Reilly, Libertyville roll past Lake Forest

A role player helped Libertyville's soccer team roll to a victory Tuesday.

Kevin Reilly assisted on both Libertyville goals, as the second-seeded Wildcats dispatched No. 16 Lake Forest 2-0 in a Class 3A regional semifinal at Libertyville. Liam O'Connell and Cam Fragassi each found the back of the net.

"Reilly was outstanding and the best player on the pitch," Lake Forest coach Rob Parry said. "He was moving and he was hard for us to track. As the game wore on, he ran us ragged."

That's what Kevin Reilly does.

"I just work hard, digging for the ball and never give up on the ball," Reilly said. "You never know what can happen in games like this. It's basically hustle. There's not much to it. We played well the entire game knocking the ball around."

Libertyville (13-3) will host Mundelein (11-6-3) in the regional championship at 4 p.m. Saturday.

"This game worried me more than the next game because I know the kids will be more for the next game," Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. "I thought we controlled the ball and the tempo of the game. We didn't let (Lake Forest) have too many chances."

O'Connell opened the scoring with his second goal of the season in the eighth minute.

"I just saw it and hit it as hard as I can," said O'Connell, who plays outside in the midfield. "I was hoping it would go through their defense. Playing where I do, I can see the whole field and get crosses (into the penalty area)."

Fragassi provided an insurance tally in the 60th minute after taking a touch pass from Reilly.

Brant Kym and Sam Muchmore combined for the clean sheet, and combining for 3 stops.

Lake Forest (8-12-3) won its regional quarterfinal over Carmel 4-1 Saturday night, but the Scouts couldn't establish much offense against Libertyville.

"When (Libertyville) was approaching the box, they had a plan of what they wanted to do," Parry said. "Once we got in their box, we were looking around to see what was going to happen."