Libertyville, Lake Zurich pick up tourney wins
Both Libertyville and Lake Zurich opened the PepsiCo Tournament by netting victories in their opening games on Saturday at the Lyons Township Fields.
Fifth-seeded Libertyville's boys soccer teams upended Oswego 4-1, while No. 9 Lake Zurich got by Glenbrook North 2-1 in the 32-team field.
The Wildcats (6-0) next host No. 12 seed Streamwood in the Round of 16 at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Libertyville High School.
Streamwood downed Niles West 7-1 earlier on Saturday to earn its spot against Libertyville.
Lake Zurich (7-3) travels to play No. 8 seed Larkin, also on Tuesday night. Larkin defeated East Aurora 3-1 in its opener.
Over its last few games, Libertyville has made a habit of falling behind in the early going. The Wildcats have been able to find their way back thanks to a deep roster and a collective knack for creative scoring.
Libertyville fell behind 1-0 in the first 10 minutes against Oswego before they recovered quickly with 4 unanswered goals.
"We really played lackadaisical, falling behind again," Libertyville coach Andrew Bitta said. "We were able to put pressure on (Oswego) and we broke them down. I really hope that we don't do that again - it can be tough to recover. I'd rather that we put the pressure on the other team."
The Wildcats received goals from Tucker Goebeler, Paul McKeon, Liam O'Connell and Ryan Pacholski. Picking up assists were Trent Touhey, Kyle Robsen and Sam Kratzer.
• Lake Zurich opened touranment play with a strong effort and was able to work past Glenbrook North by a goal.
The Bears knocked in a couple of goals in the first half to set the table for their victory.
Ian Murray scored both of the Bears' goals, giving him six for the season. He headed the first one in thanks to a corner kick assist from Scott Shedrick.
On the other goal, Murray worked through the Spartans' defense and scored unassisted.
"It was good to get a win in the opening of the tournament," Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz said. "We had a lot of chances that we didn't put away. It's just good to move forward from this one."