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Fremd stuns Libertyville; Prospect prevails
#6 Joey Ruppert, of Libertyville, with the goal vs. Palatine Saturday.
| Joe Shuman~Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 25, 2011 11:18PM
A simple plan guided Fremd to victory on Tuesday night: play staunch defense and capitalize on chances.
The Vikings executed both to near-perfection to beat No. 1-seed Libertyville 2-1 in an IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinal at Palatine.
“In the midfield, we kept all three of our midfielders back,” noted Viking midfielder Brian Hindle. “Our coach (Steve Keller) had it right from the start.”
While No.4 seed Fremd (14-5-2) marches on to the sectional final against Prospect, the Wildcats go home after a 17-4-1 season.
“We had plenty of opportunities in the second half,” said Wildcats coach Andy Bitta. “It’s very frustrating, because we have such a great team.”
Fremd struck in he 31st minute when Jeremy Losacz pounced on a loose ball and lifted a 25-yard shot into an open net.
Two minutes later, Hindle blasted a 20-yard free kick around the wall and into the lower-left corner.
“I put (Eric) Leonard in front of the goalie,” Hindle said. “I just shot it at him (Leonard) and it went into the goal.”
The Cats made it interesting in the final 10 minutes. Following a long throw-in by Adam Witucki, Carlos Schultz slammed in a loose ball to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 6:20 to play.
“My first thought was hit it as hard as I could and put it away,” Schultz said.
The Cats kept up the pressure until the final buzzer. With just seconds to play, Viking goalkeeper Colton Caesius bobbled a shot. Witucki had a chance on the rebound, but his shot floated wide as the buzzer sounded.
Prospect 3, Buffalo Grove 2, PK: Brad Reibel didn’t make the perfect guess on the penalty kick. But the Prospect goalkeeper made a season-extending save.
The Knights (20-0-2) are headed to the Palatine Sectional final after outlasting Buffalo Grove on penalty kicks.
Prospect led 4-3 in the PK portion of the game when Buffalo Grove’s Alberto Eloyza stepped to the line.
“I guessed he (Eloyza) was going to my right,” Reibel said. “He hit it a little to my left. I extended my right hand to get something on the ball. I actually got most of my hand on it.”
When the ball deflected over the crossbar, Prospect celebrated the semifinal win. The Knights will face Fremd at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Buffalo Grove (12-5-6) controlled the action in the first half. The Bison took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Alex Masciopinto (off a corner kick by Eric Qunitana) in the fourth minute. Less than five minutes later, Markus Fiordaliso scored to bump the BG lead to 2-0.
But the second half was a different story. Prospect tied the game on goals by Bill Cooney and Richard Lenke.
“Those two kids on top scored two incredible goals,” said Bison coach Rick Carlson. “There’s a reason why that team is undefeated.
“Our kids played their hearts out,” Carlson added.
Reibel knew his team could recover from the 2-0 deficit.
“We said in the locker room it’s never say die,” Reibel said. “The work rate of our forwards in the second half was unbelievable.”
Both Reibel and BG goalkeeper Nick Landsberger made sparkling saves in the second half and overtime.
Buffalo Grove almost took the lead late in the second half. Eloyza received a pass from Mike Dotlyar and ripped a shot past Reibel — but it hit the far post.
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