Reilly's early goal lifts Libertyville past Mundelein

One goal captured Libertyville a regional championship.

Kevin Reilly scored on a breakaway early in the match, as second-seeded Libertyville held off No. 7 Mundelein 1-0 in the teams' Class 3A regional final at Libertyville on Saturday.

"I really don't think we played well at all," Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. "I don't think we moved the ball well enough. We were just kicking it. We were very lucky. I thought our defense played very well, and they play well every game. But we have to score more."

The Wildcats (14-3) will next take on No. 3 Fremd in the Palatine sectional semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mundelein finished 11-7-3.

"It's hard to be upset with the guys, which I'm not," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "They play hard and they play soccer the right way. We just came out on the wrong end of it, but I'm still proud of my guys. It's a tough regional and Libertyville is a No. 2 seed for a reason. We were in it to the end. We just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net."

Reilly broke free and scored his eighth goal of the season in the fifth minute play off a pass from Cam Fragassi.

"I just saw the run and took it," Reilly said. "We had plenty of chances to score and I just was lucky to put one in. I thought our team came out strong and wanted it."

Sam Muchmore made 3 stops and recorded his second straight clean sheet and sixth for the season in goal for Libertyville. He had plenty of defensive help from Ryan Pacholski, Tucker Goebeler and Kyle Robson.

"It's definitely the defense in front of me (that deserves credit)," Muchmore said. "It's all of them keeping the ball out of the box area and limiting (the opponent's) chances."

Mundelein lost by a 1-0 final for the fourth time in their last six games.

"(Libertyville's) defense did a nice job," Billittier said. "We didn't create as many chances as we typically do in a game. That being said, we did have chances. That's the difference. You've got to put yours away. They scored early and we had plenty of time to come back and tie."