Boys soccer: Libertyville, Mundelein battle to draw

Every boys soccer match in the North Suburban Conference is a battle.

Mundelein and visiting Libertyville proved it again Thursday night, battling to a 1-1 draw.

"It's like the New Trier tournament. It's like a gauntlet," Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said. "From here on out, we don't have any down teams. Everybody we play, they want to beat us real bad and this is the kind of effort we get. We see everybody's best effort every day. Our guys are up to the challenge, but we're not going to win every game. The balls aren't going to roll the right way sometimes."

Libertyville remains unbeaten at 10-0-1 and 3-0-1 in the NSC, while Mundelein has a 6-1-4 mark and is also 3-0-1 in the conference. Zion-Benton (10-1-2, 4-0-1) leads both teams after edging Lake Forest 2-1 on Thursday night. The Zee-Bees have matches remaining against both Libertyville and Mundelein.

"This conference is stacked," Thunholm said. "All eight teams are really well-coached. We all know each other. The players know each other."

Libertyville's Patrick Graham scored the opening goal in the ninth minute, heading in a Connor Hay corner kick.

"It was a great ball and high enough for me to get it," Graham said. "I like jumping high for it. It was the delivery that set it up. When I see the ball going to the back post, I'll go after it every time."

Mundelein's Darren Gray scored his fourth goal of the season 15 seconds into the second half to even the score. Gray took a pass from Cole Pauly, then made a move down the left sideline and sent a 30-yard kick that curled in under the crossbar.

"I was just keeping my head down and going after the defender," Gray said. "I was looking for a shot. I've been working on these the whole summer, and I've been working for this game since we lost last year. I was just working on finishing and working on my technique."

Libertyville keeper Hunter Lynch had 7 stops, while Mundelein goalie Danny Dominguez made 8 saves.

"Both teams left a lot of chances out there," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "It was a fun game. Two really good teams. I love playing against Kevin (Thunholm) and those guys. Both keepers made some big saves. We had some point-blank chances and (Libertyville) hit the bar. It was a great match. These are the games we want to play."