Poder's goal helps Fremd past Libertyville

Ben Poder's strike five minutes into the second half settled a tense sectional encounter Tuesday night at Palatine as No. 3 seed Fremd defeated No. 2 Libertyville 1-0 to advance into Friday's final at Chic Anderson Stadium against upstart Highland Park, which beat Buffalo Grove earlier 2-1.

"It was everything we expected with Libertyville, but I thought we played a much better second half, defended well in the last 10-15 with Tomas (Peleckas) and Ben (Brost) and having Will (Lefevre) make a great save when we needed it," said Poder, a senior who joined his teammates in rushing toward Lefevre at the final whistle.

Lefevre turned away what looked like a tying goal from Gerard Eugene Touhey III four minutes from time.

The Mid-Suburban League champs showed remarkable composure from the middle of the first period right up until intermission as they defended with all their might against a robust attack from the Wildcats (14-4-0), who were playing quick possession soccer - much to the delight of coach Andy Bitta.

"That may have been the best soccer we've played during that first half," Bitta said. "I thought we dominated for most of the time, but we made a mistake just after the break. And at this time of the year, sometimes that one mistake is the difference between winning and losing. Credit Fremd - they took advantage of their chance, and that was the game."

The Cats were getting some quality play from Cam Fragassi, Kevin Reilly and Touhey, among others, especially early. The speed of Libertyville's attack had the Vikings (17-5-1) chasing shadows at times. But that changed in the final third, as Fremd's Peleckas, Brost, Danny Burton and Luke Kosacz became airtight in front of their keeper.

"(Libertyville) was very good at building its attack and keeping the ball, until they got into our final third," said Fremd coach Steve Keller. "That's where I felt we defended well, with Ben playing tremendous soccer out there tonight, and Tomas winning every ball in the air to keep them from getting in on us."

When a ball came to Poder near the post, he cooly allowed it to fall to just the right height for him to finish with a nifty side-volley touch past Wildcats keeper Sam Muchmore in the 45th minute.

"I think Zach (Schoffstall) got things going when he hit a ball off a defender, and the ball just spinned away from him and right to me," said Poder, who made it sound easier than it looked, given the importance of the moment.

With an hour gone, Bitta pushed another defender forward, choosing to go with three in the back as his club searched for the equalizer. Although the Wildcats flooded numbers into the Vikings' end for the final 10 minutes of regulation, it was the only aforementioned shot from Touhey that was a real threat.

"I am not sure if Will saw that shot from the very beginning, but he went full out to make that save," said Peleckas.

"It's a tough way to go out," said Bitta. "But then again, it's never easy losing at this time of year, because you know what it means when you do."