Girls soccer: Libertyville shuts out Stevenson to win NSC championship
Lilly Frantz and Ellie Rebmann delivered masterful goals on either side of the half for Libertyville, and their back line teammates kept host Stevenson far away from keeper Kate Hopma to help inspire a 2-0 victory Monday night in Lincolnshire.
This win on the final day of the regular season in league play gives the Wildcats (10-2-2, 6-0-1) the NSC championship.
The Wildcats (10-2-2, 6-0-1) lift the league trophy one year after suffering a 1-0 loss here which gave the Patriots the conference title.
"Two years ago we shared the title with Stevenson and Warren. So it was nice to come back here to Stevenson and win the game, and conference, after losing here a year ago," said senior Pru Babat, who along with the aforementioned Rebman were key figures in this contest.
"(That) early goal was big for us. We played so much better afterward, and I thought we came out after the break and pushed real hard as a team to get another goal. And when we did, I felt like we were in better control of the game," said Rebmann, who will play next fall at UW-Milwaukee.
Both Babat and Rebmann felt the Wildcats were not as sharp as they could have been after the opening whistle. But some high percentage passing, quick ball movement and strong play from the Wildcats along the back led to the visitors carving out a few quality chances at Patriots (11-5-1, 5-1-1) keeper Mandy Meliker, who was strong between the sticks for the home side.
The Patriots would target their top flight forward, Ellie Egeland (16 goals), all throughout this soggy evening. And while the junior had a fair share of attempts on and off target, only a couple gave Wildcats fans a few nervous moments.
"Our back line was amazing tonight. Shannon (Phillips) and Mabelle Kosowski cleaned just about everything up. And as a team, we defended really well," opined Babat, who will attend the University of Kentucky in the fall.
Babat would play alongside Phillips at the start of the match, until coach Daniel De Paz brought on Kosowski - pushing Babat just in front of his back line to give the visitors one more attacking option.
"Pru and I are central defenders by trade. So we know how important that position is, and Mabelle played great back there for us," said Rebmann.
Wildcats keeper Kate Hopma was called into action on a long 35-yard effort from Egeland in the 19th minute. And at the half-hour, the junior saved an angled left-footer by Egeland.
Against the run of play, Rebmann sent through Frantz, and the sophomore - showing terrific composure - finished under Meliker who had no chance on the 12-yard strike.
The Patriots' center-back duo of Hailey Livesay and Anabelle Egeland were superb in the tackling, awareness and ability to distribute - or moving forward into the attack to give the home side that something extra needed in an important contest as this.
However, the intentions of the visitors were clear just after the intermission by the Wildcats whose high tempo approach to deny time, and space, along with its purpose, and pace would lead to its second goal of the night.
Molly Koch and Rebmann would execute a marvelous one-two combination which set Rebman free in the final third where a wonderful individual effort from the senior ended with a clinical finish to double the Wildcats advantage at 53 minutes.
"It was a good result and an overall good performance from the team tonight, and one that I am very proud of," said De Paz.
Next up for the Wildcats is their regular season finale with St. Viator in Arlington Heights Thursday. The Patriots have their final contest Thursday as well against Carmel at home.