Kotsakis lifts Fremd past Lake Forest
Fremd danced to the beat of 2 more goals from Elise Kotsakis combined with another 80 minutes of stifling defense to defeat Lake Forest 3-1 Friday night to capture the sectional title at Glenbrook South.
The triumph propelled the No. 1 seed Vikings (17-3-3) into the Barrington supersectional Tuesday where they will face Mid-Suburban League West rival Barrington (17-6-1), which defeated Crystal Lake South 1-0 at the Jacobs sectional in Algonquin.
Kotsakis struck for her 34th goal of the season at six minutes, then notched another after a multitude of chances by the senior and her teammates just four minutes before the break to build a 3-1 lead from which the young, very talented Scouts never recovered.
“We watched Lake Forest the other night, and it was obvious they were technically gifted at many of their positions starting with their No. 9 (Ginny McGowan) but we also knew if we pressured them from the very beginning and played direct and work to get Elise some chances, that we could have a successful result tonight,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller, whose Vikings have allowed just 3 goals in their last six matches.
“I am not sure if the final would have been 3-1, but in reality, we could have had a few more in that first half, but our defense was solid, and we all know if we do our job in the back, that sooner or later (Elise) is going to get in and score for us,” said junior Emily Basten, who managed to neutralize the Scouts big striker Morgan McConachnie.
Basten never allowing the senior much room in the final third, to help make the night for keeper Shannon Norris a fairly easy one as she saved just 2 shots by the North Suburban Conference champion.
Kotsakis scored her second double this week on the natural turf of the host Titans, surprising the Scouts (17-5-4) when she collected a loose ball on the left side, twisting her mark the other way, then firing in a left-footer from close range just under the roof and the outstretched gloves of keeper Liz Clark.
While the Scouts had no answer for Kotsakis and Alexis Tice, whose tackles and ball-winning ability slowed the opponents’ attack to a crawl, the Vikings’ inability to cash in on some quality chances and a bit of carelessness in their own end led to the Lake Forest equalizer at 18 minutes from Catherine Traut — who was just brought on by Scouts coach Ty Stuckslager.
Clark allowed a Michelle Mottonen corner from the far flag to swing freely to the 6 — and into the back of the net as the sophomore curled a devilish ball into the box.
Then after Kotsakis forced Clark to extend to her left to save her attempt at 29 minutes, the all-state candidate finished a superb cross from the left side by Jessa Rizzo. She beat her mark down the left side before providing the helper which helped increase the Vikings’ lead.
“ I was really pleased with the way we responded after Lake Forest scored, and with our work rate in the second half,” said Keller.
Once there, Kira Heggeland’s angled shot across the face of the goal nearly found a place just inside the far post — as did a well-aimed free kick from Mottonen at 68 minutes.
In between, Norris challenged off her line to pull in a 50-50 ball off the right boot of Sarah McClenahan, while a 22 yard cracker from McGowan, who was pushed forward in the last quarter hour, was sprayed up and over the bar in the Scouts’ last dangerous chance.
“We’re one match away from the state tournament, and that’s something to get really excited about,” Basten said.