Libertyville prevails at Fremd
Libertyville boys soccer coach Andy Bitta waited for what was seemed like an eternity, and his patience was ultimately rewarded.
The Wildcats secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over host Fremd in their regional opener to advance into this Saturday's final against No. 11 Palatine (12-4-3), which got by No. 6 Buffalo Grove in PK's in the second of two matches at Fremd's Hale Hildebrandt Field in Palatine.
"I couldn't even sleep last night, thinking about playing Fremd again," said Bitta with a wry smile after the final whistle ended this late afternoon contest in favor of the No. 3 seed Wildcats (12-3-1). "I had never beat a Fremd team when Gerardo Pagnani was head coach, and last year Steve (Keller) beat us in our sectional semifinal, and a couple of times before that - so I was beginning to wonder when we would get the best of them."
The North Suburban champs were out on their front foot during the early exchanges, forcing the Vikings (7-13-2) to defend more than they wanted to.
The quartet of Ryan Wittenbrink, Liam O'Connell, Kevin Reilly and Tucker Goebeler, who was stationed just in front of the Cats' back four but was still active going forward, caused plenty of attacking problems leading up the breakthrough goal just after 30 minutes.
"We came out really strong tonight, got a few quality chances on frame, and had most of the run of play in the first half," said Reilly. "But after that first goal and into the second half, we got away from what we were doing so well before and caught up in the way Fremd was playing."
Vikings keeper Michael Kramer, together with his teammate Josh Kasser, were sensational during their 40 minutes of work - Kramer in the first period, when he took two sure goals out of the back of the net to keep the home side close.
Kramer's best save came at 19 minutes against Goebeler when, in full extension, he turned an attempt wide of the post.
Despite the heroics of the senior, the Vikings were undone by the pace and trickery of O'Connell who got to the end line before finding Wittenbrink. The freshman somehow steered in his angled shot into the far inside netting for the game-winner.
Keller teamed his top scorer, Luke Schoffstall, alongside Rohan Menon up top after the intermission to inspire the Fremd attack. Later, the Vikings went with three forwards in hopes of finding the equalizer.
"We did a lot of good things in that second half, created a few chances here and there, but this this game kind of mirrored the way our entire year has gone. You make a mistake and pay for it, and you can't finish your chances," said Keller.
The Vikings played more directly in the final quarter-hour, hoping to get one over the Wildcats backline. But except for a Dalton Rogers header over the bar and Menon's free kick, which sailed through the box untouched, the opportunities to tie it were few and far between.
"We lost to Fremd last year in the sectionals, and for those of us who were on that team, it felt good to get back here and get a little revenge back for the tough loss," said Reilly.