Extra effort once again, but Lane stops Libertyville

It was another battle for Libertyville’s boys soccer team, as a second straight game took the Wildcats into overtime.

It turned out to be too much for the Wildcats, as eighth-seeded Lane Tech got past No. 5 Libertyville 1-0 in 2OTs Saturday afternon in the semifinals of the 10th Annual Pepsi Showdown at Lyons Township.

Lane Tech (10-1-1) earned the opportunity to play No. 4 Morton (8-1) in the championship game Sept. 29 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.

Morton won its semifinal, defeating No. 10 Wheaton Academy 2-1 Saturday.

The Wildcats (5-4) entered the match without Lloyd Chatfield, who was out with an injured ankle suffered in Libertyville’s previous game, a decision against St. Viator that was decided by penalty kicks.

Another forward, Nick Vogel, left the game Saturday in the 29th minute after he received a cut above his eye that required stitches. That left Libertyville at a deficit of 26 goals scores between the two players last season.

“We held (Lane Tech) off forever,” Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. “We thought we could get them to penalty kicks — that’s what our goal was. Our kids played their hearts out the last two games.

“Lane Tech was very patient and a nice team. We didn’t get many opportunities. It was tough for us. When Vogel went out, it changed a lot of the momentum.”

The Indians had their opportunities, but the Wildcats denied a number of scoring chances. Lane Tech got the ball on frame, literally, as several shots hit either the crossbar or the post.

Finally, Lane Tech broke through in the 99th minute with just over a minute remaining in the second overtime. Jose Fuentes (16 goals) scored after slipping inside the Wildcats’ defense after a slot pass from his twin brother Sergio.

“I thought we deserved to win,” Lane Tech coach Andrew Ricks said. “You just have to go out win the game. “(Libertyville’s) defense was organized and well coached in that sense.The only way it was going to happen for them was in penalty kicks. We wanted to avoid that.”

Wildcats keeper Sam Muchmore contributed in goal with 7 stops and had plenty of help in front from defenders Alex Prilliaman, Ryan Pacholski, Kevin Reilly, Tanner Sanks and Kiki Savitic.

“They were very quick up top,” Prilliaman said. “They gave us trouble the whole game. They kept the ball in our half most of the time. We were trying to get the ball out and get it up top. That was our main goal. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any goals. But we gave it a full 98 minutes and left everything out on the field.”