Girls soccer: Libertyville repeats conference title in perfect fashion

Libertyville put an exclamation point on its NSC championship season with an impressive 80-minute performance to defeat rival Stevenson 3-0 Thursday night at Walter Johnson Sports Complex.

With the victory the Wildcats (11-3-1, 7-0-0) finish with a perfect 7-0-0 record in league play to earn their second straight NSC title.

“Stevenson is one of our biggest rivals. So this was a game that meant a lot to all of us, and (one) that we wanted to win in order to close out the season in conference without a loss,” said senior Molly Koch, one of several who would star on a night when the home side won its sixth consecutive game, all without conceding a goal.

“We’ve been getting better each time out,” said Shannon Phillips, who was near perfect at the center-back spot for the Wildcats.

Phillips was part of a backline that kept the Patriots’ two-time all-state scoring star Ellie Egeland from adding to the 25 goals she has scored thus far, two of which came last Saturday when the Patriots (11-4-2, 4-2-1) beat state power Evanston 3-1.

“I thought we played really well for the first 30 minutes, but we kind of fell off in our play after they scored their first goal,” said Patriots senior Madi Kennedy, who will attend UW-Madison in the fall.

The Wildcats’ opener came in the 31st minute after Koch was sent through on the left side by Natalie Schmidt on a wonderful ball — one in which Koch finished with a sublime touch.

The sophomore Schmidt would double the advantage just before the break when she fired her 20-yard effort into the back of the net after Erin Kelly, Bella Yare and Cara Stratton did some terrific ball movement.

Egeland was limited to just a pair of good looks on frame all throughout. The best chance the senior had was at 53 minutes when her left-footed blast went just over the bar from 35 yards.

Yare made it a 3-0 contest in the 69th minute with a marvelous touch after Schmidt’s initial attempt was turned away bravely by Patriots keeper Reese Yoo — only to spill freely just near the spot.

Next up for the Patriots is their regular season finale at Carmel Catholic on Thursday while the Wildcats are away at Glenbrook South, also on Thursday.

These two clubs could see each other very soon should each advance from their regional opener at host Stevenson which begins next Tuesday in Lincolnshire.