Libertyville’s fast start cools New Trier
for Northside College Showcase title
Wildcats’ star Wittenbrink dominant in 5-2 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD -- Nothing sharpens a team like the sudden realization of their own imperfection.
Libertyville looked unstoppable in handling two highly-rated teams as part of its opening three-game winning streak. Glenbrook North delivered the jolt.
The Spartans, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, played the no. 3 Wildcats to a scoreless draw in pool play Thursday. Libertyville snapped to attention.
“Glenbrook North shut us down, and any team that shuts our team down is very impressive,” Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said.
“Glenbrook North took it to us, and we had the attitude, ‘This is what we are supposed to be doing, and you guys are doing it to us.’ It kind of rattled us. The next day, we worked very hard in practice, and we figured some things out.
“We talked about this (Friday) and early today in getting ready for the game. We have been kind of a slow-starting team. Today our focus was getting a fast start. We just said, let’s press high, let’s go get it, and see what happens.”
Most important Ryan Wittenbrink had his own deliverance that New Trier could not answer.
Wittenbrink cemented his status as a top-five player in the state by scoring a goal and registering four assists as the Wildcats blitzed the Trevians with two goals in the first eight minutes in a convincing 5-2 victory over its sixth-ranked tournament host New Trier in the championship of the Northside College Showcase on Saturday afternoon.
Junior midfielders Evan Rasmussen and reserve Brandon Murphy scored two goals apiece for the Wildcats (4-0-1). The first three goals came on set pieces that underlined the irrepressible and outsized abilities of Indiana recruit Wittenbrink. He scored both goals in the Wildcats’ 2-1 Class 3A state championship victory over Quincy as a sophomore in 2015.
Last year he recorded 19 goals and 11 assists, despite drawing oppressive attention on the field.
“Ryan has been a dominant player, ever since last year,” Murphy said. “All the teams that face Ryan, they double and triple team him all the time, so we just have to wait for other players to step up and open up out wide.”
Wittenbrink signaled the team’s resolve right at the start, creating pressure deep in the Trevians’ final third in the opening minute of play. The tone was set. This was a hungry, talented team that understood the quality of the opposition and what was required to win.
In the fifth minute, senior midfielder Will Powers hammered a deep free kick that traveled some 40 yards in the air that Rasmussen -- a strapping and rangy 6-foot-2 junior -- elevated for and directed a header to a streaking Wittenbrink on the left wing. Wittenbrink conjured a quick countermove and smote a one-touch that skidded past Trevian senior keeper Sam Rutherford for the early advantage.
“I thought after tying Glenbrook North 0-0 that we wanted to get off to a good start,” Wittenbrink said. “We wanted to get out a little bit of that slump game (against Glenbrook North). We were trying to create as many chances as possible, get some early chances and build off of that. I think we do a really good job of creating.”
Wittenbrink earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his superb play.
The opposition of styles heightened the drama and atmosphere of the match. Big, physical and talented, Libertyville plays an aggressive forward style. Tall, rangy and versatile, New Trier prefers a glancing, almost indirect-style build off modulation and quietly effective pressure.
“I think it is important to see the game and the final result in the context of the first 5-10 minutes,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said. “Give Libertyville credit, because they came in with the game plan that we probably expected them to play. They wanted to be big on set pieces, to throw numbers forward and to play direct. We struggled to deal with that. We did get out of our rhythm.”
Libertyville maintained the hot start in the eighth minute as the same principals collaborated on another beautiful goal. Powers took a throw-in from the right wing that Wittenbrink deftly controlled and slotted to Rasmussen, who drilled the ball home from about 12 yards for the second Wildcats’ goal.
In the 20th minute, off a free kick from the left edge, Wittenbrink again delivered an ideal service on the right wing that Rasmussen partially deflected with another header with just enough English to break the line for the third Libertyville goal.
The Wildcats scored more goals in 20 minutes than the Trevians (5-1-0) conceded in their first five games. Defense has been the foundation of the Trevians, who did not allow a goal in the three pool play games.
“We just could not really find ourselves,” New Trier junior defender Andrew Kuhn said. “We could not find our game. We did not play the way we normally play. We just did not know where to go. We just were not able to play at our normal level.”
Every time New Trier appeared on the verge of making its move, the Wildcats had an answer. During a phenomenal two and a half minute stretch late in the first half, junior Libertyville keeper Thomas Pearson recorded astonishing back-to-back blocks of penalty kick attempts by the Trevians’ Ryan Krueger and Will Felitto.
“In soccer, what you tend to see in the big games, the team that owns both of the boxes gets the result, and we saw that from them,” Ravenscraft said. “Their keeper made two penalty kick saves. That is the day you dream of as a keeper, and it was a job well done. Sometimes it is just not your day, and you have to give credit to a team who really took the occasion by the horns.”
New Trier had too much talent, skill and pride to not fight until the very end. The Trevians qualified for the championship game for the first time in the tournament’s four-year history. Junior midfielder Logan Weaver is part of Trevian soccer royalty. His older sister Jessica, a DePaul star, began the tradition after the family moved to the North Shore from Hersey, Pennsylvania, six years ago. Younger sister Emma Weaver is one of the best young players in the country.
Weaver has four goals and five assists after he orchestrated both of the Trevians’ goals.
“It was definitely a new position for us to be in,” Logan Weaver said. “They definitely jumped on us, and you have to give them credit. I would not say we were not ready for them, but I would say we were probably too electrically charged to play this game. The game did not go our way. It did not bounce in our corner.”
Off a corner kick Weaver played a beautiful service that Kuhn smashed in on a header in the 63rd minute that finally ended the Wildcats’ string of four unanswered goals. Weaver also delivered a terrific free kick that Felitto made an exemplary play on for his fourth goal of the year.
“We fought, and we did not give up,” Weaver said. “You have to give it to Libertyville. You love wins, but you learn so much more from a loss. We are going to look at the film and learn a lot, and we are going to come back stronger.”
The day belonged to Libertyville. The tournament comprised a great deal more. The Northside College Showcased solidified its status as the area's best early-season tournament: five of the top eight ranked teams in the current Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll took part.
“It was still a very good week for us,” Ravenscraft said. “It took us some time to settle down, and eventually we finally found a little bit of what we could do. I think we showed we are dangerous in the run of play, we are dangerous on set pieces, and we have a lot of guys who can score. We have a lot of guys who can put a good ball in. Our patterns are still there. We are still the same team that beat (no. 5) Waukegan.
“Libertyville is very good on set pieces. They break well. Their movement off the ball was really sharp. We just struggled to deal with that.”
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK: Thomas Pearson
D: Grant Herbek
D: Nathan Packholski
D: Mason Williams
D: Austin Becker
MF: Micky Reilly
MF: Riley Hoff
MF: Evan Rasmussen
MF: Greg Krikorian
MF: Will Powers
F: Ryan Wittenbrink
New Trier
GK: Sam Rutherford
D: Daniel Gunther
D: Alex Boudos
D: Ben Axelrod
D: Riles Walsh
MF: Logan Weaver
MF: JoJo Farina
MF: Mateo Blair
F: Ryan Krueger
F: Alex Donnelly-Maine
F: Will Felitto
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Wittenbrink, sr., F, Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
Libertyville—Ryan Wittenbrink (Evan Rasmussen), fifth minute
Libertyville—Evan Rasmussen (Wittenbrink), eighth minute
Libertyville—Rasmussen (Wittenbrink), 20th minute
Second half
Libertyville—Brandon Murphy (Wittenbrink), 53rd minute
New Trier—Andrew Kuhn (Logan Weaver), 63rd minute
Libertyville—Murphy (Wittenbrink), 70th minute
New Trier—Will Felitto (Weaver), 75th minute
for Northside College Showcase title
Wildcats’ star Wittenbrink dominant in 5-2 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD -- Nothing sharpens a team like the sudden realization of their own imperfection.
Libertyville looked unstoppable in handling two highly-rated teams as part of its opening three-game winning streak. Glenbrook North delivered the jolt.
The Spartans, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, played the no. 3 Wildcats to a scoreless draw in pool play Thursday. Libertyville snapped to attention.
“Glenbrook North shut us down, and any team that shuts our team down is very impressive,” Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said.
“Glenbrook North took it to us, and we had the attitude, ‘This is what we are supposed to be doing, and you guys are doing it to us.’ It kind of rattled us. The next day, we worked very hard in practice, and we figured some things out.
“We talked about this (Friday) and early today in getting ready for the game. We have been kind of a slow-starting team. Today our focus was getting a fast start. We just said, let’s press high, let’s go get it, and see what happens.”
Most important Ryan Wittenbrink had his own deliverance that New Trier could not answer.
Wittenbrink cemented his status as a top-five player in the state by scoring a goal and registering four assists as the Wildcats blitzed the Trevians with two goals in the first eight minutes in a convincing 5-2 victory over its sixth-ranked tournament host New Trier in the championship of the Northside College Showcase on Saturday afternoon.
Junior midfielders Evan Rasmussen and reserve Brandon Murphy scored two goals apiece for the Wildcats (4-0-1). The first three goals came on set pieces that underlined the irrepressible and outsized abilities of Indiana recruit Wittenbrink. He scored both goals in the Wildcats’ 2-1 Class 3A state championship victory over Quincy as a sophomore in 2015.
Last year he recorded 19 goals and 11 assists, despite drawing oppressive attention on the field.
“Ryan has been a dominant player, ever since last year,” Murphy said. “All the teams that face Ryan, they double and triple team him all the time, so we just have to wait for other players to step up and open up out wide.”
Wittenbrink signaled the team’s resolve right at the start, creating pressure deep in the Trevians’ final third in the opening minute of play. The tone was set. This was a hungry, talented team that understood the quality of the opposition and what was required to win.
In the fifth minute, senior midfielder Will Powers hammered a deep free kick that traveled some 40 yards in the air that Rasmussen -- a strapping and rangy 6-foot-2 junior -- elevated for and directed a header to a streaking Wittenbrink on the left wing. Wittenbrink conjured a quick countermove and smote a one-touch that skidded past Trevian senior keeper Sam Rutherford for the early advantage.
“I thought after tying Glenbrook North 0-0 that we wanted to get off to a good start,” Wittenbrink said. “We wanted to get out a little bit of that slump game (against Glenbrook North). We were trying to create as many chances as possible, get some early chances and build off of that. I think we do a really good job of creating.”
Wittenbrink earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his superb play.
The opposition of styles heightened the drama and atmosphere of the match. Big, physical and talented, Libertyville plays an aggressive forward style. Tall, rangy and versatile, New Trier prefers a glancing, almost indirect-style build off modulation and quietly effective pressure.
“I think it is important to see the game and the final result in the context of the first 5-10 minutes,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said. “Give Libertyville credit, because they came in with the game plan that we probably expected them to play. They wanted to be big on set pieces, to throw numbers forward and to play direct. We struggled to deal with that. We did get out of our rhythm.”
Libertyville maintained the hot start in the eighth minute as the same principals collaborated on another beautiful goal. Powers took a throw-in from the right wing that Wittenbrink deftly controlled and slotted to Rasmussen, who drilled the ball home from about 12 yards for the second Wildcats’ goal.
In the 20th minute, off a free kick from the left edge, Wittenbrink again delivered an ideal service on the right wing that Rasmussen partially deflected with another header with just enough English to break the line for the third Libertyville goal.
The Wildcats scored more goals in 20 minutes than the Trevians (5-1-0) conceded in their first five games. Defense has been the foundation of the Trevians, who did not allow a goal in the three pool play games.
“We just could not really find ourselves,” New Trier junior defender Andrew Kuhn said. “We could not find our game. We did not play the way we normally play. We just did not know where to go. We just were not able to play at our normal level.”
Every time New Trier appeared on the verge of making its move, the Wildcats had an answer. During a phenomenal two and a half minute stretch late in the first half, junior Libertyville keeper Thomas Pearson recorded astonishing back-to-back blocks of penalty kick attempts by the Trevians’ Ryan Krueger and Will Felitto.
“In soccer, what you tend to see in the big games, the team that owns both of the boxes gets the result, and we saw that from them,” Ravenscraft said. “Their keeper made two penalty kick saves. That is the day you dream of as a keeper, and it was a job well done. Sometimes it is just not your day, and you have to give credit to a team who really took the occasion by the horns.”
New Trier had too much talent, skill and pride to not fight until the very end. The Trevians qualified for the championship game for the first time in the tournament’s four-year history. Junior midfielder Logan Weaver is part of Trevian soccer royalty. His older sister Jessica, a DePaul star, began the tradition after the family moved to the North Shore from Hersey, Pennsylvania, six years ago. Younger sister Emma Weaver is one of the best young players in the country.
Weaver has four goals and five assists after he orchestrated both of the Trevians’ goals.
“It was definitely a new position for us to be in,” Logan Weaver said. “They definitely jumped on us, and you have to give them credit. I would not say we were not ready for them, but I would say we were probably too electrically charged to play this game. The game did not go our way. It did not bounce in our corner.”
Off a corner kick Weaver played a beautiful service that Kuhn smashed in on a header in the 63rd minute that finally ended the Wildcats’ string of four unanswered goals. Weaver also delivered a terrific free kick that Felitto made an exemplary play on for his fourth goal of the year.
“We fought, and we did not give up,” Weaver said. “You have to give it to Libertyville. You love wins, but you learn so much more from a loss. We are going to look at the film and learn a lot, and we are going to come back stronger.”
The day belonged to Libertyville. The tournament comprised a great deal more. The Northside College Showcased solidified its status as the area's best early-season tournament: five of the top eight ranked teams in the current Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll took part.
“It was still a very good week for us,” Ravenscraft said. “It took us some time to settle down, and eventually we finally found a little bit of what we could do. I think we showed we are dangerous in the run of play, we are dangerous on set pieces, and we have a lot of guys who can score. We have a lot of guys who can put a good ball in. Our patterns are still there. We are still the same team that beat (no. 5) Waukegan.
“Libertyville is very good on set pieces. They break well. Their movement off the ball was really sharp. We just struggled to deal with that.”
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK: Thomas Pearson
D: Grant Herbek
D: Nathan Packholski
D: Mason Williams
D: Austin Becker
MF: Micky Reilly
MF: Riley Hoff
MF: Evan Rasmussen
MF: Greg Krikorian
MF: Will Powers
F: Ryan Wittenbrink
New Trier
GK: Sam Rutherford
D: Daniel Gunther
D: Alex Boudos
D: Ben Axelrod
D: Riles Walsh
MF: Logan Weaver
MF: JoJo Farina
MF: Mateo Blair
F: Ryan Krueger
F: Alex Donnelly-Maine
F: Will Felitto
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Wittenbrink, sr., F, Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
Libertyville—Ryan Wittenbrink (Evan Rasmussen), fifth minute
Libertyville—Evan Rasmussen (Wittenbrink), eighth minute
Libertyville—Rasmussen (Wittenbrink), 20th minute
Second half
Libertyville—Brandon Murphy (Wittenbrink), 53rd minute
New Trier—Andrew Kuhn (Logan Weaver), 63rd minute
Libertyville—Murphy (Wittenbrink), 70th minute
New Trier—Will Felitto (Weaver), 75th minute