Kotsakis, Fremd get by Libertyville
Fremd is heading for the Glenbrook South sectional next week after the No. 1 seed beat host Libertvyille 2-0 Friday night to capture a regional crown.
It was too much Elise Kotsakis for the hosts, who did all they could to stop the Butler-bound striker. She still managed to strike for both goals for her club, the second coming at 67 minutes to all but end the Wildcats’ postseason hopes.
“That was a tough, tough match out there tonight, and one which felt more like a sectional final instead of a regional final,” said Libertyville coach Scott Schinto. “But in the end, we weren’t able to match the physical play Fremd brought today, and we hard a difficult time with No. 10 (Kotsakis) as well.”
The Vikings (15-3-2), who will face either Palatine or Buffalo Grove at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Glenbrook South, provided the No. 9 Wildcats (12-5-3) with a glimpse of what was ahead when a stubborn backline led by Jennifer Freeman, Kristin Abruscato and Emily Basten kept everything in front of them from the opening whistle.
Fremd’s Kotsakis and Michelle Mottonen, meanwhile, found ways into Libertyville’s end on a regular basis during the first quarter-hour of play.
Kotsakis deposited a loose ball into the back of the net at 22 minutes to give Fremd a crucial first goal.
“I am sure that in the last couple of games that we’ve lost, we probably gave up the first goal of the game and never were able to recover,” said Kotsakis. “So scoring first tonight really gave us a good push forward.”
The Vikings’ top scorer nearly doubled the visitors’ lead at the half-hour mark; only a terrific save from Cats keeper, Natalie Algozino prevented a goal. She also stopped a well-paced freekick from Mottonen just before intermission, but after the break Libertyville gained some momentum as Sydney Mudd and Sam Julian tried to break into the Vikings’ area. Fremd held, thanks in part to solid play from defender Jen Freeman.
“That was the best (Jen) Freeman played this year, because she got in there in a crowd and tackled and showed a lot of grit, which is something we’ve been missing the past two weeks,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller.
Having survived a 10-minute barrage from Libertyville, Fremd added a little insurance to its lead when Kira Heggeland intiated with a terrific individual effort up the left side that ended when her inswinger from the flag found Mottonen, who assisted on Kotsakis’ second goal.
Later, Val VanRoeyen’s 35-yard free kick was turned away by Vikings keeper Shannon Norris with a spectacular effort to all but end the season for Schinto’s club.
“That’s a really well coached team and program, and I bet in the last few years, they’ve beaten us three times by the score of 1-0, 2-1, 2-0 ... but one of these days, we’re going to get them,” said Schinto.
“We finally came out and played with great intensity and with the physical play that we’ve been lacking of late,” said Keller. “Coupled with that, you saw Alexis (Tice) win every single ball in the middle tonight, and be almost an unstoppable force in 50-50 and second balls for us.”