Boys soccer: Wittenbrink, Libertyville light it up at Fremd
It was orange, and Ryan Wittenbrink, all the way.
A stunningly spectacular display of firepower from Libertyville's star forward set the tone as the Wildcats rolled to an 8-1 victory over Barrington in the Class 3A Fremd boys soccer sectional final at Hale Hildebrandt Field on Friday night.
Wittenbrink scored 5 first-half goals, delighting the supporters from Libertyville (18-0-2). Next up for the state's top-ranked team is an appearance at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Barrington supersectional against either Glenbrook North or Evanston.
"That was one special performance out there from a very special player," said Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm, who said he's never seen a more dominant first-half performance than the one Wittenbrink fashioned.
"I've never scored that many goals in one game," said Wittenbrink, who has a total of 38 goals this season. "But to be honest, I had a lot of help with all five.
"Our starting lineup is eleven strong. We're all on the same page right now, and everyone is stepping up at the most important time of the season."
By the time the contest reached the half-hour, it was clear the Mid-Suburban League champion Broncos (20-4-1) wouldn't be able to withstand Libertyville.
"In my 24 years of coaching, I cannot remember ever being on the end of a result like this one," said Barrington coach Scott Steib. "But Wittenbrink had one of those games that every player dreams of. But let's be honest - he has a great supporting cast around him too, and that was one heck of a team that beat us tonight."
The scoring started when Greg Krikorian curled his left-footed corner into the 6-yard box for Wittenbrink, who score on a header.
With Libertyville seemingly winning nearly tackle and 50-50 ball and getting every bounce going its way, all that was left was for the Cats to cash in on their chances.
And that's where Wittenbrink excelled.
The three-year varsity standout doubled his team's advantage in the 15th minute, setting up his two most memorable goals of the night.
First came a 35-yard left-footed screamer in the 30th minute, followed by an equally brilliant finish 60 seconds later. Wittenbrink's exploits left an audience in awe.
"Ryan obviously was the star of the game, but a huge part of what I thought was our best overall game of the year was the work from guys like Tanner Kelly and Riley Holt, who opened things up for us with their terrific work," said Thunholm. "And once again, our backline, which had another strong night collectively."
Barrington senior Gio Guarnero stopped the bleeding momentarily in the 32nd minute with Barrington's goal. But two minutes later, Wittenbrink had his fifth of the first half when he delivered a free-kick attempt off a Broncos player in the wall and past keeper Brett Sprengel.
Barrington battled despite facing such a big deficit at the intermission. But when Libertyville's Evan Rasmussen and Thomas Smithney added to the scoreline near the hour, both coaches began to bring players off their starters.
Austin Becker put the finishing touches on the Libertyville victory when he converted his spot kick in the 65th minute.
"This game does not define our season, which was filled with so many fantastic memories," said Barrington coach Scott Steib. "We got our third MSL title in program history, our sixth season of 20 wins or more, a regional title, and advancing into this sectional final after working our way through some adversity here in the final week of the season."