Positive result for Vikes

The boys soccer season for Fremd had been disappointing for the reigning MSL West champions. The Vikings had struggled early in the season and were rocked by No. 1 New Trier 5-0 to start the week last Monday.

Beset with enough injuries to severely limit coach Steve Keller's options through its first six matches, the Vikings entered Saturday's match against Schaumburg as the underdog despite playing at home.

The Vikings' faithful fans were challenged early on when the visitors found the back of the net just three minutes into the match. But they were rewarded for their loyalty when a late strike by Joe Derkits proved the game-winner in a 2-1 Fremd victory.

"It's a start," said Keller when asked how his club had looked after earning just its second win of the season, and first in the MSL to move its overall record to 2-5-0, and 1-2-0 in the MSL standings. "We've got a long way to go, but it was nice to finally get everyone together and to see the guys work hard and to get a positive result from it."

Keller had already seen his club give away first-minute strikes to both Wheeling and the aforementioned New Trier after watching the Saxons (5-4-1, 3-3-0) do a remarkable job of knocking the ball around between Wes Hollis, Josh Beard and Tim Piotrowski before Piotrowski slotted his eighth goal of the season under Rich Podjasek.

"We've given up some early goals, but have been involved in some very tight matches as well," said the DePaul-bound Podjasek. "So we have become a real resilient team this season."

As brightly as the Saxons begun, they were unable to sustain their momentum. Soon they found themselves falling prey to the Vikings' ability to tackle, chase and harry in the middle of pitch to deny the visitors the chance to see its midfield and front-runners connect.

The Vikings canceled out the lead at 23 minutes, taking advantage of a bit of luck and an on-target free-kick missile off the right foot of Cory Degrave.

Degrave's blast from the left side grazed a Saxon and was redirected perfectly off the back post before falling free to teammate Victor Canestrini, who finished with a one-timer.

At the hour mark, Podjasek was bouncing around inside the 6-yard box. On three attempts, he tried to smother a loose ball only to see a trio of Saxons -- most notably Piotrowski -- complicate matters by working the ball free before Vikings backliner Michael Ballschmiede cleared.

"Getting the equalizer was big for us," said Leonard. "Especially the way our season had been going so far. I am not sure what would have happened if (Schaumburg) had went ahead 2-1, but after that we really tightened up and controlled the match until the end."

A fiercely contested final 20 minutes, with a handful of bookings, led to the Derkits' drive at 74 minutes. It finished with a well-paced low blast from Leonard which went off of keeper Jordan Sandberg, where an opportunistic Derkits awaited.

"This team right now is lacking heart," said Saxons coach Hamid Mehreioskouei. "You look at a team like Fremd, and they just out-worked us to get that win. Right now the guys are thinking all they have to do is just show up. But we're lacking leadership right now, and that's going to have to change."

Barrington 3, Hoffman Estates 0: Franceso Furio had 1 goal and 1 assist, Jack Valentine had 2 assists and Frank Ingraffia and Cameron Reilly both tallied as visiting Barrington (9-1-0, 4-0-0) maintained the top spot in Mid-Suburban League play.

Palatine 1, Conant 0: Haris Haskovic scored a second-half goal with an assist from John Castellano to help the visiting Pirates past Conant in a Mid-Suburban League matchup.

Ben Calvopina made 6 saves for the Pirates, and Scott Majercik had 5 for the host Cougars.

Prospect 1, West Chicago 1: Joe Colmane scored with an assist from Tom Kujawa, but the visiting Wildcats tied it with a second-half goal and that's how this nonconference contest ended. Prospect's record stands at 5-4-1.

Maine West 2, Fenton 1: David Puka had a goal and assisted on another by Angel Herrera to help the visiting Warriors (6-3-2) pick up a nonconference victory in Bensenville.