Boys soccer: Libertyville lowers the boom, charges into sectional

Libertyville's boys soccer team had one of its biggest challenges of the season when it faced rival Mundelein a couple of weeks ago.

A rematch took place Saturday in the Class 3A Libertyville regional final, and this time the outcome was hardly as close.

Top-seeded Libertyville rolled to a 6-0 victory over No. 8 Mundelein. The Wildcats beat the Mustangs 2-1 in North Suburban Conference action. Libertyville (16-0-2) next will play No. 4 Wheeling (14-5-1) in the Fremd sectional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Palatine. Wheeling shut out Buffalo Grove 2-0 in the Stevenson regional final on Saturday morning.

"We practiced a lot of things over the three days that we had off," Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said. "Everything that we worked on, we finished. We worked on a lot of dead-ball situations. We really wanted to attack the goalie. We finished and won balls in the air. We played to feet and we were really focused.

"We knew Mundelein was a really good team because we just played them, and they played their hearts out. They're well-coached and were much stronger today."

Libertyville didn't waste much time scoring, potting three goals in the first 18 minutes. Indiana-bound Ryan Wittenbrink scored the first one on a free kick in the seventh minute. Tanner Kelly then finished a rebound in front of the goal in the 10th minute. Eric Rasmussen added the third tally in the 18th minute off an assist from Will Powers for a 3-0 advantage.

"Whenever we get that one, it just opens up things for us," Thunholm said. "As soon as we got that first one, I knew that we would be good. Once we get going, we get going."

Wittenbrink added his 32nd goal of the season in the 55th minute off an assist from Grant Herbek. Riley Hoff scored off an assist from Nathan Pacholski, and Luke Underwood finished the scoring.

Tom Pearson made 7 stops in goal and earned another clean sheet along with Zach El Ghatit and Chase Eyre in goal.

Mundelein (9-7-3) simply couldn't keep up with the Wildcats.

"I feel bad for the seniors. This was the game we wanted," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "We just didn't get close to getting it done. Proud of my seniors and proud of the group. We did have another successful season in terms of wins and losses, plus conference play. We wanted to defend our regional. It was a tough loss."