Rare air for McNeir, Libertyville
Miles McNeir must enjoy the limelight.
Just four days after earning man-of-the-match honors with 2 goals to help Libertyville win a regional title over North Suburban Conference rival Warren, the senior stepped into the spotlight once again Wednesday night on a bigger stage by striking the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over St. Viator. That sends the Cats into Saturday's 11 a.m. sectional final at home against No. 7 Highland Park, which upset No. 2 Fremd 3-1 in the second semifinal of the night in Libertville.
“I don't know what's going on the last couple of games, but all I know is we won tonight, and we're still alive and playing soccer,” said McNeir.
The fifth-seeded Lions (18-6-2) saw their season come to an end after they was unable to get back even and force an extra session following the McNeir goal at 52 minutes.
“That was a good game out there today,” said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor. “We battled all throughout the ball game, and we did so without our top playmaker (Adam Fetter, ankle injury) and later, when Jack Horvath was sent off when he got his second yellow card.
“It's hard to compete against the No. 1 seed without your two best players, but as we've shown all season long, we can play with the best and belong with the best. And today we did so again, but just fell a little short in the end.”
The Lions worked hard throughout the entire match, and did well in manufacturing several set-piece opportunities in the first half, made especially dangerous by gale-force winds at their back. They helped the impressive long throws tossed by Nick Abel.
Sophomore Ashwin Cornelius, who along with freshman Spencer Moore provided a glimpse of a bright future in the Lions' lineup, headed wide a Abel throw at nine minutes as he was left unmarked. Later, as intermission approached, the young midfielder sprayed consecutive throws around the post and alert Cats keeper Andrew Bitta.
Both Bitta and counterpart Scott Faul did well directing traffic out of the back while staying in front of many wind-aided balls sent their way.
“We didn't really know what to expect with St. Viator today, but we knew they were defending 2A state champs, and they showed it in their play for most of the match,” said McNeir.
The Wildcats (18-3-2) opened the second half hunting for the early strike and nearly got one when Adam Witucki's long throw found Shane Reilly, but the junior was ruled offsides.
Minutes later, Andrew Bitta would provided his club with its best chance when his searing long punt, given extra length because of the wind, somehow found its way to the ever-present McNeir. His one-timer roared into the back of the net from outside the area to bring the noisy Wildcat faithful up out of their seats for the first time in the match.
“We did not look very good in that first half, and really for most of the year, we haven't done well when we have the wind at our backs at all,” said Libertyville coach Andy Bitta. “Today it worked for us on Miles' goal, and after that we packed it in a little, playing a 5-3-2 and then trying to hold off their attempts to get back even with us for the next 26-plus minutes.”
Horvath was sent off for good at 64 minutes when he received his second yellow card for a hard tackle. His absence put a damper on the Lions' attack.
Taylor countered by putting three up top, including defender Dan Loizzi, and the move did force the Wildcats to defend more than they would have liked for the final quarter hour as the Lions pushed more numbers forward.
The extra attacker or two left the visitiors vulnerable along the back, and the Wildcats nearly doubled their lead in the 76th minute. Faul made a pair of brilliant saves on McNeir in the closing moments.
“Obviously we are all sad and upset with the loss, but we did a lot of great things this year, and all from a club not expected to be as good as we were after losing so many from our championship team,” said Taylor.
For Andy Bitta and the Wildcats, it's a very different story.
“Today we'll enjoy and celebrate our hard-earned victory, which means we play for a sectional title in our own stadium. But tomorrow, we have to go back and work on some things that we must clean up before Saturday.”