Fremd does it again, ousts Prospect
Fremd is now just a single step away from a trip to the boys soccer state tournament.
Brian Hindle struck a stunning blow to Mid-Suburban League champ Prospect in the opening moments, and the Vikings produced 3 goals in a six-minute spurt in the second half to knock the Knights from the unbeaten ranks in a 4-0 Palatine sectional final victory Friday.
The Vikings (15-5-2) travel to Maine South for a 5 p.m. supersectional match in Park Ridge on Tuesday against the Evanston sectional winner, either Maine East or New Trier.
“We told the team that nobody really expected them to win tonight, let alone be in the sectional final with teams like Libertyville and Prospect seeded ahead of us,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller, “so they went out and played relaxed, free and easy. But after we scored that goal early, it gave us that immediate boost of confidence, and from that point forward they never let up, and never allowed (Prospect) to get into playing the way they have been throughout what was a fantastic year for them.”
“It just wasn’t our night tonight,” said Prospect coach Kurt Trenkle just after the Knights’ record-setting season came to abrupt halt. “We’ve done well of late coming back from being down, but against a well-coached team like (Fremd) which was composed, organized, and hard-working for the entire 80 minutes, it was just too tall of a task to ask our guys to be able to come back from being down tonight.”
Hindle came from nowhere on a run from the far side and into the box unmarked to redirect Matt Briars’ early arriving free kick from 45 yards to get past Knights keeper Brad Reibel just three minutes into the match.
It was Hindle’s third goal in as many matches, with each coming off a dead-ball opportunity.
“I just ran in from the right side, and Briars gave me just a great ball,” said Hindle.
Yusuke Kanada, sometimes as the lone striker for the Vikings, helped Fremd keep the tempo to its liking.
“(Fremd) wasn’t allowing us a lot of time and space, and they were winning a lot of balls, which made it difficult for us to get anything going,” said Prospect all-state striker Bill Cooney, who in the final match of his high school career turned in another superb 80 minutes.
The Knights (20-1-2) did their best to equalize the Hindle goal before the break, but they were unable against a club which protected a lead far better than the Knights’ previous opponents.
“We stayed within our system, trying to keep seven behind the ball, and all of the guys performed at a high level in order to keep everything in front of them and away from their scoring threats in Cooney and (Richard) Lenke,” said Keller.
Cooney flashed his brilliance when he served to Alex Schnepf at the spot — but alert Vikings keeper Colton Caesius smothered the chance. Later, on an enterprising run up the left side, the Cooney found Patryk Ruta in close, but the four-year veteran missed wide.
“Despite a tough first half, everyone seemed upbeat at the break, and I think we all thought we would get back in the game in the second half,” said Reibel.
The Vikings scored twice within the span of four minutes — the first coming at 54 minutes when Lucas Cholew eluded a defender to beat Reidel to a ball sent in from Jeremy Kosacz.
Then Kanada forced a turnover in the area, and when the ball spilled free an opportunistic Jon Magnusson slotted Fremd’s third goal.
That quieted the Knights’ supportive student crowd, and two minutes after the Magnusson goal, Kanada made it 4-0 at the hour mark.
“Lucas and Jon were big for us tonight, and the overall effort was exactly what we needed to have in order to beat a team like Prospect,” said Vikings sophomore Eric Leonard.
“I think a lot of the guys had our early 4-0 loss to Prospect still in the back of their minds to help motivate them, but whatever the reason, we defended well and scored when the chances were there for us,” said Keller. “Prospect had a sensational season, and they should be proud of what they accomplished, especially their two stars, Cooney and Reibel, who each carried themselves with class and dignity.
“It’s not easy to go an entire season undefeated, and it’s especially difficult to (continue) to win when you know everyone is coming at you and wants to be the one to give you your first loss.”