Boys soccer: Libertyville comes back to down Lyons for Northside title

For the third straight year, Libertyville had its paws on the coveted championship trophy by taking the title of the Northside College Showcase boys soccer tournament at New Trier on Saturday.

The Wildcats rallied with a pair of goals in the last 13 minutes and beat Lyons 2-1 to earn the title.

Luke Underwood and Jack Brennan brought Libertyville back to remain unbeaten at 5-0 as the team that won all four of its matches in the tournament.

"It feels fantastic, because we play a lot of quality teams," Libertyville head coach Kevin Thunholm said. "So we always try to measure ourselves early. We haven't played our best soccer yet."

Playing from a goal down and coming back for the championship says a lot for this year's Wildcats group.

"The way they fought and didn't quit, they didn't put their heads down," Thunholm said. "I can't remember the last time being down 1-0. They put the ball into the back of the net and picked up the momentum. Hunter (Lynch) played well in the goal and his confidence is growing. We're still a young team and trying to figure things out."

Lyons (3-1-2) took the lead over Libertyville in the 27th minute with a foul in the penalty area which Julio Torres converted a penalty kick that went of the outstretched hand of Lynch (10 saves) and into the goal.

But Lynch made sure nothing else got by him the rest of the way. He did see a shot rattle the post in the second half, while he made a few quality saves that included punching a couple over the crossbar.

"It was tough and (Lyons) was dangerous anywhere from beyond the 50," Lynch said. "I just had to trust my defense and they had faith in me. I knew if they could get the ball they would and if I could come up for the ball I would get it. I was just trying to be in the right position and my defense making the step to have the right footing so they can block off an angle or two. It was really tough coming off a PK in the first half. It really was a team effort."

Mickey Reilly set up the tying goal off a free kick that he sent through traffic to the back post, which Underwood slotted near the back post in the 67th minute.

Then, about five minutes later, Cade Upton made a move entering the penalty area and was knocked down by a Lyons defender. Brennan stepped up and placed the PK into the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal.

"I just stepped up to take this one," Brennan said. "To be honest, I was pretty nervous compared to some of the others. That was definitely a big (kick) especially in a big game like this one."

Lyons had the match in hand until the 2 goals changed everything which left Lyons wanting to have another meeting with the Wildcats down the road.

"Our boys, we're a new team," Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. "They don't know where they stand in the state. They don't know if they're a good team and they don't know if they're a great team or if they're average. We've played games like this and we hope to play Libertyville in the (state) final and see where we stand."