Big win for Libertyville in Bitta's return

Getting back to coaching is something Libertyville Hall of Famer Andy Bitta had been waiting for, and he picked a rivalry game to do it.

Bitta has been dealing with a medical condition called an aortic dissection for the last couple of months. So it certainly made him feel much better to get back to doing what he loves.

The outcome probably served as wonderful therapy, too.

Libertyville got past Stevenson 1-0 in girls soccer on Tuesday afternoon at the Vernon Hills Athletic Center.

Annie Thompson scored the game-winning goal in the North Suburban Lake Division opener for both teams.

"It was a great game, and the Libertyville/Stevenson rivalry could've gone either way," said Bitta, whose team improved to 3-0. "I'm glad we got out of here with a victory."

Though Bitta has missed some time with the team, his assistants Tom Chmela, James Goodwin and Melissa Loretto have kept the team together and moving in the right direction.

"I've got to award my assistant coaches for all this time I've been ill," Bitta said. "For two months, I was out of school. For what they did for this team, we look pretty good."

Bitta spent eight days in the ICU during that time away. He was cleared for practice on Monday and he coached in his first game of the season Tuesday.

"I'm good and ready to go," Bitta said. "I didn't need surgery. I had to wait for it to heal for the eight days. Once it was starting to heal, I was able to get released."

Playing the match on grass Tuesday made it go at a slower pace, and neither team was able to generate many scoring chances.

Then, in the 67th minute, Libertyville's Danielle Pacholski sent a service down the left side. Thompson made a run on it before turning into the penalty area and firing the ball under the crossbar.

"I've been doing what my coaches are telling me all year," Thompson said. "As a forward, I'm supposed to stay central, but I like to play in the flanks and take the man on one-on-one, then cut in and crack it. It was a beautiful pass. My teammates have been working on passing all year. We were a little nervous playing on grass because it was kind of bouncy field. But we managed it well."

Wildcats keeper Laura Janousek recorded her second straight shutout and has allowed 1 goal in three matches. She came up with 4 stops.

Stevenson (0-3, 0-1) had some scoring chances as well but couldn't find the net - a trend the Patriots also found in recent matches against Maine South and reigning state champion New Trier.

"It's never a dull moment against Libertyville," Stevenson coach Kevin Heffernan said. "It's been our Achilles' heel so far to finish goals. We're working on it. Even Andy (Bitta) gave us a compliment, saying 'That's the best Stevenson team with skill for knocking the ball around.' That's scary to watch and a huge compliment.

"That's what we're working on, the attacking third - finishing goals and getting more shots off. We just have to get in position and not pass up shots. We have to move the ball a little quicker. We tend to over-dribble at times. We're working on getting better."

Stevenson had a difficult time dealing with Libertyville's defense.

"They closed us down," Heffernan said. "We didn't do well at times - and they're fast. It's hard to beat speed, and they kept up with our front-runner. We have to utilize our speed a lot more, and we weren't able to that."