Boys soccer: MSL Cup is all Fremd's
Josh Bennett, John Kating and Kyle Johnston stole the show in an electric display of attacking soccer which produced a 5-goal second half explosion for host Fremd's boys soccer team, which lifted the Mid-Suburban League championship trophy over Wheeling Thursday night in Palatine.
The Vikings' 7-1 victory in the 43rd annual MSL Soccer Cup is the largest goal difference in the history of the league, and gives Fremd (11-1-4) its ninth title, and first since 2014.
"It was a big win for us, and one that I know the guys who were here last year wanted very much after falling short against Buffalo Grove," said Vikings coach Steve Keller, who claimed his third title of his career.
"I thought Wheeling outplayed us in our first meeting but tonight after a tough start we came back, got ourselves back into the game, then played a very good second half of soccer on both sides of the ball."
Wheeling (10-5-3) would stun the MSL West champions when Arthur Glinkin scored the opener in the third minute thanks to some wonderful work on the ball from Luis Aviles.
The Wildcats' advantage was short-lived however when Bennett steered in his angled effort to draw the home side back even four minutes later.
"That goal was big for us because it stopped the momentum they built from their early goal and after that things began to turn our way," said Johnston.
Aviles was clearly the most dangerous man in the park in the first quarter hour with his darting runs, trickery and speed on the ball prying open the Vikings in their own end.
The junior appeared to give the Wildcats the lead in the 12th minute until the big crowd and both clubs saw the offside flag raised, erasing Aviles' close-range finish.
Johnston would cease his opportunity minutes later, driving in the eventual game-winner in the 15th minute with a nice touch toward 'Cats keeper Elio Santana after a ball sent into the box spilled off a Wheeling defender.
"We obviously didn't want to concede that early goal, but a lot of us have been playing together since we were 8-9 years old, so we knew we were capable of playing at the type of level needed to win a game we wanted so much," said Johnston.
The game would settle in after the 3-goal splurge but as the first half went longer it was clear the constant pressure from the Vikings and their ability to create several dead-ball opportunities were beginning to have an effect on coach Kevin Lennons' club.
"The perfect start for us tonight, but their two goals to get ahead really saw us panic which led to mental mistakes and us playing not the type of soccer that got us into this game," said the Wildcats' coach.
Three dead-ball goals in the first 20 minutes after the break would ultimately settle the match with CJ Williams adding to the score line in the 52nd minute, followed by John Kating's double, both hit with magnificent accuracy and pace.
Leo Akashi made it 6-1 in the 76th minute, before Jake Schoffstall finished things off with his team-leading 12th goal of the season on a trademark free kick from 35 yards.
"It's not the way we thought this game would go. Fremd flat out beat us tonight, but now we have something to prove to ourselves and each other next week in our regional opener with Buffalo Grove," said Lennon.
Next up for the new MSL champions will be Lake Zurich on Tuesday in its regional opener at Stevenson.
"I'm encouraged by our play, especially in the back where we won balls in the air, stayed organized and defended well as a unit," said Keller. "If we go out and play like we did in the second half from here on out, we could put together a nice run in the playoffs."