Fremd edges Evanston, shows improvement

Coming into Tuesday Fremd was riding a two-game winning streak, its longest of the season, after a big 12-10 win against Evanston on Saturday.

"Evanston was a very good team," Fremd coach John Cygnar said. "So to come away from that game with a win was huge."

Fremd (5-3, 2-2) looked to extend the streak to three as it faced off against Schaumburg (3-7, 3-3).

"We took control right away and never gave it back," Cygnar said. "We played our game and didn't make many mistakes."

Schaumburg coach Jon Novotny, meanwhile, said his boys just didn't come to play.

"That was one of the worst games we've played all year," Novotny said. "We spent 20 of the first 24 minutes of the game on defense, which really set us back."

Fremd dominated the Saxons the entire night as the Vikings extended their winning streak to three in a row with a 13-4 blowout of the Saxons.

"Things are jelling right now," Cygnar said. "We're peaking at the right time in the season."

Fremd was led by junior attacker Sam Dillon (5 goals, 2 assists) and senior attacker Justin Hart (3 goals, 3 assists).

As for Schaumburg, the loss brought its losing streak to a season-high four in a row.

"We don't want to dwell on any one loss," Novotny said. "We have to look forward to the next game and just keep playing."

A bright spot was senior midfielder Brian Skinner, who is ranked first in the state in points and second in goals. He scored all 4 goals for the Saxons.

Schaumburg was scheduled to play Lake Zurich Thursday at 5 p.m., while Fremd will play Glenbrook North Saturday at 10 a.m. at Fremd. Glenbrook North (11-1) is ranked second in the state only behind undefeated Lyons Township by laxpower.com.

Palatine 7, Schaumburg 6: The Saxons looked like they might pack it in after they were down 5-1 after the first half.

The second half was a different story, however.

"We switched up our defense which slowed them down a little bit," Novotny said.

As the rains began to fall, Schaumburg ripped off 5 goals to tie the game at 6 and force overtime.

The Saxons hung in there, but the end the Pirates (7-4, 6-2) came away with a 7-6 overtime win.

"We just didn't play well," Novotny said.

Palatine will be at Lake Forest on Monday at 5 p.m.

Glenbrook South 10, Schaumburg 9: The Saxons looked to be heading into a second straight overtime game until Glenbrook South scored with 30 seconds left to send the Saxons home with another close loss.

"We got beat bad by Glenbrook South last season," Novotny said. "So this shows we are bridging the gap between us and those good teams."

The Saxons not only lost the game, but senior mid-fielder Dan Knudson as well. Kundson went down early in the game with a broken clavicle, which will sideline him for the season.

"When you lose a guy like Dan, it hurts," Novotny said. "He is a very important part of our team and a very good player, but at the same time you have to move on and play."

To replace Knudson, Novotny brought up sophomore midfielder Cory Williams, who scored in his first varsity game.

Palatine 9, Conant 3: Conant still has yet to post a regular-season win as the Cougars fell to 0-9 on the season with a loss to Palatine on Tuesday.

"We're just have to stay focused," Conant coach Martin Kulak said. "We can't roll over and die."

The Cougars went 2-1-1 in the Deerfield tournament, which doesn't count on their overall record.

With only three games left on their schedule, Conant will look to get their first win when they host Fremd this Monday.

St. Viator 13, Conant 10: An anticipated blowout was much closer than expected as St. Viator avoided being upended by Conant last Thursday, winning 13-10.

"I give credit to Conant," St. Viator coach Bill Sanford said. "They were prepared and came out with a lot of intensity."

St. Viator (12-2, 7-0) built off of a good third quarter, to outlast the Cougars.

"They took some great shots," Sanford said. "The played like they loved the game."

Evanston 14, St. Viator 9: St. Viator's winning streak came to a screeching halt as Evanston knocked off the Lions 14-9.

St. Viator went into the half tied at 8-8, which Sanford was pleased with.

"Our offense was playing well," Sanford said. "We were smart with the ball and we moved it well."

In the second half Evanston threw something that the Lions weren't prepared for.

"They played a zone defense all second half," Sanford said. "Our guys don't see a zone that often, so they were uncomfortable."

St. Viator was only able to find the net once more all game and went home with a devastating loss.

The Lions will travel to Nequa Valley this Saturday to try to get back to their winning ways.

Libertyville 15, Hoffman Estates 4: Hoffman was overmatched all game as the Tigers thrashed the Hawks 15-4.

"We're a young team," head coach Joe Garafolo said. "We just seem to always get off to a slow start."

The Hawks (1-8) look to get on track this Friday when they travel to play conference rival Schaumburg at 6:30 p.m.