Libertyville, Mundelein finish in scoreless draw

THE SKINNY

Just another rugged, knock down, drag out girls soccer match in the ultra-competitive North Suburban Conference. Mundelein entered Tuesday night’s home game with one loss, Libertyville six, but records were of no consequence in this evenly played contest. Both teams had eight shots on goal but none found the back of the net as the Wildcats and Mustangs played to a scoreless draw.

TURNING POINT

With 18:30 remaining in the game, Libertyville had its best chance to score. In the Mundelein’s back third, junior forward Mia Hollingsworth got a step on a defender. She received an acrobatic entry pass from senior midfielder Lauryn Such and appeared to have an open lane to score. She lofted a high shot that bounced off the top cross bar of the Libertyville goal. “A ball hits the post? How unlucky is that? We don’t deserve to win because we can’t finish,” Libertyville coach Andy Bitta said.

THE STAR

Both goalkeepers. Mundelein freshman Lexi Pawlowski and Libertyville senior Krista Erlandson were steady all match. Neither got rattled, making the necessary saves to give their respective teams a chance to win.

BY THE NUMBERS

Mundelein is now 2-0-2 in the conference. Lake Zurich is 4-0-1. The Mustangs have two matches left, with Stevenson and Lake Zurich, while the Bears only conference game remaining is against the Mustangs. If Mundelein wins out, it will be conference champs.

QUOTABLE

“We knew it was going to be a tough fight. We tried moving up the field, we just couldn’t put it in the back of the net. ” -Cancelli said.