Boys soccer: Libertyville grabs outright NSC title

Going into Tuesday night's match, Libertyville boys soccer team had already clinched a share of the North Suburban conference. At stake was whether or not the Wildcats would need to share it with Mundelein and Waukegan.

Grant Herbek changed that possibility with a header in the second half, providing the winning goal as Libertyville got past visiting Waukegan 3-2 to capture a outright NSC championship.

The Wildcats (10-3) earned their second straight league title, this time with a 6-1 mark. Mundelein finished a game back at 5-2.

"Winning the conference championship, this is fantastic," Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said. "This is a fantastic way to kick into the state tournament. We did it last year with that great win over Round Lake (in the NSC championship game). It picked up the pace, and we hope to do this year too."

Getting past Waukegan (7-8-1, 4-3) was anything but easy for Libertyville.

"That's a pretty good Waukegan team," Bitta said. "They're a good, nice team and well-coached. As we play anybody, we've got to keep our shape."

Herbek's goal came in the 63rd minute on a header at the back post, finishing a chance provided by Ryan Wittenbrink's long free kick.

Herbek, who has scored 2 goals this season (both on headers) , said it was a matter of taking advantage of an opportunity at the back post.

"It had been open all game," said Herbek. "People had other chances like that during the game. If we kept going, I knew something like that could happen eventually. It was a combination of both a great ball and being there at the far post."

The match was tied 2-2 after the first 40 minutes. Libertyville got its goals from Evan Rasmussen and Daniel Marks. The Bulldogs matched the scoring with a pair of goals from Juan Ramirez.

Waukegan made every effort to produce a second-half goal, but Libertyville's defense held its form after the Cats grabbed the lead.

"We've got a couple of minimal mistakes to correct before the playoffs," Waukegan coach Peter Valdez said. "Libertyville is one of the top teams in the state. Their defense is very good, very physical. They're a big team and they play to their strength.

"I appreciate playing teams like this. They do play to their strengths very well."