Libertyville rolling right along

Updated: September 10, 2011 11:11PM

Libertyville coach Andy Bitta wasn’t very excited about the conditions at Lyons for Saturday’s action in the Pepsi Showdown.

But the veteran Wildcat s coach certainly liked how his team adjusted to the playing surface in their quarterfinal match with Lake Zurich.

The second-ranked Wildcats set the tone with an early score and added a penalty kick late in the first half to claim a 2-0 win in LaGrange.

“We are a finesse and good passing team but we had to play to the conditions of the field,” Bitta said. “It was ugly soccer, but that was necessary today.

“Getting the 2-0 lead was fantastic and it allowed us to put five in the back at half in order to protect our lead.”

Libertyville (7-1) moved in front for good during the ninth minute when Lloyd Chatfield sent a pass to Shane Reilly, who connected.

The Bears (3-3-3) saw their chances of moving on take a blow in the 36th minute when Marshall Hollingsworth converted a penalty kick.

Zach Labrum made 10 saves to record the shutout in goal for the Wildcats, who advanced to last year’s Pepsi Showdown title match.

With the win, Libertyville advances to the semifinals where it meets Morton, which beat St. Charles North 2-1 in overtime.

A year ago, the Wildcats and Mustangs met for the tournament championship at Toyota Park, with Morton capturing a 2-1 win on penalties.

“We know that the Pepsi Showdown is a hard tournament to win but I have a lot of faith in our team since we’ve been playing great,” Chatfield said. “We’re not going to look at the revenge thing but everyone who was there last year remembers how bad it felt to lose in the championship.”

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.