Round Lake pulls upset on Libertyville
Updated: September 22, 2011 9:04PM
Edgar Rodriguez and Balam Mena scored four minutes apart in the second half to give visiting Round Lake a 3-1 victory over No. 2 Libertyville on Thursday in a nonconference match.
The Panthers (8-2-2) tied the game 1-1 on Jordi Rubio’s goal in the 30th minute and won it when Rodriguez (60th) and Mena (64th) found the back of the net after the break.
Libertyville (11-2-0) had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by Joey Ruppert in the 28th minute.
This was the Wildcats’ fourth game against a quality opponent in six days, and the Cats were outplayed in every phase in the second half.
“I hate to use that (the schedule) as an excuse, but it probably was a factor,” said Libertyville coach Andy Bitta. “The first half, we played pretty well. The second half, we looked like we had dead legs again.”
Libertyville beat Morton and Lyons over the weekend to win the prestigious Pepsi Showdown, then used two early goals to hold off Stevenson on Tuesday in a match which the Cats faded after the break.
Thursday, there was no holding off the Panthers.
“For us, any team is beatable,” said Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez. “We know they finished second at state last year, but coming in, we’re also a ‘name.’
“We battle, and we don’t stop until the last whistle is blown. It was a team effort. We knew what we needed to break down. We made some adjustments in the second half and these guys stepped up huge.”
After Round Lake went up 3-1, Libertyville picked up two late yellow cards, and one of them went to star Marshall Hollingsworth.
It was his fifth yellow of the season, so he has to sit out a game (Tuesday against Mundelein).
“Give credit to Round Lake,” said Bitta. “They did a really nice job finishing their chances.”
Round Lake goalies Jose Martinez and Ivan Gomez combined to stop eight of nine shots.
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