Fremd suffers goal drought at worst time
After watching their Mid-Suburban League West Division rival Conant lose a heartbreaking match in the first Class 3A state girls soccer semifinal, the Fremd Vikings were under pressure to carry the MSL flag.
But downstate Granite City had other ideas, stunning the favored Vikings with another 1-0 nail-biter late Friday night at Naperville Central.
That tough loss sent Steve Keller’s Vikings (18-4-3) into the third-place match today at 5 p.m. against the Cougars (20-5-0) to close out their seasons.
“We picked the wrong day to play the way we did,” was the first response from Keller when asked about what happened to a side which had elevated its play to another level since the state tournament began nearly three weeks ago.
“I never sensed we would come out and play like we did tonight. In fact, I thought during our warm-up inside that we were focused and ready to go. However, we gave up an early goal and Granite City defended well and played very hard, and their keeper made some important saves when her team needed them — and that was about it for us tonight.”
Disaster struck for the Vikings just three minutes after the opening whistle when all-state forward Ashley Deckard of the Warriors (17-6-0) sent a harsh wake-up call.
Deckard was positioned at the back post and finished a lovely serve from teammate Mara Keomanivane, whom Keller praised in his postgame interview as a key figure in the middle for the Warriors.
Sophomore Michelle Mottonen, who became more and more influential in the Fremd attack as the match went on and especially before the halftime whistle, tested Warriors keeper Hailey Robertson on three seperate occasions in the first half.
The first chance came from 25 yards in the sixth minute, and later at the quarter hour when both she and teammate Jessa Rizzo had a go at the senior keeper.
After this sequence, it was one-way traffic for the Vikings — who owned almost all of the possession in the final third of the match but could not convert.
The Warriors bravely defended, especially against Fremd’s leading scorer Elise Kotsakis.
If it wasn’t junior Amy Harringtone marking the all-state forward, it was Amber Cholevik who took over. Each player stayed close enough to Kotsakis to permit her just a few touches in and around the area and never allowed the Vikings’ captain to get an extra step for a shot on frame.
Robertson stopped Alexis Tice at 24 minutes and stretched far to her left to turn away a long free-kick by Kristin Abruscato.
“We had our chances in the first half and had so many shots at their keeper, I just don’t know what happened to us tonight,” said the Vikings’ Emily Basten.
The Vikings came to life with a burst of energy which lasted until the hour mark, and after Deckard rattled the woodwork with cracker from just outside the box.
Mottonen was at it again, firing wide in the 48th minute. Then five minutes later, her well-paced free kick stung the gloves of Robertson, who could not hold on. The shot spilled free and off to her left, where an opportunistic Rebecca Freeman steered her attempt around the post.
Ashley McConnell went just over the bar two minutes later as a fortunate Robertson wandered almost too far off her line.
Despite all their industrious work, what the Vikings really needed was a goal to help jump-start their efforts. But the backline — led by Harringtone and Cholevik — would have nothing of that.
A second goal by the Warriors’ Natalie Crane was waved off in the 64th minute.
“Give credit to Granite City, they came out with a plan, and we didn’t play anywhere near what we’re capable of tonight,” said Keller, whose Vikings were shut out for the first time this season.