Recuperating Libertyville shows
strength against Zion-Benton
Wildcats regaining form, post 4-2 Homecoming win
By Bobby Narang
LIBERTYVILLE – Libertyville senior defender Felix Amyot had to wait a long time to get back on the field this season.
Too long.
Amyot, who suffered a sprained ankle and a bone bruise that kept him on the shelf since Sept. 1, picked a grand time to make his return --- Friday afternoon’s North Suburban Conference game against Zion-Benton on Homecoming.
That made his teammates and a large crowd during the entertaining match.
Amyot scored a late goal in the first half that fueled the Wildcats to a 4-2 victory over the Zee-Bees. Libertyville (6-6-3, 3-1-2) has experienced a variety of injuries throughout the season that has led to an unusual amount of losses and ties – at least compared to past editions of the team.
Amyot’s return is a good sign for the Wildcats, who play at Carmel on Monday and at conference-leading Stevenson, the no. 10 team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, on Thursday. Amyot said his goal was a pleasant surprise.
“This was so awesome,” Amyot said. “It feels so good to be back. I beat the guy, saw him fall, and I knew I had to shoot. I heard the crowd.
“I put it in luckily. I was so happy to be back. I hugged my teammates. I was so tired. Ten minutes later, I was looking for a sub.
“My conditioning is not there, but it will be there. It was frustrating being injured and not being a part of it. Last year my goal was to just be present every moment this season. It was hard to sit on the sidelines, but incredible to climb that mountain to get to today.”
Standing near the northern goalpost postgame while a large crowd milled around to his right, Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm was all smiles following the impressive conference win over Zion-Benton (11-4-3, 1-3-2). The Wildcats scored three goals in the first half to take command of the game.
Thunholm said the electric atmosphere motivated his team to play at a high level. Right after the soccer game, the Libertyville football team hosted Lake Zurich, which led to a large early fan turnout for the soccer game.
“It was fun,” Thunholm said. “We love playing in front of these type crowds, and it’s finally Homecoming. We’re finally healthy, and Felix came back for his first game and scored a goal.
"We’re still without our (starting) goalie (senior Eli Johnson), but he’s getting healthy. We’re kind of clicking at the right time. We still have a big one against Stevenson. We’re hoping some things fall our way, so we can battle them. We’re excited now, healthy and having fun.
“Zion-Benton is a quality team. I think we’re going to be a dangerous team when we’re healthy.”
Zion-Benton coach Cliff Pontillo said his players lacked energy and played unusually flat against rapidly improving Libertyville. Damonte Mason scored the Zee-Bees’ first goal; and David Cortes scored late in the game. The Zee-Bees had quality efforts in recent weeks, tying Stevenson 3-3 on Sept. 22 and beating Carmel 3-0 on Monday. They also had a scoreless draw with Waukegan on Tuesday, but quickly wore down against the Wildcats.
“We weren’t ready to play,” Pontillo said. “That was obvious from the start, and I take the blame. That was my fault.
“Libertyville is a really quality opponent. If we don’t play our best, this is what we get. We didn’t play with any kind of urgency in the game. We can’t win like that. No one can.
"It’s a good learning experience. We’ve had a fine year. I’m not overly concerned. Let’s hope we learn and work on it. We have four games next week. It’s a crazy conference with quality from top to bottom. We’re running through a gauntlet, so at least we’re battle-tested.
“I’ve been really pleased most of the season. It’s been a good season.”
The Wildcats managed to take advantage of a few holes in the Zee-Bees’ backline for a pair of goals. Libertyville received goals late in the first half from Oliver Allen and Amyot. Their long shots from outside the box slithered through a host of defenders before finding the net.
Libertyville senior defender C.J. Villani, who notched an assist on Slago’s goal for the 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, said the Wildcats made the most of their shots.
“I saw they had a weakness in the backline side, so I played the ball to my winger, and he one-touched me, and in the middle of the box we were open for that (first goal),” Villani said of his assist.
“Our coach was on us all week about being focused during Homecoming. We came in focused and ready for the game, and that helped us today. I think anything is possible now, as long as we keep our heads.”
Libertyville sophomore goalie Andy Houser notched five saves, playing strong in the net to hold the Zee-Bees at a distance.
Mason scored on a high-bouncing shot to tie the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute, but Hauser held firm afterward. He thrilled the crowd with a diving save in the 56th minute.
“It was really fun (tonight),” Houser said. “I had a lot of nerves going into the game because it was Homecoming. Zion-Benton played good and passed the ball around, but we clamped them up and made our chances.”
Libertyville senior defender Jake Berlowski said it was a quality win against talented visitors.
“They have some good midfielders and move the ball good and have fast wingers, so we had to shut them down individually,” Berlowski said. “They weren’t playing as much as a team. We’ve seen they’ve had some high-scoring games. We just had to shut them down and play our game.
“It’s great to get everyone back. My sophomore year I played on this team. We had a bunch of injuries. Last year we had a bunch of injuries. It was hard not having those important pieces on the team. We’re now getting into a groove right before the playoffs.”
Thunholm said he’s anxious to see how the conference shakes out in the final two weeks of the regular-season, and hopeful for a playoff match against the Patriots (13-0-2, 4-0-1).
The Wildcats were awarded the no. 10 seed in the Class 3A Buffalo Grove Sectional, where they will open the playoffs against eighth-seed Palatine. Top-seeded Stevenson plays the winner of Palatine-Libertyville in the regional championship game.
“Stevenson has a great record. I know their coach really well. They always have a competitive team," Thunholm said. "We don’t like them. They don’t like us. If we get past our first round in the playoffs, they might be there again. We might have a chess game in our game. We have to wait to see.”
Starting lineups
Zion-Benton
GK: Brandon Ayala-Gonzalez
D: Javy Gonzalez
D: Ivan Andrade
D: Booker Brown
D: Xavier Staples
MF: David Cortes
MF: Ramiro Diaz
MF: David Mendoza
MF: Jared Sanchez
F: Damonte Mason
F: Denny Matute
Libertyville
GK: Andy Houser
D: C.J. Villani
D: Henry Bownas
D: Jack Huber
D: Jake Berlowski
MF: Jacob Slago
MF: Milosh Dupor
MF: Andrew Phillips
MF: Cole Danner
F: Alek LaRoi
F: Oliver Allen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Felix Amyot, sr., D, Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
Libertyville: Slago (Villani), 9’
Zion-Benton: Mason (Sanchez), 17’
Libertyville: Allen (unassisted), 32’
Libertyville: Amyot (LaRoi), 34’
Second half
Libertyville: LaRoi (Finnema), 62’
Zion-Benton: Cortes (unassisted), 78’
strength against Zion-Benton
Wildcats regaining form, post 4-2 Homecoming win
By Bobby Narang
LIBERTYVILLE – Libertyville senior defender Felix Amyot had to wait a long time to get back on the field this season.
Too long.
Amyot, who suffered a sprained ankle and a bone bruise that kept him on the shelf since Sept. 1, picked a grand time to make his return --- Friday afternoon’s North Suburban Conference game against Zion-Benton on Homecoming.
That made his teammates and a large crowd during the entertaining match.
Amyot scored a late goal in the first half that fueled the Wildcats to a 4-2 victory over the Zee-Bees. Libertyville (6-6-3, 3-1-2) has experienced a variety of injuries throughout the season that has led to an unusual amount of losses and ties – at least compared to past editions of the team.
Amyot’s return is a good sign for the Wildcats, who play at Carmel on Monday and at conference-leading Stevenson, the no. 10 team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, on Thursday. Amyot said his goal was a pleasant surprise.
“This was so awesome,” Amyot said. “It feels so good to be back. I beat the guy, saw him fall, and I knew I had to shoot. I heard the crowd.
“I put it in luckily. I was so happy to be back. I hugged my teammates. I was so tired. Ten minutes later, I was looking for a sub.
“My conditioning is not there, but it will be there. It was frustrating being injured and not being a part of it. Last year my goal was to just be present every moment this season. It was hard to sit on the sidelines, but incredible to climb that mountain to get to today.”
Standing near the northern goalpost postgame while a large crowd milled around to his right, Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm was all smiles following the impressive conference win over Zion-Benton (11-4-3, 1-3-2). The Wildcats scored three goals in the first half to take command of the game.
Thunholm said the electric atmosphere motivated his team to play at a high level. Right after the soccer game, the Libertyville football team hosted Lake Zurich, which led to a large early fan turnout for the soccer game.
“It was fun,” Thunholm said. “We love playing in front of these type crowds, and it’s finally Homecoming. We’re finally healthy, and Felix came back for his first game and scored a goal.
"We’re still without our (starting) goalie (senior Eli Johnson), but he’s getting healthy. We’re kind of clicking at the right time. We still have a big one against Stevenson. We’re hoping some things fall our way, so we can battle them. We’re excited now, healthy and having fun.
“Zion-Benton is a quality team. I think we’re going to be a dangerous team when we’re healthy.”
Zion-Benton coach Cliff Pontillo said his players lacked energy and played unusually flat against rapidly improving Libertyville. Damonte Mason scored the Zee-Bees’ first goal; and David Cortes scored late in the game. The Zee-Bees had quality efforts in recent weeks, tying Stevenson 3-3 on Sept. 22 and beating Carmel 3-0 on Monday. They also had a scoreless draw with Waukegan on Tuesday, but quickly wore down against the Wildcats.
“We weren’t ready to play,” Pontillo said. “That was obvious from the start, and I take the blame. That was my fault.
“Libertyville is a really quality opponent. If we don’t play our best, this is what we get. We didn’t play with any kind of urgency in the game. We can’t win like that. No one can.
"It’s a good learning experience. We’ve had a fine year. I’m not overly concerned. Let’s hope we learn and work on it. We have four games next week. It’s a crazy conference with quality from top to bottom. We’re running through a gauntlet, so at least we’re battle-tested.
“I’ve been really pleased most of the season. It’s been a good season.”
The Wildcats managed to take advantage of a few holes in the Zee-Bees’ backline for a pair of goals. Libertyville received goals late in the first half from Oliver Allen and Amyot. Their long shots from outside the box slithered through a host of defenders before finding the net.
Libertyville senior defender C.J. Villani, who notched an assist on Slago’s goal for the 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, said the Wildcats made the most of their shots.
“I saw they had a weakness in the backline side, so I played the ball to my winger, and he one-touched me, and in the middle of the box we were open for that (first goal),” Villani said of his assist.
“Our coach was on us all week about being focused during Homecoming. We came in focused and ready for the game, and that helped us today. I think anything is possible now, as long as we keep our heads.”
Libertyville sophomore goalie Andy Houser notched five saves, playing strong in the net to hold the Zee-Bees at a distance.
Mason scored on a high-bouncing shot to tie the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute, but Hauser held firm afterward. He thrilled the crowd with a diving save in the 56th minute.
“It was really fun (tonight),” Houser said. “I had a lot of nerves going into the game because it was Homecoming. Zion-Benton played good and passed the ball around, but we clamped them up and made our chances.”
Libertyville senior defender Jake Berlowski said it was a quality win against talented visitors.
“They have some good midfielders and move the ball good and have fast wingers, so we had to shut them down individually,” Berlowski said. “They weren’t playing as much as a team. We’ve seen they’ve had some high-scoring games. We just had to shut them down and play our game.
“It’s great to get everyone back. My sophomore year I played on this team. We had a bunch of injuries. Last year we had a bunch of injuries. It was hard not having those important pieces on the team. We’re now getting into a groove right before the playoffs.”
Thunholm said he’s anxious to see how the conference shakes out in the final two weeks of the regular-season, and hopeful for a playoff match against the Patriots (13-0-2, 4-0-1).
The Wildcats were awarded the no. 10 seed in the Class 3A Buffalo Grove Sectional, where they will open the playoffs against eighth-seed Palatine. Top-seeded Stevenson plays the winner of Palatine-Libertyville in the regional championship game.
“Stevenson has a great record. I know their coach really well. They always have a competitive team," Thunholm said. "We don’t like them. They don’t like us. If we get past our first round in the playoffs, they might be there again. We might have a chess game in our game. We have to wait to see.”
Starting lineups
Zion-Benton
GK: Brandon Ayala-Gonzalez
D: Javy Gonzalez
D: Ivan Andrade
D: Booker Brown
D: Xavier Staples
MF: David Cortes
MF: Ramiro Diaz
MF: David Mendoza
MF: Jared Sanchez
F: Damonte Mason
F: Denny Matute
Libertyville
GK: Andy Houser
D: C.J. Villani
D: Henry Bownas
D: Jack Huber
D: Jake Berlowski
MF: Jacob Slago
MF: Milosh Dupor
MF: Andrew Phillips
MF: Cole Danner
F: Alek LaRoi
F: Oliver Allen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Felix Amyot, sr., D, Libertyville
Scoring summary
First half
Libertyville: Slago (Villani), 9’
Zion-Benton: Mason (Sanchez), 17’
Libertyville: Allen (unassisted), 32’
Libertyville: Amyot (LaRoi), 34’
Second half
Libertyville: LaRoi (Finnema), 62’
Zion-Benton: Cortes (unassisted), 78’