Libertyville 'D-lights' in win over Morton
Backliners push Wildcats into Class 3A title game
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Libertyville’s great defense passed one of the ultimate tests Friday with its near shutout of high-powered Morton.
A 2-1 win in the Class 3A semifinals earned the Wildcats a shot at the ultimate prize at 7 p.m. Saturday – the first state title in coach Andy Bitta’s 31-year career.
“We have the best defense in the state,” Bitta said. “We’ve had now five (postseason) games, and four shutouts. Our defense has played well all year long. We haven’t given up more than two goals (in a game) all year.”
Libertyville (18-3-1) has allowed just 14 goals in 22 contests, and limited a powerful attack for Morton (26-3) that has amassed 89 goals this fall.
“They do a great job marking, playing together and covering for each other,” Bitta said of his defense. “We really start with our formation – in the back we’re very conservative, and then we push people forward who are very quick with great skill. That’s how we work it. Shut them out and then go get a goal.”
The disciplined, tall Libertyville backline of Grant Widmark, Jacob Rasmussen (both 6-foot-3), Daniel Marks (6-2) and Michael Quigley (6-0) stayed cool under waves of Morton pressure, keeping the speedy and talented Mustangs close-in threats to a minimum.
One of the few Wildcat miscues came 70 seconds in, when Morton’s Adan Carriedo intercepted a low goal kick and drove in on goal. But Wildcat goalkeeper Brant Kym made the save on a 20-yard shot.
Kym saved a Baltazar Duran 30-yard free kick eight minutes later, and Carriedo sent an 18-yarder inches wide of the right post in the 14th minute.
“In these type of games against a quality opponent, you’re not going to have plentiful opportunities,” Morton coach Mike Caruso said. “The ones you do have are going to be few and far between. You have to be able to put those in the net.
“Getting one of those in the first half, we could have brought them out more and created a little more space in our offense.”
Libertyville countered with its own first half chances, including a Nate Edmunds liner over the net 6:05 before halftime.
Then with the wind at their backs in the second half, the Wildcats quickly set the tone for the rest of the game.
Just 49 seconds into the second half, Liam O’Connell’s 50-yard direct kick connected with Tucker Goebeler at the 6-yard line.
Goebeler’s initial try was stopped by Morton goalkeeper Billy Castro, but sophomore Ryan Wittenbrink was at the doorstep to punch in the rebound near the right post for a 1-0 Wildcat lead.
“Liam got a cross to Tucker, he got his head on it, and I was there for the follow,” Wittenbrink said. “The goalie made a nice save, but I got a head on it for the goal.
“I’m taught to follow shots. I was there at the right time, right place, and it worked out.”
The goal also worked to allow Libertyville to focus on its bread and butter -– defense.
“They put the whole team back (on defense),” Duran said. “It was complicated for us to beat their whole 11 on the team.”
Morton had top level threats with 27:30 left (Kym’s deflection wide of a Leo Delgado try right of the post), 15:30 to go (a Jose Gonzalez 25-yarder over the net) and with 5:10 left to play (Quigley’s nice clear of Danny Sanchez’s right side attack).
In a great team effort by Libertyville, one man in black stood out from Morton’s perspective.
“They’re a quality side,” Caruso said. “No. 12 (Nate Edmunds) is talented on the ball – Hinsdale Central has a couple of really good players, but I don’t think we’ve played an opponent like him with the physicality as well. He’s a very nice player.”
Also in the middle of big offensive and defensive plays was Tucker Goebeler, whose elusiveness doubled the Libertyville lead with 19:13 to go.
Off a foul and another left sideline restart, O’Donnell sent a 28-yard direct kick that connected with an open Goebeler at the right post for a header and 2-0 lead. Both Goebeler and first goal scorer Wittenbrink have eight goals this fall.
“He (Goebeler) came up to me before my kick and said, ‘Find me at the back post, they can’t guard me,’” O’Connell said. “So I got it there.”
Morton had been shut out just once all year (by Deerfield on Sept. 17), and kicked into a higher gear Friday to make it a nervous finish for Libertyville.
Rigo Lozano’s relentless endline drive attempt left of the goal paid off with 3:01 left, drawing a foul in the box. Duran buried the ensuing penalty kick (his 21st goal of the season) to make it 2-1.
“When I scored the goal,” Duran said, “we all got motivated and felt we could get another one and get another 20 minutes (of overtime) to finish them off there.”
The Mustangs continued to push hard until the final tick. A frenetic last 50 seconds began with a Duran cross to the net (headed away by Edmunds and cleared by Goebeler).
Then with just 10 seconds left, Diego Lopez’s throw-in towards the box was cleared far upfield by Goebeler to ice Libertyville’s third state finals trip in school history.
“It’s been our goal since the first day of training camp this summer,” Goebeler, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, said of the state title game.
"It was hard coming out in the first game (Aug. 28 against Evanston) and losing, but we got on a pretty good win streak (eight in a row) after that. We’ve always known we had the talent to take it this far, if we just put it all together and played as a team.”
There will be no consternation from Libertyville in the final.
“Our team is used to playing these well-known, strong teams,” O’Connell said. “We know how to beat teams like this. Once we beat Wheaton Academy (in the semifinals of the PepsiCo Showdown), we knew no one could stop us.”
Quincy becomes the last team with a chance to stop Libertyville, in what will be an interesting coaching matchup.
Bitta’s 435-win career includes a pair of overtime losses in state final games (1986 and 2010).
Quincy’s retiring coach Matt Longo has won 372 games and taken four teams to state, already topping the school’s previous best fourth place finish of 1995.
For Bitta, the 2015 ride has already been amazing – and could get even better Saturday night.
“These guys have been fantastic all year long,” Bitta said. “Their work ethic and togetherness have been fantastic – they’ve been such a pleasure to coach.”
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK- Brandon Kym
D- Michael Quigley
D- Daniel Marks
D- Grant Widmark
D- Jacob Rasmussen
MF- Liam O’Connell
MF- Nate Edmunds
MF- Kenny Gallagher
MF-Tucker Goebeler
F- Ryan Wittenbrink
F- Kevin Reilly
Morton
GK- Billy Castro
D- Juan Salas
D- Jose Gonzalez
D- Diego Lopez
MF- Ricky Ledezma
MF- Leo Delgado
MF- Danny Sanchez
MF- Adan Carriedo
MF- Rigo Lozano
F- Malik Jones
F- Baltazar Duran
Man of the Match: Tucker Goebeler, MF, Libertyville
Backliners push Wildcats into Class 3A title game
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Libertyville’s great defense passed one of the ultimate tests Friday with its near shutout of high-powered Morton.
A 2-1 win in the Class 3A semifinals earned the Wildcats a shot at the ultimate prize at 7 p.m. Saturday – the first state title in coach Andy Bitta’s 31-year career.
“We have the best defense in the state,” Bitta said. “We’ve had now five (postseason) games, and four shutouts. Our defense has played well all year long. We haven’t given up more than two goals (in a game) all year.”
Libertyville (18-3-1) has allowed just 14 goals in 22 contests, and limited a powerful attack for Morton (26-3) that has amassed 89 goals this fall.
“They do a great job marking, playing together and covering for each other,” Bitta said of his defense. “We really start with our formation – in the back we’re very conservative, and then we push people forward who are very quick with great skill. That’s how we work it. Shut them out and then go get a goal.”
The disciplined, tall Libertyville backline of Grant Widmark, Jacob Rasmussen (both 6-foot-3), Daniel Marks (6-2) and Michael Quigley (6-0) stayed cool under waves of Morton pressure, keeping the speedy and talented Mustangs close-in threats to a minimum.
One of the few Wildcat miscues came 70 seconds in, when Morton’s Adan Carriedo intercepted a low goal kick and drove in on goal. But Wildcat goalkeeper Brant Kym made the save on a 20-yard shot.
Kym saved a Baltazar Duran 30-yard free kick eight minutes later, and Carriedo sent an 18-yarder inches wide of the right post in the 14th minute.
“In these type of games against a quality opponent, you’re not going to have plentiful opportunities,” Morton coach Mike Caruso said. “The ones you do have are going to be few and far between. You have to be able to put those in the net.
“Getting one of those in the first half, we could have brought them out more and created a little more space in our offense.”
Libertyville countered with its own first half chances, including a Nate Edmunds liner over the net 6:05 before halftime.
Then with the wind at their backs in the second half, the Wildcats quickly set the tone for the rest of the game.
Just 49 seconds into the second half, Liam O’Connell’s 50-yard direct kick connected with Tucker Goebeler at the 6-yard line.
Goebeler’s initial try was stopped by Morton goalkeeper Billy Castro, but sophomore Ryan Wittenbrink was at the doorstep to punch in the rebound near the right post for a 1-0 Wildcat lead.
“Liam got a cross to Tucker, he got his head on it, and I was there for the follow,” Wittenbrink said. “The goalie made a nice save, but I got a head on it for the goal.
“I’m taught to follow shots. I was there at the right time, right place, and it worked out.”
The goal also worked to allow Libertyville to focus on its bread and butter -– defense.
“They put the whole team back (on defense),” Duran said. “It was complicated for us to beat their whole 11 on the team.”
Morton had top level threats with 27:30 left (Kym’s deflection wide of a Leo Delgado try right of the post), 15:30 to go (a Jose Gonzalez 25-yarder over the net) and with 5:10 left to play (Quigley’s nice clear of Danny Sanchez’s right side attack).
In a great team effort by Libertyville, one man in black stood out from Morton’s perspective.
“They’re a quality side,” Caruso said. “No. 12 (Nate Edmunds) is talented on the ball – Hinsdale Central has a couple of really good players, but I don’t think we’ve played an opponent like him with the physicality as well. He’s a very nice player.”
Also in the middle of big offensive and defensive plays was Tucker Goebeler, whose elusiveness doubled the Libertyville lead with 19:13 to go.
Off a foul and another left sideline restart, O’Donnell sent a 28-yard direct kick that connected with an open Goebeler at the right post for a header and 2-0 lead. Both Goebeler and first goal scorer Wittenbrink have eight goals this fall.
“He (Goebeler) came up to me before my kick and said, ‘Find me at the back post, they can’t guard me,’” O’Connell said. “So I got it there.”
Morton had been shut out just once all year (by Deerfield on Sept. 17), and kicked into a higher gear Friday to make it a nervous finish for Libertyville.
Rigo Lozano’s relentless endline drive attempt left of the goal paid off with 3:01 left, drawing a foul in the box. Duran buried the ensuing penalty kick (his 21st goal of the season) to make it 2-1.
“When I scored the goal,” Duran said, “we all got motivated and felt we could get another one and get another 20 minutes (of overtime) to finish them off there.”
The Mustangs continued to push hard until the final tick. A frenetic last 50 seconds began with a Duran cross to the net (headed away by Edmunds and cleared by Goebeler).
Then with just 10 seconds left, Diego Lopez’s throw-in towards the box was cleared far upfield by Goebeler to ice Libertyville’s third state finals trip in school history.
“It’s been our goal since the first day of training camp this summer,” Goebeler, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, said of the state title game.
"It was hard coming out in the first game (Aug. 28 against Evanston) and losing, but we got on a pretty good win streak (eight in a row) after that. We’ve always known we had the talent to take it this far, if we just put it all together and played as a team.”
There will be no consternation from Libertyville in the final.
“Our team is used to playing these well-known, strong teams,” O’Connell said. “We know how to beat teams like this. Once we beat Wheaton Academy (in the semifinals of the PepsiCo Showdown), we knew no one could stop us.”
Quincy becomes the last team with a chance to stop Libertyville, in what will be an interesting coaching matchup.
Bitta’s 435-win career includes a pair of overtime losses in state final games (1986 and 2010).
Quincy’s retiring coach Matt Longo has won 372 games and taken four teams to state, already topping the school’s previous best fourth place finish of 1995.
For Bitta, the 2015 ride has already been amazing – and could get even better Saturday night.
“These guys have been fantastic all year long,” Bitta said. “Their work ethic and togetherness have been fantastic – they’ve been such a pleasure to coach.”
Starting lineups
Libertyville
GK- Brandon Kym
D- Michael Quigley
D- Daniel Marks
D- Grant Widmark
D- Jacob Rasmussen
MF- Liam O’Connell
MF- Nate Edmunds
MF- Kenny Gallagher
MF-Tucker Goebeler
F- Ryan Wittenbrink
F- Kevin Reilly
Morton
GK- Billy Castro
D- Juan Salas
D- Jose Gonzalez
D- Diego Lopez
MF- Ricky Ledezma
MF- Leo Delgado
MF- Danny Sanchez
MF- Adan Carriedo
MF- Rigo Lozano
F- Malik Jones
F- Baltazar Duran
Man of the Match: Tucker Goebeler, MF, Libertyville
