Stevenson wears down Libertyville
By Mike Garofola
LINCOLNSHIRE -- Shorthanded Libertyville showed vast reserves of quality, character and heart to fight back twice against Stevenson before conceding the late game-winner to their hosts.
That the Wildcats were able to produce a strong 80-minute performance against the newly crowned North Suburban Conference champion Patriots was a testament to the depth and desire of manager Kevin Thunholm's club, which played without four starters among their six missing in the 3-2 loss.
"I cannot say enough about how each player stepped up their play in order to compensate for us having a short bench tonight,” Thunholm said. “Guys now know if we can get back healthy and to full strength that we can compete with anyone after playing our league champion and state-ranked opponent so tough for 80 minutes."
According to Thunholm, the injury bug bit his club hard. Top defender Jake Berlowski, leading scorer Noah Finnema, and one of his best men in the middle, Alek LaRoi, stayed on the sidelines. With keeper Eli Johnson still on the mend, sophomore Andy Houser got the call and turned in a strong performance.
"The effort tonight was terrific," said Andrew Phillips, who wears the captain’s armband along with Berkowski and LaRoi. He plays the six with class, style and grit.
“We fought back from being down twice, and we did it all without some of our key guys. We need to take this effort going forward and build from it heading into the playoffs, where we hope to play Stevenson again.”
Some Wildcats played with bumps and bruises.
"Andrew isn't quite 100 percent either, and I wasn't sure what his status would be tonight. But when we stepped off the bus, he said he was ready to go. And that's just the way Andrew rolls," said Thunholm with a wry smile.
Stevenson, which hadn’t won a league title since 2009, secured its crown Tuesday when when Daniel Sokolovsky and Nazar Mormul scored goals 60 seconds apart to send off Lake Forest 2-0 at home.
"This group has worked hard from the very minute we came together," said Patriots manager PepeJon Chavez. “To reach one of our goals for the season is something they should all be proud of and deserve to celebrate.
“Although I mentioned to them not to celebrate for too long, because we might be playing Libertyville in a regional final in two weeks.”
Chavez, now in his third year in charge of the program, had royalty of sorts on hand for this contest with Hall-of-Famer and former boss Mark Schartner, and his longtime friend and former assistant Kevin Heffernan, in attendance. The pair drove down from Wisconsin for the match.
Chavez was an assistant under Schartner, as was his current assistant Shannon (Kolze) Mauro, who was a brilliant defender for the 2002 Lake Zurich team that finished third in the start for manager Pete Ternes.
"Shannon is a big reason for the success of this team, and in the growth of our program. She's just an amazing person and coach," beamed Chavez.
The opening stages of the game saw both sides advance from the midfield and on the wings to reach the final third. There was not much gained until Bryant Rouse, a transfer from Irvine, Calif., hit the opener from 22 yards.
While not always sharp in its possession, Libertyville (6-8-3) slowly found its way back into the game to set up a nonstop, all-action second half of play.
Milosh Dupor struck an unstoppable 35-yard missile to level this affair in the 50th minute and inspire a handful of chances and half-chances at Stevenson keeper Aidan Morris.
Rouse was on the end of a superb cross-field serve from teammate Grayson Lueck to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute.
However the Wildcats came right back to equalize when Mateo Portillo slipped free of two defenders to drive his close-range effort past Morris.
Houser made a brave save on a point-blank blast from Nazar Mormol just ahead of the Portillo goal.
Jack Bacher insured the Stevenson victory during the frantic final 10 minutes of regulation. He ran straight to the back post to head in a wonderful cross from Daniel Sokolvsky seven minutes from time.
"Again, I am very proud of the effort, work rate, and energy the guys put into this game tonight,” Thunholm said. “We're a very good team, despite our overall record. In another week, records are meaningless, and all we have to do is to come out and play the way we all know we can."
The Wildcats are a dangerous no. 10 seed in the Buffalo Grove Sectional. They finish the regular-season schedule next week with Vernon Hills next week. The top-seeded Patriots (15-0-2) still have Round Lake and Ridgewood on their calendar.
"It's been Libertyville for so long in this conference, with Andy Bitta leading the way as its manager,” said Chavez. “We're hoping with this NSC title, it will one of many to follow if we continue to work to build a quality program."
The Patriots are the no. 8-rated team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
By Mike Garofola
LINCOLNSHIRE -- Shorthanded Libertyville showed vast reserves of quality, character and heart to fight back twice against Stevenson before conceding the late game-winner to their hosts.
That the Wildcats were able to produce a strong 80-minute performance against the newly crowned North Suburban Conference champion Patriots was a testament to the depth and desire of manager Kevin Thunholm's club, which played without four starters among their six missing in the 3-2 loss.
"I cannot say enough about how each player stepped up their play in order to compensate for us having a short bench tonight,” Thunholm said. “Guys now know if we can get back healthy and to full strength that we can compete with anyone after playing our league champion and state-ranked opponent so tough for 80 minutes."
According to Thunholm, the injury bug bit his club hard. Top defender Jake Berlowski, leading scorer Noah Finnema, and one of his best men in the middle, Alek LaRoi, stayed on the sidelines. With keeper Eli Johnson still on the mend, sophomore Andy Houser got the call and turned in a strong performance.
"The effort tonight was terrific," said Andrew Phillips, who wears the captain’s armband along with Berkowski and LaRoi. He plays the six with class, style and grit.
“We fought back from being down twice, and we did it all without some of our key guys. We need to take this effort going forward and build from it heading into the playoffs, where we hope to play Stevenson again.”
Some Wildcats played with bumps and bruises.
"Andrew isn't quite 100 percent either, and I wasn't sure what his status would be tonight. But when we stepped off the bus, he said he was ready to go. And that's just the way Andrew rolls," said Thunholm with a wry smile.
Stevenson, which hadn’t won a league title since 2009, secured its crown Tuesday when when Daniel Sokolovsky and Nazar Mormul scored goals 60 seconds apart to send off Lake Forest 2-0 at home.
"This group has worked hard from the very minute we came together," said Patriots manager PepeJon Chavez. “To reach one of our goals for the season is something they should all be proud of and deserve to celebrate.
“Although I mentioned to them not to celebrate for too long, because we might be playing Libertyville in a regional final in two weeks.”
Chavez, now in his third year in charge of the program, had royalty of sorts on hand for this contest with Hall-of-Famer and former boss Mark Schartner, and his longtime friend and former assistant Kevin Heffernan, in attendance. The pair drove down from Wisconsin for the match.
Chavez was an assistant under Schartner, as was his current assistant Shannon (Kolze) Mauro, who was a brilliant defender for the 2002 Lake Zurich team that finished third in the start for manager Pete Ternes.
"Shannon is a big reason for the success of this team, and in the growth of our program. She's just an amazing person and coach," beamed Chavez.
The opening stages of the game saw both sides advance from the midfield and on the wings to reach the final third. There was not much gained until Bryant Rouse, a transfer from Irvine, Calif., hit the opener from 22 yards.
While not always sharp in its possession, Libertyville (6-8-3) slowly found its way back into the game to set up a nonstop, all-action second half of play.
Milosh Dupor struck an unstoppable 35-yard missile to level this affair in the 50th minute and inspire a handful of chances and half-chances at Stevenson keeper Aidan Morris.
Rouse was on the end of a superb cross-field serve from teammate Grayson Lueck to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead in the 62nd minute.
However the Wildcats came right back to equalize when Mateo Portillo slipped free of two defenders to drive his close-range effort past Morris.
Houser made a brave save on a point-blank blast from Nazar Mormol just ahead of the Portillo goal.
Jack Bacher insured the Stevenson victory during the frantic final 10 minutes of regulation. He ran straight to the back post to head in a wonderful cross from Daniel Sokolvsky seven minutes from time.
"Again, I am very proud of the effort, work rate, and energy the guys put into this game tonight,” Thunholm said. “We're a very good team, despite our overall record. In another week, records are meaningless, and all we have to do is to come out and play the way we all know we can."
The Wildcats are a dangerous no. 10 seed in the Buffalo Grove Sectional. They finish the regular-season schedule next week with Vernon Hills next week. The top-seeded Patriots (15-0-2) still have Round Lake and Ridgewood on their calendar.
"It's been Libertyville for so long in this conference, with Andy Bitta leading the way as its manager,” said Chavez. “We're hoping with this NSC title, it will one of many to follow if we continue to work to build a quality program."
The Patriots are the no. 8-rated team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.