Unbeaten Libertyville gives Warren 1st loss
Late goal takes key North Suburban battle 1-0
By Rusty Silber
LIBERTYVILLE -- Some things don't change for Libertyville: they start the season playing stiff competition; and they win.
What has become different is the manner how the Wildcats earn victories.
For the first time in the last three years without a high-scoring forward to rely on, this edition of the Wildcats, ranked second in the Chicagoland SoccerTop 25, has had to improvise.
In a furious battle that appeared to be headed to a draw, Libertyville rose up behind a 79th-minute goal from senior midfielder Luke Underwood to squeeze past no. 8 Warren 1-0 in a battle of unbeatens and crucial early season North Suburban Conference match Tuesday night.
The Wildcats now stand at 8-0-0 with the win in their league debut. Warren now stands at 8-1-0 and 1-1-0.
"Our boys just never quit, so that's what impresses me about these guys," said Thunholm, whose record at Libertyville now stands at 50-2-3, a .933 winning percentage. "We knew it was going to be a fight, and every conference game is. Warren is a well-coached team. Their guys know our guys really well. I didn't think it would come down to that late."
After a scoreless first half, Thunholm made adjustments.
"We changed quite a bit and moved people around," Thunholm said. "We had a different guy up-top. We stopped pressing as much. We let them play a little bit more in the back, so they would skip the middle and play it long. We felt we had the better of the play in the second half.
"However, the first half I thought Warren was much better than us. We kind of wanted to impress the crowd and maybe came out with a bit too much adrenaline. Second half we figured to slow things down, calm down, and it will come. We hit the post and had shots on goal. It was the typical things we do."
The game-winner transpired after a headball in front of the goal from Jacopo Franciosi off a Patrick Graham throw-in. Underwood converted for his fourth goal of the season.
"I always hit the top (of the box) on the crosses," Underwood said. "This time it popped out, and my guy was to the left of me. I ran hard to the right and hit it into the ground past the keeper."
Underwood's effort earned him the Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
"The past two years we've beaten (Warren) 5-0 and 7-0," Underwood said. "This year, we knew they would be good, and they have a good program. The first half, I thought we came out a little slow."
Underwood's senior season has given him an opportunity to shine.
"It's awesome, and it means the world to me," Underwood said.
Underwood's family moved to Libertyville from Southern California.
"I was coming into the area in sixth grade and didn't know much about the area," Underwood said. "I knew about Chicago, and I was a little scared. In 2015, Libertyville had a state championship team. I got to watch them all the way into the state playoffs. It's actually, my dream to go all the way into the state playoffs."
Underwood fills an important spot in the Wildcats' chemistry.
"The team helps a ton," Underwood said. "I feel that I don't take a big role because everyone is always on top of each other. There's definitely support in everybody all the time."
The match was a field-wide battle. Each team hit the post in the second half. The keepers came up big: Warren goalie Nicholas Diana made 10 stops; Libertyville's Hunter Lynch made five.
Warren's backline had to handle the speed and quickness of Libertyville's attack. Edward Luna was one of the defenders who made a big difference.
"It was a very tough game, and both teams played very well," Luna said. "It was a pretty equal game, and the possession was pretty much the same. Libertyville was really fast especially when we had the ball in the back.
"They would press really fast, and it was really hard to get the ball forward. I thought the team played tough and hard out there. We fought for the 50/50 balls and defended very well."
Blue Devils coach Jason Ahonen felt his club played one of its best efforts of the season with a dogged work ethic from the back to the front. Warren created chances that put Libertyville on its heels, especially in the first half with several chances around the goal.
"It's the second week in conference, and we're trying to get better every day," Ahonen said. "We're playing a certain brand of soccer, and I think it's appealing -- keep the ball and play to the lines. We did that, and we played a top-notch opponent that had our number in recent years.
"I think we gave them everything that they could handle. We took the 'L,' but it wasn't without a fight. That's all I can ask for out of our boys.
"We traded opportunities, but we didn't finish," Ahonen continued. "The moral of the game is that we didn't finish and they did. Hats off to them for staying undefeated. We'll get back to work and move forward to Lake Forest (Thursday).
"This was a gut-check game. This was to see where we are. We did what we wanted to do at times but just didn't finish. It was a team effort, and I was very proud of the effort they put out."
Starting Lineups
Warren
GK-Nicholas Diana
D-Cory Melchor
D-Edward Luna
D-Alex Senko
D-Nolan Ehlers
MF-Max Floriani
MF-Josh Segura
MF-Sebastian Rodriguez
F-Luke Shoenbrunn
F-Noe Martinez
F-Ishaan Shah
Libertyville
GK-Hunter Lynch
D-Jacopo Franciosi
D-Will Herbek
D-Cade Apton
MF-Jack Brennan
MF-Colin Klainos
MF-Landon Johnson
MF-Luke Underwood
MF-Mickey Reilly
F-Connor Hay
F-Patrick Graham
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Luke Underwood, sr., MF. Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Lib-Luke Underwood (Jacopo Franciosi) 79
Late goal takes key North Suburban battle 1-0
By Rusty Silber
LIBERTYVILLE -- Some things don't change for Libertyville: they start the season playing stiff competition; and they win.
What has become different is the manner how the Wildcats earn victories.
For the first time in the last three years without a high-scoring forward to rely on, this edition of the Wildcats, ranked second in the Chicagoland SoccerTop 25, has had to improvise.
In a furious battle that appeared to be headed to a draw, Libertyville rose up behind a 79th-minute goal from senior midfielder Luke Underwood to squeeze past no. 8 Warren 1-0 in a battle of unbeatens and crucial early season North Suburban Conference match Tuesday night.
The Wildcats now stand at 8-0-0 with the win in their league debut. Warren now stands at 8-1-0 and 1-1-0.
"Our boys just never quit, so that's what impresses me about these guys," said Thunholm, whose record at Libertyville now stands at 50-2-3, a .933 winning percentage. "We knew it was going to be a fight, and every conference game is. Warren is a well-coached team. Their guys know our guys really well. I didn't think it would come down to that late."
After a scoreless first half, Thunholm made adjustments.
"We changed quite a bit and moved people around," Thunholm said. "We had a different guy up-top. We stopped pressing as much. We let them play a little bit more in the back, so they would skip the middle and play it long. We felt we had the better of the play in the second half.
"However, the first half I thought Warren was much better than us. We kind of wanted to impress the crowd and maybe came out with a bit too much adrenaline. Second half we figured to slow things down, calm down, and it will come. We hit the post and had shots on goal. It was the typical things we do."
The game-winner transpired after a headball in front of the goal from Jacopo Franciosi off a Patrick Graham throw-in. Underwood converted for his fourth goal of the season.
"I always hit the top (of the box) on the crosses," Underwood said. "This time it popped out, and my guy was to the left of me. I ran hard to the right and hit it into the ground past the keeper."
Underwood's effort earned him the Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
"The past two years we've beaten (Warren) 5-0 and 7-0," Underwood said. "This year, we knew they would be good, and they have a good program. The first half, I thought we came out a little slow."
Underwood's senior season has given him an opportunity to shine.
"It's awesome, and it means the world to me," Underwood said.
Underwood's family moved to Libertyville from Southern California.
"I was coming into the area in sixth grade and didn't know much about the area," Underwood said. "I knew about Chicago, and I was a little scared. In 2015, Libertyville had a state championship team. I got to watch them all the way into the state playoffs. It's actually, my dream to go all the way into the state playoffs."
Underwood fills an important spot in the Wildcats' chemistry.
"The team helps a ton," Underwood said. "I feel that I don't take a big role because everyone is always on top of each other. There's definitely support in everybody all the time."
The match was a field-wide battle. Each team hit the post in the second half. The keepers came up big: Warren goalie Nicholas Diana made 10 stops; Libertyville's Hunter Lynch made five.
Warren's backline had to handle the speed and quickness of Libertyville's attack. Edward Luna was one of the defenders who made a big difference.
"It was a very tough game, and both teams played very well," Luna said. "It was a pretty equal game, and the possession was pretty much the same. Libertyville was really fast especially when we had the ball in the back.
"They would press really fast, and it was really hard to get the ball forward. I thought the team played tough and hard out there. We fought for the 50/50 balls and defended very well."
Blue Devils coach Jason Ahonen felt his club played one of its best efforts of the season with a dogged work ethic from the back to the front. Warren created chances that put Libertyville on its heels, especially in the first half with several chances around the goal.
"It's the second week in conference, and we're trying to get better every day," Ahonen said. "We're playing a certain brand of soccer, and I think it's appealing -- keep the ball and play to the lines. We did that, and we played a top-notch opponent that had our number in recent years.
"I think we gave them everything that they could handle. We took the 'L,' but it wasn't without a fight. That's all I can ask for out of our boys.
"We traded opportunities, but we didn't finish," Ahonen continued. "The moral of the game is that we didn't finish and they did. Hats off to them for staying undefeated. We'll get back to work and move forward to Lake Forest (Thursday).
"This was a gut-check game. This was to see where we are. We did what we wanted to do at times but just didn't finish. It was a team effort, and I was very proud of the effort they put out."
Starting Lineups
Warren
GK-Nicholas Diana
D-Cory Melchor
D-Edward Luna
D-Alex Senko
D-Nolan Ehlers
MF-Max Floriani
MF-Josh Segura
MF-Sebastian Rodriguez
F-Luke Shoenbrunn
F-Noe Martinez
F-Ishaan Shah
Libertyville
GK-Hunter Lynch
D-Jacopo Franciosi
D-Will Herbek
D-Cade Apton
MF-Jack Brennan
MF-Colin Klainos
MF-Landon Johnson
MF-Luke Underwood
MF-Mickey Reilly
F-Connor Hay
F-Patrick Graham
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Luke Underwood, sr., MF. Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Lib-Luke Underwood (Jacopo Franciosi) 79