Libertyville tops Morton, earns shot at Lyons
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In a rematch of last year’s Pepsi Showdown final, Libertyville turned the tables on its foe.
The top-seeded Wildcats knocked off No. 7 seed Morton 3-1 in the tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Lyons Soccer Complex in LaGrange.
Libertyville (9-1) plays No. 3 seed Lyons (5-2-2) in the Showdown championship game at Toyota Park at 2 p.m. today.
Lyons defeated Metea Valley 2-1 in 2 OTs in the other semifinal on Saturday afternoon.
“We had so many kids that were on this team and went to Toyota Park last year,” Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. “It was so heartbreaking and took us two weeks to recover.
“These kids have worked so hard in the off-season. To get back there, it’s a feather in their cap — not mine. They wanted to get back to Toyota Park, they want to get downstate — they have goals and they want to reach them.”
After a scoreless first half, Libertyville broke through early in the second half.
The Wildcats’ Tomide Owolabi scored after a brief touch from Shane Reilly in the 48th minute.
“I just got the ball off my knee,” said Owolabi, who scored his seventh goal. “It was all a quick reaction. It was a big goal and we were able to build from it.”
Libertyville scored again in the 58th minute. Lloyd Chatfield hit the back of the net right after teammate Austin Bitta hit the crossbar.
Morton got a goal back after a Abdon Delgado free kick as Alonso Torres scored near the back post in the 65th minute.
The Wildcats responded less than two minutes later when Sam Kaplin, back from a hip flexor injury, blasted a 25-yard free kick into the corner.
“I do work on free kicks a lot, it’s kind of my thing,” said Kaplin, who’d missed the last six games. “I knew what I was working on. Sometimes I shank them a little bit, but this one went in for me. This one changed the momentum a little bit.”
Morton (9-2) had trouble contending with Libertyville’s all-around skill level.
“Libertyville outhustled us through most of the game,” Morton coach Mike Caruso said. “The first two goals, (Libertyville) was smart, they put it into the mixer and kept it into play. Any deflection and anything can happen.”
