Driven by two goals from Shea Krakowski, Libertyville overwhelmed Huntley with three second-half goals in a 4-1 victory in its Naperville Invitational group-play opener Friday night in Barrington.

The all-state midfielder fired in the opener from distance with a powerful right-footed blast in the 32nd minute.

But Huntley senior Peyton Ruffner stunned the Wildcats (7-1-2) three minutes later to send this contest into the intermission even.

“We came out a little flat and without much energy, but we responded really well to conceding that late goal by scoring those two quick goals after the break,“ said Krakowski, who will playing in the fall at Southern Indiana University. “And we got back to playing a quicker passing game with more possession that led to us creating some very good chances.”

“I thought we competed well against a really good opponent tonight and played hard right up until the final whistle,” said Red Raiders captain Itzel Martinez.

Martinez, along with teammate Brooke Grabs, were strong all throughout playing as double 6s in the defensive-midfield position to disrupt traffic in the middle of the park, particularly in the first half.

An enterprising run into the box by Meghan O’Donnell saw the senior hauled down, sending Krakowski to the spot where she smashed home the eventual game-winner in the 41st minute.

Two minutes later, on the eighth corner of the game, the Wildcats increased their advantage to 3-1 on an own-goal. Moments later, Mia Moyer skimmed the bar in the Red Raiders’ effort to pull one back.

Ashlyn Grabs, who had a marvelous night between the sticks for Huntley, turned away two glorious chances by the Wildcats — her best in the 70th minute against Danica Meller.

“I really liked the way we came back to get even after playing under a lot of pressure from a team who is talented enough to make a big push towards a Class 2A state title,” said Red Raiders coach Matt Lewandowski.

“I was happy with our effort after playing last night and having the girls play a quality opponent, which will help us going forward.”

The Red Raiders (6-3-2) won 2-1 on Thursday in their group-play opener over Downers Grove North on goals from Emma Emricson and Brooke Grabs.

Next up for Huntley is a FVC contest Tuesday against Jacobs.

The Wildcats will face Downers Grove South (3-5-0) at 10 a.m. Saturday in Barrington in their second group-play match.

“We were not at our best in the first half, but once we scored those two early goals after the break, we finally got to playing the way we are capable of playing,“ Libertyville coach Ian Taylor said. ”And little by little, the dominoes began to fall our way.“

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260424/girls-soccer/girls-soccer-krakowski-scores-twice-leads-libertyvilles-big-second-half-surge-over-huntley/