^{Recap by Aaron Brown}

Lyons Tournament: Lyons 8 Stevenson 6

LAGRANGE, IL - Lyons held off a determined Stevenson team 8-6 on Saturday morning in the tournament opener of the LT Tournament. Claire Curran and Lizzy Kosin each scored 3 goals and the Lions used a 3-1 run in the second half to pull away from Stevenson in the second half. Below is a quarter-by-quarter recap of the action:

QUARTER 1

Stevenson jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Karen Lowry connected on a shot from two meters out. LT's Kirby Kaptur drew an ejection on the other end, but solid defense from the Patriots prevented Lyons from tying the score. The lead didn't last for long, however, as Sam Patel scored from two meters to tie the score with three minutes left in quarter one. Then, Carrie Nacht fed Lizzy Kosin with a perfect pass as she drove towards the goal to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Stevenson evened things up as the horn to the first period sounded, as Sam Petti connected on an outside shot to make the score 2-2.

QUARTER 2

LT grabbed the lead back when Nacht assisted Claire Curran on her first goal of the game, then repeated the process when Curran added her second goal to put Lyons ahead 4-2. Stevenson cut the lead in half when Rachel Lauter lobbed a shot in from seven meters with 1:48 left to play in the first half. LT had a quick chance to reclaim a two goal lead, but Stevenson goalie Lisa Michalowski made two solid saves on Lyons' next possession. Less than a minute later, however, Kosin scored from the right side from five meters out to make the score 5-3. Stevenson had a chance to get back within one in the closing seconds of the period, but Lions' goalie Grace Trilla made two straight saves before the half ended.

QUARTER 3

Neither team could make a breakthrough in the first three minutes of the second half, but Stevenson's Erin McCook made the score 5-4 with a lob shot from seven meters. Lyons nearly went back ahead by two on their next possession, but Kaptur and Kosin both hit the post and Michalowski eventually kept Stevenson's defense out of danger. LT finally broke their second half scoring drought when Kaptur threw a perfect lead pass to Curran, who scored a breakaway goal in the final minute of the third period.

QUARTER 4

In the fourth quarter, Lyons nearly went ahead by three with a breakaway chance, but Michalowski came out of the net to make a big steal to prevent a goalscoring chance. The Lyons defense continued to prove tough to breakdown, as Kaptur forced two straight turnovers and started a counterattack that would put the game away. She passed ahead to Curran, who assisted Katie Calvert on a goal with 1:57 remaining to give Lyons a 7-4 lead. Stevenson cut the advantage to 7-5 when Petti lobbed a shot from five meters, but after an ejection, Curran's pass from the right post found Kosin open on the left and she snuck her second goal of the game past Michalowski with 0:34 left on the clock. Petti added a late goal for Stevenson in the closing seconds, but Lyons held on for an 8-6 win.

SCORING

Lyons: Claire Curran 3, Lizzy Kosin 3, Katie Calvert, Sam Patel

Stevenson: Sam Petti 3, Erin McCook, Rachel Lauter, Karen Lowry

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