Fremd out-toughs Elk Grove
Schoffstall strikes twice to lead Fremd to 2-0 victory
by Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- As Steve Keller's men continue to march through their league rivals after another three-point effort on Thursday at Hildebrandt Field, the question still remains: will the real Fremd side please step forward.
The Vikings (5-2-1, 3-0-1) secured a 2-0 result over visiting Elk Grove (4-4-0, 1-4-0) with junior Jake Schoffstall providing the firepower for his club, highlighted by a remarkable freekick bomb nine minutes from time to close out the hard-fighting Grens.
The talent-rich Vikings will get a real taste of quality on Saturday when they host Naperville North at noon. TopDrawerSoccer.com rates Naperville North as the No. 2-rated team in the nation in its latest poll.
"We continue to play at a level that is below what my expectations are for a team that has plenty of (technical) talent," Fremd coach Steve Keller said, "but not the type of tactical talent we need to reach in order to be considered one of the teams to beat at the end of the season.
"You can see (at times) with the addition of four players from club, to go along with what we brought back, that we can play attractive, inspiring soccer at times. At other times, such as tonight, we fall back into this kind of malaise in which there's nothing of quality out there."
Keller is spot-on in his assessment of his lads, who opened with remarkable play in their attack - quick, sharp, put-on-his-back-foot kind of soccer - only to miss on scoring chances due to final third failures.
"There's a lot of real good players on this team, and at times, we've shown just how good we can be," senior Dorian Lesiuk said, "but it's never for eighty minutes, and especially when we get into that area around the goal."
"We talk about it during training, and we did again at the half, but we're still not were we should be. So we'll just have to keep working at it until it comes for all of us."
Lesiuk is one of four Vikings who returned after playing club soccer for Sockers FC.
Alex Stavropoulos could not have been more proud of his lads even in defeat, but the Grens manager also knows his young club has a ways to go, especially when playing the likes of his Thursday night opponent.
"I tell the guys this is the MSL - it's a league for men - and you have to play like one, particularly when you have a team such as Fremd that will come out and try to beat you both physically and mentally for the entire night until you don't have anything else to give," said Stavropoulos, who has done well in turning around the culture at Elk Grove.
"Tonight we had a referee who let a lot of things go," Stavropoulos said. "He was fair and consistent. But against Fremd, with them knowing they can play hard and tough, we had our struggles at times with that type of play. And we weren't altogether happy with the way some of the calls went.
"But again, you have to adjust, and play to the way things will be called, and it's all part of the process of learning and growing up as a team. Credit to Steve and his guys, because they play a real strong brand of soccer."
While Keller, Lesiuk, and Jake Scesniak all agreed the level of play on their side of the ball needs to improve, fans would have been hard pressed to complain about much during the opening quarter hour on this glorious night in Palatine.
It was during the first 15 minutes when a rampant Vikings club went close on eight different occasions. It began with both Lesiuk and Russell Beaupre having Grens centerbacks, Paul Jonas and Alex Pillath, taking balls out of the box.
Fremd's Anthony Tambellini and Josh Bennett used width to their advantage with quick, well-paced connecting passes, which ended with Lesiuk heading wide in the 7th minute.
While the front-seven of the Vikings continued to pour forward, another player back from club, Vince Daidone, collected one ball after another from just in front of the backline and turned those balls into starter pieces for his teammates going forward.
Bennett continued to punish the Grens on the outside, and it was his pace and purpose which helped Beaupre and Scesniak build something from nothing, which led to Beaupre going wide with his 14th minute effort.
"We created a lot of chances but wasted most of them, and I think we all get a little frustrated when that happens," Scesniak said. "We have to play with more patience and composure in order to get over that."
The Grens continued to defend bravely, and attempted to get out of their own end by finding Brandon Lazcano-Llanos in the middle of the park. But the home side continued to look for its breakthrough goal before the break.
It nearly came from a Kaelan Conway freekick which forced Grens keeper Sean Martinez to save. Keller brought on fresh legs with seven players off his bench, and that unit saw Ryan Cox, Eli Schoffstall, John Kating and CJ Williams all make a statement during their 20-minute stint.
Just before the first goal from Jake Schoffstall arrived, Alex Pillath parried away two dangerous balls left sitting in the box by the home side, the second of which led to a corner from Kading.
The junior sent his bending cross near the spot and an unmarked Schoffstall hit a head shot that was stopped by Martinez. Schoffstall's shot then slipped past Martinez and over the endline.
"We held out as long as we could after being put under pressure for nearly the entire first half," Stavropoulos said. "I am very proud of the effort that we gave during that time to keep them off the scoreboard."
The visitors did not live as dangerously after the intermission. Elk Grove came back into the game with some quality play led by Lazcano-Llanos, helped by Luis Godines and Nazar Peron, who found the collective pace needed to test the Vikings more in their own end.
The Grens lost a key figure in their backline in the 51st minute when junior Drew Talens was helped off, and immediately given ice for his injured knee.
Elk Grove's attack sprung to life, with Lazcano-Llanos forcing Vikings keeper Artur Cholewa into action three times, the third of which came on a crafty snap-shot from Lazcano-Llanos in the 57th minute.
Keller was not pleased with his side's effort after intermission.
"Our overall play in the second half was sub-par," he said. "There wasn't much through the run of play at all. It's something that's been lacking of late."
Tambellini did his best to create more of what Keller was looking for: quality building from quick, decisive passes. Tambellini fed Scesniak for a wicked left-footer off the bar, and CJ Williams sent another Tambellini pass wide of frame.
"I think we all know and believe we can be so much better," Scesniak said. "But we also have to remember we've only played seven or eight games together, with a lot of new players this year.
"It's not an excuse but we have to work harder on a lot of the little things to get to where we all want to be."
Jake Schoffstall stole the show in the 71st minute, scoring one of the Vikings' top goals of the season -- a stunning, over-the-speed-limit freekick that ripped into the upper right corner.
"There was no denying their last goal, it was a great one," Stavropoulos said. "Credit Fremd for their win. On the flipside, we played another terrific MSL team as hard as we could for the second time in a row."
The Grens manager also saw his men take a 1-0 lead on MSL East power Hersey, only to have a PK and a 79th-minute strike end the game in a 2-1 Huskies win.
Both Lesiuk and Scesniak are looking forward to matching wits and will against Naperville North, which is ranked No.1 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Keller's club is now four points clear (10-6) of a trio of division rivals: Barrington, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, following its sixth clean sheet of the season.
"We'll need to be ready for Naperville this weekend, because they will come at us with a lot, and we'll have to respond the challenges they give us," Keller said. "We want to get a good result but more importantly, I want to see this team play well, at the level that I know they're capable of."
After their match with Naperville North (9-0-0 the Vikings will return to league play with a fixture at Conant on Tuesday afternoon (4:45) followed by a key game with MSL East rival Buffalo Grove on Thursday. Fremd's annual Kinsella Cup contest with crosstown rival Palatine is next Saturday at Fremd at 11:00.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
(4-4-2)
G- Sean Martinez
D- Drew Talens
D- Paul Jonas
D- Alex Pillath
D- Hector Torres
M-Johnny Rivas
M- Brandon Lazcano-Llanos
M- Eliseo Palacios
M- Nazar Peron
F- Luis Godines
F- Stanley Gallardo
Fremd
(3-1-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Jake Scesniak
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
D- Kaelan Conway
M- Vince Daldone
M- Josh Bennett
M- Connor Sapiente
M- Anthony Tambellini
F- Dorian Lesiuk
F- Russell Beaupre
Scoring Summary
First half
Fremd - Schoffstall (Kading) 27th minute
Second half
Fremd - Schoffstall (FK) 71st minute
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Schoffstall, jr., D, Fremd
Referee: Jay Cummins
Schoffstall strikes twice to lead Fremd to 2-0 victory
by Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- As Steve Keller's men continue to march through their league rivals after another three-point effort on Thursday at Hildebrandt Field, the question still remains: will the real Fremd side please step forward.
The Vikings (5-2-1, 3-0-1) secured a 2-0 result over visiting Elk Grove (4-4-0, 1-4-0) with junior Jake Schoffstall providing the firepower for his club, highlighted by a remarkable freekick bomb nine minutes from time to close out the hard-fighting Grens.
The talent-rich Vikings will get a real taste of quality on Saturday when they host Naperville North at noon. TopDrawerSoccer.com rates Naperville North as the No. 2-rated team in the nation in its latest poll.
"We continue to play at a level that is below what my expectations are for a team that has plenty of (technical) talent," Fremd coach Steve Keller said, "but not the type of tactical talent we need to reach in order to be considered one of the teams to beat at the end of the season.
"You can see (at times) with the addition of four players from club, to go along with what we brought back, that we can play attractive, inspiring soccer at times. At other times, such as tonight, we fall back into this kind of malaise in which there's nothing of quality out there."
Keller is spot-on in his assessment of his lads, who opened with remarkable play in their attack - quick, sharp, put-on-his-back-foot kind of soccer - only to miss on scoring chances due to final third failures.
"There's a lot of real good players on this team, and at times, we've shown just how good we can be," senior Dorian Lesiuk said, "but it's never for eighty minutes, and especially when we get into that area around the goal."
"We talk about it during training, and we did again at the half, but we're still not were we should be. So we'll just have to keep working at it until it comes for all of us."
Lesiuk is one of four Vikings who returned after playing club soccer for Sockers FC.
Alex Stavropoulos could not have been more proud of his lads even in defeat, but the Grens manager also knows his young club has a ways to go, especially when playing the likes of his Thursday night opponent.
"I tell the guys this is the MSL - it's a league for men - and you have to play like one, particularly when you have a team such as Fremd that will come out and try to beat you both physically and mentally for the entire night until you don't have anything else to give," said Stavropoulos, who has done well in turning around the culture at Elk Grove.
"Tonight we had a referee who let a lot of things go," Stavropoulos said. "He was fair and consistent. But against Fremd, with them knowing they can play hard and tough, we had our struggles at times with that type of play. And we weren't altogether happy with the way some of the calls went.
"But again, you have to adjust, and play to the way things will be called, and it's all part of the process of learning and growing up as a team. Credit to Steve and his guys, because they play a real strong brand of soccer."
While Keller, Lesiuk, and Jake Scesniak all agreed the level of play on their side of the ball needs to improve, fans would have been hard pressed to complain about much during the opening quarter hour on this glorious night in Palatine.
It was during the first 15 minutes when a rampant Vikings club went close on eight different occasions. It began with both Lesiuk and Russell Beaupre having Grens centerbacks, Paul Jonas and Alex Pillath, taking balls out of the box.
Fremd's Anthony Tambellini and Josh Bennett used width to their advantage with quick, well-paced connecting passes, which ended with Lesiuk heading wide in the 7th minute.
While the front-seven of the Vikings continued to pour forward, another player back from club, Vince Daidone, collected one ball after another from just in front of the backline and turned those balls into starter pieces for his teammates going forward.
Bennett continued to punish the Grens on the outside, and it was his pace and purpose which helped Beaupre and Scesniak build something from nothing, which led to Beaupre going wide with his 14th minute effort.
"We created a lot of chances but wasted most of them, and I think we all get a little frustrated when that happens," Scesniak said. "We have to play with more patience and composure in order to get over that."
The Grens continued to defend bravely, and attempted to get out of their own end by finding Brandon Lazcano-Llanos in the middle of the park. But the home side continued to look for its breakthrough goal before the break.
It nearly came from a Kaelan Conway freekick which forced Grens keeper Sean Martinez to save. Keller brought on fresh legs with seven players off his bench, and that unit saw Ryan Cox, Eli Schoffstall, John Kating and CJ Williams all make a statement during their 20-minute stint.
Just before the first goal from Jake Schoffstall arrived, Alex Pillath parried away two dangerous balls left sitting in the box by the home side, the second of which led to a corner from Kading.
The junior sent his bending cross near the spot and an unmarked Schoffstall hit a head shot that was stopped by Martinez. Schoffstall's shot then slipped past Martinez and over the endline.
"We held out as long as we could after being put under pressure for nearly the entire first half," Stavropoulos said. "I am very proud of the effort that we gave during that time to keep them off the scoreboard."
The visitors did not live as dangerously after the intermission. Elk Grove came back into the game with some quality play led by Lazcano-Llanos, helped by Luis Godines and Nazar Peron, who found the collective pace needed to test the Vikings more in their own end.
The Grens lost a key figure in their backline in the 51st minute when junior Drew Talens was helped off, and immediately given ice for his injured knee.
Elk Grove's attack sprung to life, with Lazcano-Llanos forcing Vikings keeper Artur Cholewa into action three times, the third of which came on a crafty snap-shot from Lazcano-Llanos in the 57th minute.
Keller was not pleased with his side's effort after intermission.
"Our overall play in the second half was sub-par," he said. "There wasn't much through the run of play at all. It's something that's been lacking of late."
Tambellini did his best to create more of what Keller was looking for: quality building from quick, decisive passes. Tambellini fed Scesniak for a wicked left-footer off the bar, and CJ Williams sent another Tambellini pass wide of frame.
"I think we all know and believe we can be so much better," Scesniak said. "But we also have to remember we've only played seven or eight games together, with a lot of new players this year.
"It's not an excuse but we have to work harder on a lot of the little things to get to where we all want to be."
Jake Schoffstall stole the show in the 71st minute, scoring one of the Vikings' top goals of the season -- a stunning, over-the-speed-limit freekick that ripped into the upper right corner.
"There was no denying their last goal, it was a great one," Stavropoulos said. "Credit Fremd for their win. On the flipside, we played another terrific MSL team as hard as we could for the second time in a row."
The Grens manager also saw his men take a 1-0 lead on MSL East power Hersey, only to have a PK and a 79th-minute strike end the game in a 2-1 Huskies win.
Both Lesiuk and Scesniak are looking forward to matching wits and will against Naperville North, which is ranked No.1 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Keller's club is now four points clear (10-6) of a trio of division rivals: Barrington, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, following its sixth clean sheet of the season.
"We'll need to be ready for Naperville this weekend, because they will come at us with a lot, and we'll have to respond the challenges they give us," Keller said. "We want to get a good result but more importantly, I want to see this team play well, at the level that I know they're capable of."
After their match with Naperville North (9-0-0 the Vikings will return to league play with a fixture at Conant on Tuesday afternoon (4:45) followed by a key game with MSL East rival Buffalo Grove on Thursday. Fremd's annual Kinsella Cup contest with crosstown rival Palatine is next Saturday at Fremd at 11:00.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
(4-4-2)
G- Sean Martinez
D- Drew Talens
D- Paul Jonas
D- Alex Pillath
D- Hector Torres
M-Johnny Rivas
M- Brandon Lazcano-Llanos
M- Eliseo Palacios
M- Nazar Peron
F- Luis Godines
F- Stanley Gallardo
Fremd
(3-1-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Jake Scesniak
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
D- Kaelan Conway
M- Vince Daldone
M- Josh Bennett
M- Connor Sapiente
M- Anthony Tambellini
F- Dorian Lesiuk
F- Russell Beaupre
Scoring Summary
First half
Fremd - Schoffstall (Kading) 27th minute
Second half
Fremd - Schoffstall (FK) 71st minute
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Schoffstall, jr., D, Fremd
Referee: Jay Cummins