advertisement

Boys soccer: Late goal lifts Libertyville over Hersey

With a single decisive strike, Evan Rasmussen's dramatic last-gasp winner sent Libertyville through and into the Class 3A Buffalo Grove boys soccer sectional final this Saturday.

The sophomore found his way into the box just seconds from time, before finding the far right corner to give the No. 4 Wildcats (15-3-0) a 1-0 victory Tuesday evening at Grant Blaney Stadium over top seed Hersey.

"Quigs (Michael Quigley) gave me a great ball up the left side, and when I got myself free, all I thought about was getting a shot off before the whistle, and just hitting low and hard," said Rasmussen, long after he tucked his game-winner into the back of the net with just 10.9 seconds remaining.

"It had to be a perfect shot," said an elated Libertyville head coach Andy Bitta.

"With the great keeper (Hersey) had, Evan had no other choice but to go for the back post, and luckily for us, it found its way in to end a great soccer game."

The reigning 3A state champs will meet Barrington at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Coach Darren Llewellyn's team was disciplined and dogged, but Libertyville had just a little too much attacking class for the Huskies (14-2-3), which was validated by the beautiful combination by Quigley and Rasmussen that would doom Hersey.

"We played so well in the first half - had most of the run of play after the first 15 or so minutes - but we got away from what we were doing well, started to play kickball, which allowed Libertyville to possess, play quick and knock the ball around for nearly the entire second half," admitted Hersey's head coach.

The Huskies, and in particular, their back line led by Steve Custer, did its part to keep the Wildcats' leading scorer (Ryan Wittenbrink, 19 goals) under wraps during the first period, limiting the chances on frame by the talented junior.

With Danny Gritt, Christian Castro and Thomas Skiba each taking turns causing plenty of trouble for the Wildcats in their own end, it appeared Custer and his mates may have found a way to slow a Libertyville attack which scored six in the regional final last week against its MSL rival Palatine.

"We played so well in that first half, good enough to maybe win this game, but we got away from what we do, and Libertyville came out and really put us under for most of the second half," said Custer.

Hersey's all-state keeper, Adam Szymaszek, was brilliant in his final prep appearance, taking a sure goal out of the back of the net when Wittenbrink's bending freekick effort exploded around the wall in the 61st minute.

This exchange brought the Wildcats to life, and although it would do nothing to show for its efforts, Bitta's club would create several opportunities leading up to the game-winner, while keeping their opponents from doing the same on the other end.

"It's all about surviving in order to move on at this time of the year, and that' exactly what the boys did out there tonight," said Bitta.

"This is a tough way to go out, but as I told the guys afterward (this) is one of the greatest bunch of players I've been around, and that it's OK to be sad about this loss, but don't hang your head, because I was very proud of each and every one of them," Llewellyn would say in closing.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.