On a chilly Tuesday evening at Warren Township High School, Libertyville (13-3) and Lake Zurich (6-9-2) battled it out to the end, with the Wildcats ending up victorious in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by junior midfielder Riley Hoff.
The game was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats. In the first half of the game, the Wildcats dominated control of the ball, leading to many scoring opportunities. Lake Zurich was on the defensive, trying to stave off the offensive that Libertyville was putting up.
Of the many scoring chances LHS did compile during the half, only two resulted in goals. Junior forward Ryan Wittenbrink scored off a free kick in the 30th minute to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. With one minute to go in the half, sophomore Evan Rasmussen scored on a header, assisted by a Hoff.
“We dominated, putting it to the feet. Being successful with the ball can do a lot for your team,” coach Andy Bitta exclaimed.
As for the second half of game, for the first 20 minutes of the half, the Wildcats kept the possession of the ball mostly in their control.
Then the Wildcats started to play more conservatively, abandoning their successful game plan. This allowed for Lake Zurich to tie the game up with two goals of their own.
“We played to their advantage in the second half of the game. We gave them too many chances and because [of that], that’s how they’re going to score on us,” Bitta stated.
With no scoring the rest of the way, overtime was needed to determine the outcome of the matchup.
The Wildcats went back to their dominant, ball-controlling selves as they pressured Lake Zurich deep into their side of the field. In the final minute of the first overtime half, Hoff put Libertyville up 3-2 on a shot from inside the box.
“I knew when Rass (Evan Rasmussen) played the ball through, I had to finish that shot. I knew I was going to put it away,” Hoff said.
For the rest of overtime, the Wildcats fended off every Lake Zurich scoring chance, conserving their lead, winning the game and advancing further in the IHSA Regionals.
“We kept our heads about us. We knew that we were the better team and we knew we had to come through. We had each other’s backs and took home that win,” Hoff said strongly.
Libertyville will face Palatine this Saturday at 3 p.m. at Warren Township High School.
