Lemont downs Marist

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LEMONT -- Lemont High School pulled out a triple-overtime thriller Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Marist in the Class AA Lemont Sectional semifinals.

The second-seeded Indians will play top-seed Sandburg, a 2-1 winner over Lockport, at 6 p.m. Thursday for the sectional championship. It will be a rematch of last year's sectional title game which Lemont won 2-1.

Lemont senior forward Mark Jasso slid in and got a touch off a free kick by sophomore forward Kyle Spoo to put home the game- winner with 4:52 left in the third overtime.

"I saw the ball come in and there had been a couple of deflections," Jasso said. "But the ball had been deflected all night long and I knew I had finish that one. I saw the ball rolling across, I took a slide and it went in.

"It was an amazing feeling. We were just working hard and we knew it was going to come so it was good that we finished it off. Marist gave us a great fight all game, it's a credit to them. But we worked very had and it paid off."

Spoo gave Lemont (20-2-3) a 1-0 lead on a goal with 29:22 left in the first half. Marist (15-4-3) rallied to knot the game on a short header by senior forward Steve Stefan off an assist by senior midfielder Keith Podalak with 25:17 to play in regulation.

"We could have put the nail in the coffin by going up 2-0, but we didn't do that," Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. "And we let them hang around and hang around. That was a problem for us.

"I give Marist all the credit in the world. In the second 20 minutes of the first half, they played very well. They worked very hard for their goal and it was well-deserved. Marist put us under a lot of pressure."

Thursday's rematch between Sandburg and the Indians should be a good game, Prangen said.

"The hard thing about our draw, is that we had to play Stagg and Marist first, and now Sandburg is going to be a motivated team," Prangen said. "I thought Sandburg showed great character tonight by coming back against Lockport.

"So, we know Thursday's game will be a rough one. Hopefully, we can meet the challenge."