Girls soccer: Palatine, Fremd battle to icy, OT tie

Palatine will hold the Kinsella Cup for another year following its 2-2 draw with Fremd's girls soccer team in the annual crosstown matchup between longtime rivals at frigid Hale Hildebrandt Field.

"We had some sequences of good soccer where we created chances, several of them off of corners and set pieces, and there were times when we didn't defend as well as we can, especially on a few of their corners - one of which got them back even," said Palatine coach Willie Filian. "But all in all in was a fair result after 100 minutes of soccer."

Palatine (1-1-3, 1-0-1) had won the previous two matchups with Fremd, and three of the last four.

The sides featured a total of 26 players from the Celtic Soccer Club, which was founded in 1968 by Jimmy Kinsella and has since grown to include over 1,500 boys and girls, producing dozens who have excelled for both Filian and his coaching counterpart, Steve Keller.

Early on, it was Keller's club striking first when junior Missy Adrian found the back of the net just after the quarter-hour, with teammate Kellie Halloran earning the helper.

"We had a strong start tonight. We connected passes, were sharp in our play on both sides of the ball, and really had a lot of good play all around," said Fremd's Marta Cholewa, who Keller moved from her customary spot at midfield to along the backline for stability and in front of Vikings standout keeper Kelsie Stone.

"We'd much rather Marta be in the middle for us, but she gives us a lot of composure and calm play in the back," said Keller. "And while she's still learning on the job, you saw tonight how steady she is back there, and how she helps improve our defense as well."

Cholewa and her mates could do nothing about an unfortunate hand ball in the Vikings' box, and Pirates sophomore midfielder Kacie Filian took full advantage by driving in her spot kick at 32 minutes to draw the visitors back level at 1-1.

Just prior to the PK conversion and after, the Pirates' attack showed plenty of spirit as some terrific work from Sarah Clancy, Anja Jacobsen and Mackenzie Filian led to a 1-goal edge as intermission drew closer.

After Anja Jacobsen turned and unloaded a well-struck ball on frame to force Stone to save, the Pirates used a corner from Cora Jacobsen to initiate their second goal of the game. It came off the right foot of Samantha Malak, whose side-footed half-volley from 18 yards found the back of the net at 35 minutes.

"We got a lot of nice work from a handful of players to keep the pressure on, which resulted in a great goal from Samantha," said coach Filian. "But in the MSL, when you concede 2 goals, it usually means you've lost a chance to earn 3 points on that night."

Indeed, the 1-goal advantage only lasted a short while after the break. When Palatine failed to clear the area, Chowela's resulting corner kick stayed in the Palatine box long enough for Emilijia Peleckas to steer in the 56th-minute equalizer, through a crowd.

"We really have come a long way, both defensively and in our attack since our opener against Boylan almost two weeks ago, but we still have a few things to fix here and there, so I know we'll get better as the season goes on," said Cora Jacobsen, one of Filians' captains this spring.

The team played a pair of goal-less 10-minute extra sessions before each earned 1 point in the league standings.

"We had some of the play in the first half, but I feel as if Palatine had most of it, and even though it was a fairly even second period, you would have to say they were a little better overall than we were," said Keller.

The Vikings (0-2-2) host Conant on Wednesday, while the Pirates welcome Wheeling in an MSL crossover.

Prospect 1, Schaumburg 0: Ashley Welk scored her first varsity goal with an assist from Shawna Stokes with seven minutes left in the second half to help the visiting Knights win in MSL crossover action.

Emily Reddy made 2 saves for the Saxons (1-4) and Mehgan Rickett stopped 1 shot for Prospect (3-1).

Warren 2, Hersey 0: Kaitlyn Chomko and Teagon Albert scored as the host Blue Devils (4-1) picked up a nonconference win.