Boys soccer: Libertyville, Round Lake battle to a draw
The seeds and pairings have been decided for the Class 3A postseason boys state soccer tournament with Libertyville netting the top position in its own sectional and Round Lake receiving the third spot.
On Saturday, the Wildcats and Panthers met up to see which team might have a leg up approaching the end of the season. And they are both battling for the top spot in the North Suburban Conference and the Northern Lake County Conference, respectively.
In a grueling battle on both sides and after 80 minutes, Round Lake and Libertyville ended in a 2-2 nonconference draw in Libertyville.
The Wildcats (11-0-3, 4-0-2 NSC) remained unbeaten and will host Zion-Benton (12-3-2, 4-0-1) on Monday night. Both are in a battle for the NSC title along with Mundelein (8-3-4, 4-0-1). The Panthers (9-1-4, 4-0-2 NLCC) have one remaining game with North Chicago which will be played at Grayslake North on Friday night.
Saturday's matchup had its up and downs and back-and-forth swings as each team was trying to get the victory.
"I kind of thought this would go exactly how it rolled," Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said. "We have a big game on Monday and didn't want to overlook Round Lake by any means. (Round Lake) was a great team and well-coached. We had some unlucky breaks and it got out of hand for a while. We don't get down a lot, so these are the games I get excited about, playing some really good teams. With our sectional, that's loaded, we have to figure out how to fight and it's not going to come easy for us."
Behind a goal from Patrick Graham, Libertyville started the scoring in the third minute of play as he found an open net out in front for a 1-0 lead.
Round Lake fought back not only to tie but to take the lead into the second half.
First, Gio Garcia scored on a header off a Jesus Ramos free kick that tied the match at 1-1 in the 55th minute.
Then, Kevin Fuentes scored his first goal of the season up top and powered a shot into the goal for a 2-1 Panthers lead in the 61st minute.
But Libertyville worked hard, tying the match in the 71st minute when Graham broke free in front of a couple of Panthers defenders and slotted a shot inside the post.
"There were a lot of people in the box," Graham said. "I was just able to get a shot away. I was aiming for a corner and I was glad it didn't hit a defender. I just found the back of the net and it was what we needed."
Round Lake has been able to play the best teams in the area and the state with draws. Last week the Panthers tied New Trier, and they defeated Mundelein 4-0.
"It's just another game. We should've won, but there were a lot of mistakes that we made," Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez said. "Give credit to Libertyville, they're a great team. It's just another game for us getting us prepared for a state playoff run."