Fremd tops Palatine for Kinsella Cup
It was cold enough to snow — and in fact, it did.
But not enough to stop the soccer match between rivals Fremd and Palatine on Saturday afternoon as they met with the Kinsella Cup at stake.
Elise Kotsakis struck for her first goal of the day at seven minutes, then doubled the Vikings’ lead six minutes before the break to help the visitors to a 2-0 victory and bring Fremd (7-1-0, 5-1-0) even with idle Conant at the top of the MSL standings with 15 points.
“There were a few bright spots today, including our first goal, where we worked a nice 1-2 to get Elise in on their keeper, and the play of Alexis (Tice) and Ashley (McConnell) in the middle, and a couple of great saves from our (keeper) Shannon Norris,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller. “But I also thought we relaxed when we went up 2-0, and that’s something we just cannot do. And I’ll make sure to remind the girls of that before they head home for the night.”
The first 40 minutes were rough enough, with wind and rain. The second half featured a sharp temperature drop and a wintry mix.
“The conditions were not a lot of fun to be in, and in the girls game in particular, the wind can be a real deterrent for the team playing into it,” said Palatine coach Willie Filian, “but that’s not an excuse for us to get off to such a poor start, then fall behind by 2 goals going into the break. Because that’s usually a recipe for disaster when you’re playing a team like Fremd.”
Despite the weather, the Vikings’ tempo was swift early, and it wasn’t before too long that they were able to get into the back of the net. Lauren Mottonen played a diagonal ball through to Kotsakis, whose angled shot seemed to surprise keeper Meghan Ellis.
With Tice and McConnell winning nearly everything at midfield, Palatine’s attack was stalled for the better part of the first half-hour.
Kotsakis raced into the area at 27 minutes unmarked, but a quality tackle from Kellis Strauss on the retreat ended any chance to score for the Butler-bound striker. Seven minutes later, however, Kotsakis collected a loose ball inside the box, and her low drive from in close on the right side eluded Ellis to give the visitors a 2-goal cushion heading to intermission.
“Just as the other night against Rolling Meadows, we asked the girls to find a way to mark their top player (Ann Marie) Lynch, and when we didn’t, it eventually hurt us,” Filian said. “Today was the same with Kotsakis, and once again, we were unable to do the same thing against a scoring talent such as Elise.”
Despite the deficit, the Pirates (3-5-1, 2-3-0) were able to come alive. And with the help of a tailwind and more pace and energy from Kaitlyn Mayer and Gabbi McArtor, as well as several well-aimed free kicks off the right foot of Alexis Dejulio, Palatine did manage to create some pressure.
Dejulio’s did her best to bend her spot kick into the right corner at 49 minutes just after forcing Norris to punch a ball sent into the 6-yard box. Later, McArtor went over the bar from 20 yards, then was wide on a shot at 69 minutes.
With the Pirates throwing numbers forward, they were almost caught when Kristin Abruscato stung the gloves of Ellis on a wicked blast in the 71st minute.
Norris made her finest save of the match when she somehow got a glove on a missile from McArtor to send the ball wide in the 80th minute to preserve the shutout.
“I am slowly beginning to see our defense coming together,” said Abruscato, who has been battling an injury to her right knee, yet continues to play with terrific confidence and leadership alongside another stalwart, Emily Basten. “We’re still trying to learn playing together as a new group after having our all-state defender from last year Danielle Romano graduate.
“Our speed of play is getting better, and Shannon (Norris) has been really steady for us all year, and she’s made some great stops to save us when we needed it, so I really feel we’ll be where we have to in the last half of the season.”
Both the Vikings and Pirates have a busy week ahead of them, as each club, in additon to league games, will be competing in the prestigious Naperville Invite beginning on Wednesday. Palatine takes on Naperville Central, and Fremd begins Thursday with a game against reigning state champion Waubonsie Valley.
“You saw, once again, another strong effort in the second half from Kaitlyn (Mayer), who can hold and distribute with the best of them in the MSL, and Gabby shows how dangerous she can be from 15 yards out,” said Filian. “But we’ve got to get everyone involved a little more, and we just have to have a better start if we want to compete.”