Fremd clinches in MSL West
Fremd is back in the Mid-Suburban League boys soccer championship picture for the first time since 2010.
Luke Schoffstall was on target at 44 minutes to get the Vikings up and running before a sensational strike by Kurt Rettke two minutes from time sealed a 2-0 win over Conant to clinch the MSL West crown, the 13th in program history for Fremd.
"You could tell the team came into this game ready to play, and right from the start they did just that," said Vikings coach Steve Keller.
"It feels good to be playing the MSL Cup next week (Oct. 17) in our senior year - it's what you work for from the time you start," said Zach Schoffstall, a key figure along with Ben Poder as the Vikings improved to 12-5-1 overall and 8-1-1 in the MLS with a league-best 25 points.
Jason Franco's side couldn't quite play the role of spoiler on the Cougars' senior night, but his group sure made it interesting.
"We got Chase (Hermanson) behind them a couple of times early on, but as the game went on, they did a good job of keeping him somewhat under control," said Franco. "But a bad foul led to their first goal, and as the match went on, they seemed to win just about everything in the air while doing a very good job of managing the game.
"Congrats to Steve and his players - they are a deserving division champion."
The Vikings went into the match needing just a draw to clinch the division ahead of closest challengers Palatine, Schaumburg and Barrington. With Schoffstall and Poder conjuring up plenty of trouble and their midfield mates neutralizing their counterparts, things were looking good for Fremd.
"Zach played his best overall game of the year, while Ben created and did some very good things up top for us all night long, which helped set the tone for a pretty good night for us," said Keller.
After Hermanson (15 goals) sent his low drive at keeper Michael Kramer, then sent a dangerous ball flashing through the box in the first five minutes, it wasn't until a quality chance from Cezar Alfaro in the 15th minute that the Cougars (6-7-3, 3-5-1) managed to threaten.
From the middle of the first period until the Luke Schoffstall goal, the pressure slowly began to build as the Vikings stayed on the front foot with some good work going forward. The sophomore Schoffstall finished what Danny Burton began with a wonderful serve into the box just minutes after intermission.
Senior keeper Matt Mussman came to the rescue on a handful of chances the Vikings created to help keep the Cougars stay within striking distance. At the other end, Fremd's Will Lefevre beat Hermanson to a 50-50 sent in over the top from Alfaro to deny the best of just a few chances the Cougars could muster during the second half.
Rettke slipped between a pair of defenders to thump his header past Mussman after Zach Schoffstall orchestrated the 77th-minute goal with some clever work near the flag to get himself free.
"We've gotten better and better with each game since our loss to Schaumburg, and it's a great time of the year to be playing this well," said Zach Schoffstall.