Libertyville falls short against Evanston

Libertyville's boys soccer team boasts speed, quickness and experience this season.

So the Wildcats are confident that wins will come.

Libertyville returns several players from last year's 14-win squad and could put together an even better campaign this fall. The Wildcats started their season with a 1-0 loss to host Evanston in a competitive nonconference match Thursday night.

"I thought we played really well for the first game," Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. "We moved the ball, and our possession was really great. We just have to finish, and that will come. It will take some time. We'll get it."

Even though Libertyville didn't score, the Wildcats had numerous opportunities to find the back of the net. Evanston's defense and keeper Adam Masters were up to the task. Masters made 11 stops for the clean sheet.

"You have to give Evanston some credit because they were packing it in," Bitta said. "We were going against 6-7 guys in the box. The first game was like a playoff game. You just have to try to attack, attack, attack.

"I believe we've got a fantastic group," Bitta added. "They're a group that can compete with anybody in the state. We've got to get our scoring going, and it will come."

Libertyville midfielder Nate Edmunds was encouraged with his team's first match.

"We need to work more together," Edmunds said. "We've got to get balls in the midfield and have to figure out how to get them out wide. We just need to create chances. It will come for us."

The Wildkits (1-0-1) scored in the 54th minute, when Henry Young knocked in his second goal in two games. He won the ball among several players after a throw-in from teammate Henry Honzel.

Evanston (1-0-1) had played Conant to a 2-2 draw earlier in the week.

"This was a very good win for us," Wildkits coach Franz Calixte said. "(Libertyville) has speed, they have strength, they're big where they need to be, and they have talented players. I feel they can be one of the top teams in the state.

"I thought (Libertyville) had an 80/20 possession on us," Calixte added. "We stuck to our game plan and beat a very good talented team. We packed things in the entire game. You can out-posses us as much as you want. In soccer, you have to create scoring chances. I thought we did a pretty good job being stingy in that case. (Libertyville) didn't have many shots from the outside, so the defensive (strategy) worked pretty well. All those (shots) were from corner kicks and dead balls."