at Barrington.

But the Bears (4-0-2) overcame the absence of their mates and dominated the Titans (3-1-0) in a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon on the turf in Barrington.

"The guys really responded today and went out there and just played soccer the way the know how to," said Bears coach Mike Schmitz, who hopes to have Kreutz back on Tuesday when his club faces Chicago Public League foe Lakeview in its opener at the Pepsi Invitational.

Both Janus and Jordan hope to return shortly.

From the outset it appeared the Titans, who on Thursday evening played eventual tournament champion Barrington with plenty of zest and energy, might be in for a long 80 minutes as the Bears came out with much more pace in their attack than the Titans had bargained for.

With Andy Lynch running the show out of the middle, and Nelson Still and Brad McCurley providing terrific runs up top, it wasn't too long before the Bears were in the back of the net and well on their way to an easy victory.

McCurley struck at five minutes when keeper Mike Messmer's booming punt took a favorable bounce over the Boylan midfield and to the opportunistic McCurley, who quickly collected the loose ball and carried with speed at keeper Cussan, who had little chance to stop the low, driving shot.

The Titans, however, drew even in spectacular style at 19 minutes when Brett Pearson's one-timer found the upper right corner.

But the Bears rebounded shortly thereafter, and constant attacking by the LZ midfield led to enough confusion for another 2 goals, five minutes apart, to put the match out of reach by intermission.

"Everyone just picked-up their play on the attacking (side) of things, especially with Tim and Nick gone (up top) and we were able to get a good result because of it," said Lynch, who watched senior Eric Pothast end the scoring just moments after the break when he caught the Boylan keeper off his line, while giving up too much of the far post.

"Everyone who filled-in today did a great job," said Schmitz, "I guess that's why we have 18 on the roster, for days like this."