Fremd rolls through busy week
Third match in four days?
You wouldn't have noticed after watching Thursday's girls water polo action.
After defeating St. Viator 14-5 on Monday and taking an 11-5 crossover win over Wheeling on Tuesday, Fremd continued its strong performance and Mid-Suburban League West Division dominance, shutting out host Palatine 12-0.
"Fremd's got a fast team," said second-year Palatine coach Jon Kosovski. "Any breakaway we had they're just going to get caught and taken down because (Fremd) has the speed."
And a mission this season.
After getting bounced by Buffalo Grove in last year's Palatine sectional semifinals, the Vikings' mantra this spring is simple:
"State '08," said sophomore Erika Lauraitis, who notched 14 goals in the Vikings' 3 victories this week.
With the latest victory -- Fremd's 14th in a row following a 12-7 loss to Loyola on March 8 -- the Vikings (15-1, 6-0) look well on their way to the Stevenson pool for sectionals in mid-May.
In 8 MSL wins, Fremd has outscored its opponents 123-36. While an offense loaded with scoring options is nice, the Vikings' pass-first attitude is an even more effective weapon.
"No one is selfish, they pass it off if they see someone is more open than they are," said Fremd senior Kristine Williams, who scored 2 first-half goals and added 1 in the fourth quarter.
Junior Katie French (12 goals in her last four games) assisted on the first of 2 goals from Krysti Ruiz, then scored with 2:07 left in the first half as the lead over Palatine (1-9, 0-6) ballooned to 5-0.
Junior Allison McCarthy followed with a 5-meter floater that beat the halftime buzzer, but the Pirates' cross-town rivals found out that beating goalie Kim Pellegrini (11 saves) is not an easy task.
"(Pellegrini) was definitely on, she had some key blocks," said Fremd coach Brian Newby.
"She definitely saved us," Kosovski said of his senior goaltender. "She's had to work back up to where she was -- she had a slow start."
Fremd didn't have that problem in the second half as Lauraitis scored her 3 goals during a 1:19 stretch of the third quarter.
"Palatine's always been one of our rivals, so it's just nice to beat them," she said.
But starting the second half of divisional play with a 'W' is only the first step for Fremd, which is also targeting a berth in the MSL championship in 3 weeks.
The Vikings travel to St. Charles North on Monday before they're back to the conference grind on Tuesday against Conant.
"We're tired right now," Newby said. "Double practices, things like that. It takes its toll on the girls. But they still came out and played tough and they got what they needed to get done."
Prospect 5, Wheeling 3: K.C. Dix and Meg Dix had 2 goals apiece for Prospect in the MSL East victory.
BG 14, Elk Grove 2: Becky Schmidly scored 6 goals to lead Buffalo Grove (14-2) in the MSL East.
Barrington 8, Conant 7: Megan Clampitt scored 4 goals and Jill Nagle added 2 as Barrington (8-5) edged Conant in the MSL West.
Boys
Andrew Bowman scored 4 goals and Tim O'Grady added 3 goals as Prospect (11-5, 4-2) beat Wheeling 13-2 in an MSL East showdown. Brian Forest had 11 saves for the Knights.
Meadows 10, Hersey 2: Luke Shafer's 4 goals led Rolling Meadows to the MSL East victory.