Libertyville 9, Lake Forest 6

Libertyville sophomore Stevie Wimmer scored a grand total of 1 goal in the regular season.

Maybe he was just saving his best water polo for the IHSA state playoffs.

Wimmer scored 2 goals Wednesday for No. 4 Libertyville, and that helped the Wildcats defeat No. 5 Lake Forest 9-6 in a sectional quarterfinal at Vernon Hills.

The Wildcats will play No. 1 Mundelein at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Vernon Hills in a sectional semifinal. Mundelein routed No. 8 Deerfield 14-0 on Wednesday.

"I decided today was the day to let it rip and fire it in there," Wimmer said.

Wimmer credited his teammates for encouraging him to have more confidence in his shot.

"I've been concerned I wouldn't make shots so I always passed it," he said. "They kept telling me to shoot and my accuracy has gotten a lot better."

Coach Jeff Arce was excited to see Wimmer have a breakout match.

"He's been playing strong defense late in the season, but we've been working a lot on him getting involved more offensively," Arce said.

Libertyville's John Blankenhorn scored 2 of his 3 goals in the first half. The Wildcats (17-6) had not played in almost two weeks, and they used that time to tinker with their offense.

"We put John in the middle, which is a huge change," Arce said. "We usually rely on him to make plays on the outside, but his athleticism and ability to pass (fit perfectly) in the middle. He was fantastic today."

Neither team scored in the first five minutes, until Libertyville's Andrew Tillman broke through with the opening goal. Tillman is excited with the way the Wildcats are playing as a team. Libertyville has won its last five matches.

"Things are really looking great for us right now," Tillman said. "We've been putting in a new offense and it's working well."

The two teams traded goals until consecutive scores by Danny Lejeune and Blankenhorn gave the Wildcats a 5-2 halftime advantage.

In the second half, Mike Gannon scored 3 goals to help Lake Forest stay close. Wimmer answered with a clutch goal after Lake Forest cut its deficit to 7-5 early in the fourth quarter.

Zach Leboza also contributed 2 goals for the Wildcats. Senior Jimmy Palac made 16 saves.

Mundelein defeated Libertyville 8-3 when the two teams played April 17. When they meet Friday, it will be the first time in an all-deep pool.

"We played a basic game plan against Lake Forest, which is what we wanted to do," Arce said. "I knew (Mundelein coach) Rahul Sethna would take notes on the entire game so we didn't want to show (all) our stuff."

Libertyville's last loss of the season was to Mundelein.

"That Mundelein game opened our eyes," Arce said. "We've been on somewhat of a tear since then and it (should) be a really good game."