Boys soccer: Kowalski scores twice, leads Fremd over Schaumburg in MSL Cup
Fremd’s boys soccer team won the MSL for the 11th time after its 3-0 victory Thursday night over Schaumburg in the 49th MSL Soccer Cup.
Adam Kowalski put on a sensational display with two goals on the night, after Jose Hernandez netted the opener just before the intermission for the Vikings (10-6-3) before a big crowd at Gary Scholz Stadium.
"You kind of visualize how things you want to do things in a game this big, and tonight I was able to score goals to help us win," said Kowalski, who was named MSL East POY during halftime ceremonies.
Kowalski, on the turn, would break free of two defenders, then wait for Hernandez to get deeper into his run out wide before playing a lovely ball to allow Hernandez to beat Saxons keeper Anthony Say from 14 yards.
Kowalski would roar up the right side to the end line, turn, and fire under Say in the 66th minute to double the Vikings advantage.
The dynamic duo of Kowalski and Hernandez would have a hand in all three goals on this glorious and historic night for the Vikings and coach Steve Keller, who now has a league-best six conference championships on his resume.
"When you have players like Adam and Jose, you have the type of players who can do the type(s) of things they did tonight," said Keller.
"(Schaumburg) is a very good team, they are physical, can possess, and move the ball around, and on top of that, they are young, so their future is bright."
"I thought we had a lot of the play in the first half. Their late goal hurt us a little bit, but we came back strong in the second half, but we just could not put one in," said Saxons senior Mati Krzanowski, who was named the MSL West POY.
The Saxons (11-5-3) would create several half chances in the first half, just one on frame, but it was their ability to keep the ball and play through the midfield that impressed Kowalski.
"(Credit) Schaumburg for a great game. Krzanowski is amazing in the middle, and Matt Mianowany, their center-back, is very good also. They could be a tough team to play in the playoffs," Kowalski said.
"No. 7 (Hernandez) and No. 9 (Kowalski) are very dangerous, and when we made a mistake, they made us pay for it," said Saxons coach Matt Meyer.
" Congrats to Fremd, they are a very difficult team to play, but we learned a lot tonight. It was a good game for us to be a part of, and I am obviously very proud of these guys."
This was the first MSL Soccer Cup appearance for the Saxons since 2015 when they lifted the cup under then coach Hamid Mehreioskouei, who is now the athletic director at Fremd.
Next up for the Saxons is their regional opener against Wheaton Warrenville South (8-9-2) next Tuesday at the Glenbard North venue, while the MSL champions are at the Buffalo Grove regional playing league rival Prospect (8-5-4), also on Tuesday.