Lincoln-Way West had never beaten Lemont and never advanced to the sectional finals in boys soccer.
Thanks to an offensive outburst, Tuesday proved to be a good night to make history.
The third-seeded and host Warriors scored four times in a 28-minute span, led by two goals from Kip Pavlovich, to roll to a 4-1 win over the No. 2 seed Indians in a Class 2A sectional semifinal in New Lenox.
“It’s unbelievable,” said West’s Ian McGrath, who had a goal and two assists. “We made it a goal to go far in the playoffs. This is groundbreaking, and it’s a great feeling.”
West (15-7-3) will meet Washington in the sectional final set for 5 p.m. Saturday.
Lemont (15-9-2) struck first when Kieran Ruane headed home Teddy Trifunovski’s cross in the 22nd minute. That was the Indians’ only shot on goal.
Pavlovich helped the Warriors quickly turn the table, scoring West’s first two goals, both off McGrath assists. Pavlovich’s goal with 3:40 left in the first half tied it, and he scored with 24:47 left for the lead.
“The first goal gave us momentum,” Pavlovich said. “Our energy was the key. We were all pumped up and ready to go.”
McGrath and Paul Miller left no doubt, scoring 100 seconds apart to increase the lead to 4-1 with 16:08 left.
Washington (10-1-9) rode an overtime goal from Arturo Aupont to a 2-1 win over top-seeded Bremen (19-5-1) in the opener.
Off a deep throw, the ball seemed set to go beyond the end line off the Patriots when Jimmy Canedo saved it and sent a pass into the box, from where Aupont got to it and put it away.
“My best friend Jimmy never fails me,” Aupont said. “I’m blessed to play with him. He gave me the perfect ball. I’m so excited that I can’t even explain how it felt to score.”
Washington held on for the final 14 minutes after the goal, including the final eight while playing a man down after a red card to Jose Martinez.
The Braves could not mount a serious threat with the man advantage. Christian Lagunas got off a long shot that Jose Leyva (3 saves) stopped.
Washington struck first on Josue Navarro’s header with 28:31 to go before Bremen drew even with 17:47 left when Ricardo Avalos scored off a Alejandro Mendez pass.
Manny Esparza made six saves for Bremen.
