Wildcats get past Meadows

Libertyville's boys soccer survived a scare in the opening round of the 32-team Pepsi Showdown on Tuesday night in Lake Zurich.

The Wildcats, the No. 4 seed, escaped with a 1-0 victory over Rolling Meadows in a match decided in 9 kicks, 7-6.

"We just survived and we got lucky," Wildcats coach Andy Bitta said after watching Rolling Meadows fire two kicks wide. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

"Give (Rolling Meadows) credit. They played great defense. We moved the ball well up and down the field, but we didn't put the ball into the back of the net."

Libertyville (2-0-1, 1-0) dominated the possession in regulation and the two 10-minute overtimes.

In the kicks, it was even through seven rounds at 6 kicks apiece.

On the eighth kick, Mustangs keeper Joseph Aiello (13 saves) made a point-blank stop on Josh Muchmore.

Rolling Meadows (1-4, 0-1) needed a kick to seal the victory, but Steve Kay missed his kick.

The Wildcats' Dennis Mudd made the goal in the ninth round, while the Mustangs' Kevin Wayne also missed his opportunity.

"I really have to thank my team for making all the PKs," said Libertyville sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Bitta, who made 1 save in the kicks. "It was my first time going through kicks and I was trying to intimidate the guys. I was trying to guess the right way."

The Mustangs were trying to pull off the upset.

"I don't think we knew what to expect from ourselves going in," Rolling Meadows coach Peter Mikulak said. "We have times where we've played well and times we got into a groove and people rolled over us. Our guys came out and played a little smarter. They just stuck with it."

Libertyville will next play at Oak Park on Thursday at 5 p.m. Oak Park upset Lane Tech and earned hosting the next round game.