Libertyville falls to district rival
Vernon Hills in playoff tune-up
Wildcats lose 1-0, but put in solid effort with makeshift cast
By Rusty Silber
VERNON HILLS -- Libertyville entered its regular-season finale without eight players out due to illnesses and injuries. The Wildcats still put on a good show against District 128 rival Vernon Hills.
The matchup was a reunion of sorts. The teams play in different conferences, Libertyville in the North Suburban and Vernon Hills in the Central Suburban League North Division, and hadn't met since 2016.
The competition was even on the scoreboard until the end. Vernon Hills scored a late goal for the 1-0 win.
"(Vernon Hills coach) Mike McCaulou and I have been talking for a while about doing it," Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said about scheduling the game. "It was a matter of good timing. Nobody wanted to get hurt; we wanted to get better.
“But the boys like to play each other. I think that's important. They all play club together, so it was fun to watch."
Libertyville (9-6-4) used its bench to fill in the holes caused by the absences and got the benefit of seeing reserve players in game situations and others at different spots on the field. The experience gained will add to the Wildcats depth and versatility in the postseason.
"Tonight, we had a lot of kids that played different positions," Thunholm said. "We switched things up. We had our back-up goalie Chase (Bonder) play a whole game. He looked like a seasoned veteran out there.
“Right now, we're trying to figure out our heartbeat, what's important to us. We weren't really concerned about the outcome of this game. We just wanted to stay healthy."
The Wildcats have lacked finishing in numerous matches this season. If they find the solution to that issue, it can extend their playoff push.
"We do build up so well," Thunholm said. "I think every game we talk that we don't finish. We defend well and are doing better than we have. We're finding opportunities, but we don't have that guy to put it in the net."
Bonder, the back-up to Michael Krukonis, played his third game in goal for the Wildcats this season. The 6-foot-7 keeper, who plays on the Libertyville basketball team, made seven saves.
"I actually grew up in Vernon Hills, and I know a lot of players on the other team," he said. "It was the first year for me to come back to soccer since grade school. I can reach a lot farther than others. It's just kind of electric saving a few shots.
“I do think soccer helps out with basketball with the hand-eye coordination. I think reacting for the ball has improved so much for me and should translate over to the basketball season with steals, blocks and rebounds."
Vernon Hills (10-4-3) had solid possession and applied pressure as the second half wore on. The Cougars finally found a way to break through in the 77th minute.
After a throw-in, Valde Nambo controlled the ball. He found teammate Aleksa Arbutina for the game-winner.
"Libertyville slacked on getting behind the ball," Nambo said. "I sprinted to the ball and saw Aleksa running toward the goal. He called it, and I gave it to him.
“It was a 1-v-1, and luckily he scored. I was looking around to see my teammates. I saw a gap and when I saw that, I just got it there. It got through for an assist."
Nambo has shown a lot of ability in the middle of the field for the Cougars. He almost scored minutes earlier, beating five Libertyville players, but just missed wide. He's a player that works hard on both sides of the field and starts the Cougars attack. For his impactful work, he was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"Libertyville is an excellent school, and there's a lot of competition over there." said Nambo, who has eight goals and four assists this season. “We did go against Evanston and New Trier. I just try to make the game more simple against these teams, because they’re technically at a high level. I just try to do the right thing. My vision does a lot to accomplish that."
Vernon Hills plays a fair amount of Class 3A schools but will compete in the Class AA state tournament. The Cougars are seeded second in the their own sectional behind 2018 state champ and 2019 runnerup Crystal Lake South.
"We're really proud of our guys," McCaulou said. "We talked to our guys about this win-win opportunity for us. We know that we're strong, and we can compete with a lot of 3A schools in our conference.
“It's the big school against the small school, but they’re not that much bigger. Traditionally, speaking they’re well known. We've been making a name for ourselves over the last nine or 10 years here. It does take work day-in and day-out."
The Cougars open postseason play against the winner of 18th-seed North Chicago and no. 15 Grayslake North at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at home.
Seventh-seeded Libertyville will compete in the Class 3A Barrington Regional. The Wildcats meet 10-seed Waukegan (7-8-2) at 7 p.m. Oct. 19.
Libertyville lost to Waukegan 3-1 in North Suburban Conference play on Sept. 14.
Senior defender Jon Melcher said the Wildcats know they are in for a tough playoff opener.
“We will be playing Waukegan for a second time. We do know a little bit about their team going in," Melcher said. "Not to say that we didn't know going into it the first time. We do know who to look out for, what runs that they make and the way they play their game.
"I think we do a good job building things up once we calm down. Sometimes there's an initial panic when we're playing a team that's good. Only time will tell."
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK-Chase Bonder
D-Jack Huber
D-Jake Berlowski
D-Joey Yurek
D-Matthew Fisher
D-Lian Gaiden
M-Cole Danner
M-Felix Amyot
M-Andrew Phillips
F-Ryan Losh
F-Jacob Salgo
Vernon Hills
GK-Raul Jasso
D-Brandon Marquez
D-Andre Giamocak
D-Joel Kim
M-Valde Nambo
M-Milan Rival
M-David Deng
M-Rudra Kukian
M-Nikita Stepanov
F-Owen Ray
F-Aleksa Arbutina
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Valde Nambo, sr., MF, Vernon Hills
Referees: Chris Rudolph, center; Damian Blasberg, AR 1; Oleg Podtynov, AR 2
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
VH-Aleksa Arbutina (Valde Nambo), 77'
Vernon Hills in playoff tune-up
Wildcats lose 1-0, but put in solid effort with makeshift cast
By Rusty Silber
VERNON HILLS -- Libertyville entered its regular-season finale without eight players out due to illnesses and injuries. The Wildcats still put on a good show against District 128 rival Vernon Hills.
The matchup was a reunion of sorts. The teams play in different conferences, Libertyville in the North Suburban and Vernon Hills in the Central Suburban League North Division, and hadn't met since 2016.
The competition was even on the scoreboard until the end. Vernon Hills scored a late goal for the 1-0 win.
"(Vernon Hills coach) Mike McCaulou and I have been talking for a while about doing it," Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm said about scheduling the game. "It was a matter of good timing. Nobody wanted to get hurt; we wanted to get better.
“But the boys like to play each other. I think that's important. They all play club together, so it was fun to watch."
Libertyville (9-6-4) used its bench to fill in the holes caused by the absences and got the benefit of seeing reserve players in game situations and others at different spots on the field. The experience gained will add to the Wildcats depth and versatility in the postseason.
"Tonight, we had a lot of kids that played different positions," Thunholm said. "We switched things up. We had our back-up goalie Chase (Bonder) play a whole game. He looked like a seasoned veteran out there.
“Right now, we're trying to figure out our heartbeat, what's important to us. We weren't really concerned about the outcome of this game. We just wanted to stay healthy."
The Wildcats have lacked finishing in numerous matches this season. If they find the solution to that issue, it can extend their playoff push.
"We do build up so well," Thunholm said. "I think every game we talk that we don't finish. We defend well and are doing better than we have. We're finding opportunities, but we don't have that guy to put it in the net."
Bonder, the back-up to Michael Krukonis, played his third game in goal for the Wildcats this season. The 6-foot-7 keeper, who plays on the Libertyville basketball team, made seven saves.
"I actually grew up in Vernon Hills, and I know a lot of players on the other team," he said. "It was the first year for me to come back to soccer since grade school. I can reach a lot farther than others. It's just kind of electric saving a few shots.
“I do think soccer helps out with basketball with the hand-eye coordination. I think reacting for the ball has improved so much for me and should translate over to the basketball season with steals, blocks and rebounds."
Vernon Hills (10-4-3) had solid possession and applied pressure as the second half wore on. The Cougars finally found a way to break through in the 77th minute.
After a throw-in, Valde Nambo controlled the ball. He found teammate Aleksa Arbutina for the game-winner.
"Libertyville slacked on getting behind the ball," Nambo said. "I sprinted to the ball and saw Aleksa running toward the goal. He called it, and I gave it to him.
“It was a 1-v-1, and luckily he scored. I was looking around to see my teammates. I saw a gap and when I saw that, I just got it there. It got through for an assist."
Nambo has shown a lot of ability in the middle of the field for the Cougars. He almost scored minutes earlier, beating five Libertyville players, but just missed wide. He's a player that works hard on both sides of the field and starts the Cougars attack. For his impactful work, he was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"Libertyville is an excellent school, and there's a lot of competition over there." said Nambo, who has eight goals and four assists this season. “We did go against Evanston and New Trier. I just try to make the game more simple against these teams, because they’re technically at a high level. I just try to do the right thing. My vision does a lot to accomplish that."
Vernon Hills plays a fair amount of Class 3A schools but will compete in the Class AA state tournament. The Cougars are seeded second in the their own sectional behind 2018 state champ and 2019 runnerup Crystal Lake South.
"We're really proud of our guys," McCaulou said. "We talked to our guys about this win-win opportunity for us. We know that we're strong, and we can compete with a lot of 3A schools in our conference.
“It's the big school against the small school, but they’re not that much bigger. Traditionally, speaking they’re well known. We've been making a name for ourselves over the last nine or 10 years here. It does take work day-in and day-out."
The Cougars open postseason play against the winner of 18th-seed North Chicago and no. 15 Grayslake North at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at home.
Seventh-seeded Libertyville will compete in the Class 3A Barrington Regional. The Wildcats meet 10-seed Waukegan (7-8-2) at 7 p.m. Oct. 19.
Libertyville lost to Waukegan 3-1 in North Suburban Conference play on Sept. 14.
Senior defender Jon Melcher said the Wildcats know they are in for a tough playoff opener.
“We will be playing Waukegan for a second time. We do know a little bit about their team going in," Melcher said. "Not to say that we didn't know going into it the first time. We do know who to look out for, what runs that they make and the way they play their game.
"I think we do a good job building things up once we calm down. Sometimes there's an initial panic when we're playing a team that's good. Only time will tell."
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK-Chase Bonder
D-Jack Huber
D-Jake Berlowski
D-Joey Yurek
D-Matthew Fisher
D-Lian Gaiden
M-Cole Danner
M-Felix Amyot
M-Andrew Phillips
F-Ryan Losh
F-Jacob Salgo
Vernon Hills
GK-Raul Jasso
D-Brandon Marquez
D-Andre Giamocak
D-Joel Kim
M-Valde Nambo
M-Milan Rival
M-David Deng
M-Rudra Kukian
M-Nikita Stepanov
F-Owen Ray
F-Aleksa Arbutina
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Valde Nambo, sr., MF, Vernon Hills
Referees: Chris Rudolph, center; Damian Blasberg, AR 1; Oleg Podtynov, AR 2
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
VH-Aleksa Arbutina (Valde Nambo), 77'