Boys soccer: Fremd still team to beat in MSL West
Fremd's boys soccer team was the stingiest of all the Mid-Suburban League clubs last season, conceding just 3 goals in 11 matches while amassing 28 points and winning the West Division championship before falling to Buffalo Grove in the MSL Soccer Bowl.
The Vikings were hit hard by graduation but still look to be the team to beat in the West this season.
"We lost a lot of quality players from a year ago, but I really feel we'll be that much better this season," said Fremd senior Jake Schoffstall, the Vikings' all-state center-back.
"We have a core of players who gained valuable experience during the regular season then in the playoffs. We all get along and we want to do whatever it takes to have a successful season."
•There's always a positive vibe around Barrington Community Stadium with the promise of a strong finish the norm for coach Scott Steib run clubs.
During the last 10 years, the Broncos have won four division titles, three regional championships, their own Barrington Classic tourney three times, five Freeport Invite titles and a Class 3A state runner-up trophy in 2016.
Ten first-year varsity players, and nine sophomores a year ago produced a 12-8-2 overall record, so Steib hopes the experience earned by his young Barrington club will equal great success in 2019.
"With a roster now full of juniors and seniors, we hope to compete for a MSL West title, and to continue to improve throughout the season," says Steib, who begins his 20th season.
Junior Niko Argyros is a gifted midfielder, CJ Steib is back for his third year along the back line, and the return of Henry Wachsman from club will bolster the Broncos as well.
•You would be hard pressed to remember the last time Conant finished so far under 500 (2-14-3) in its long and storied history.
"We're still in the middle of a rebuild, but things are looking up as we had 130 kids at tryouts including what looks like our best ever freshman class," says Cougars coach Jason Franco, now in his 12th season.
•When you're strong in the back, you always have a chance and that's where Fremd was among the best one year ago.
Three-fourths of the Vikings' back line returns in front of all-area keeper Artur Cholewa, and that in itself is good enough to keep coach Steve Keller's team in each and every game this fall.
"It all starts in the back, so to have Artur, Jake, (Kaelan) Conway, and CJ (Johnson) back is key for us, in addition to a nice core of other returning players (Nick Austin, Russell Beaupre, Josh Bennett, Kyle Johnston, John Kating and Eli Schoffstall), who all busted their (butts) in the summer to get better."
•Revitalized under coach Sean Armstrong, Hoffman Estates earned its first mid-table finish in years when the Hawks collected 18 points after a 6-5-0 record in the MSL.
"The expectations are very high with the team this year, and although we'll be young, this is an extremely talented and hungry group of players," says Armstrong. "Last year we addressed creating a new culture, where players were expected to be able to compete and I feel like we accomplished those goals. We played a tough schedule and were in every game all season."
The Hawks lost three all-MSL players to graduation, one of which was all-area MF Alex Gonzalez, but the return of a second all-area player Georgi Kyosev should fuel the Hawks' attack just fine.
•While defense wins championships, you still have to find the back of the net to be successful and that was something Palatine had great difficulty doing last fall.
The Pirates opened the 2018 campaign brightly enough at 2-1-3, but followed up with an 0-4-2 record, mostly due to their inability to score.
Willie Filian, now in his 29th season, watched his team get shut out on nine occasions, including a 5-0 loss to rival Fremd in the annual Kinsella Cup contest which decides who will keep the valued crosstown trophy for another year.
"With two all-MSL players (Kevin Reynolds, Connor Aikman) back, an organized back line, and some low key but good attacking players, we should be much improved over last year," says Filian.
•Four-year starter Jared Schoo brings 80 minutes of box-to-box play, while Sam Bogner gives Schaumburg a first rate back line veteran which manager Eric Sorby hopes will translate into a mid-table or better finish in his third season in charge.
"We have a strong senior class with loads of experience. (Schoo and Bogner) will lead an organized back line and midfield and a strong core of players should be able to keep games close and to surprise some opponents on our schedule," says Sorby.