Libertyville wins this fight to the finish

When Libertyville and Stevenson meet on the soccer field, it’s a battle to the very end.

On Friday evening, the Wildcats got the ending they wanted.

Libertyville finished 1 goal better than the rival Patriots in a 1-0 North Suburban Lake match in Lincolnshire.

“Whenever you play the Stevensons, the Mundeleins, Lake Forest or any conference game,” said Libertyville coach Scott Schinto, “it’s going to be a battle. We played hard, and well enough to win. We needed to win a conference game and the kids showed a lot of resilience.”

Play went back and forth until the second half, when Libertyville gained an edge over Stevenson (6-4-3 overall, 2-2 NSC Lake).

“Stevenson had chances, we had chances,” Schinto said. “Our goalie (Natalie Algozino) made saves and their goalie (Lizzy Sanscrainte) made saves. It was, in my opinion, a typical Libertyville-Stevenson high school game. If we get a chance to play again, then it will be down the road, and we welcome that opportunity.”

Both teams could meet up again in Glenbrook South sectional play in a few weeks.

Colleen O’Connor scored the goal for the Wildcats in the 66th minute after taking a pass from Kelsey Novak.

“We got beat by (Stevenson) last year,” said O’Connor, who scored her second goal of the season. “I think it helped us win. We have been working on trying to finish — and working on it a lot. I got a really good ball and just scored.”

The Wildcats (7-4-3, 2-1-1) have not allowed a goal over their last 4 games, going 2-0-2 in that span. Sophomore keeper Algozino (4 saves) has been a big plus in goal for Libertyville over the last few games.

Stevenson had been playing good soccer through some tough weather conditions over the last month, but they’ve had some difficult results in the last couple of games.

“I really don’t think we played that well, and Libertyville outplayed us today,” Stevenson coach Mark Schartner said. “They just worked harder then we did.

“Scoring has been a problem for us lately. I’m not sure what the answer is right now. This is the youngest team I’ve had in 17 years, and we need to practice. With the weather and field conditions, we haven’t been able to practice.”

The Patriots’ recent struggles have led to some soul searching.

“It’s frustrating right now, because it’s not the lack of effort for us doing poorly,” said defender Christine Gregory. “Our coach is saying communication is everything, and we’re trying. Something right now isn’t clicking, and we’re struggling all across the field.”