Fremd does about-face,
upends Downers Grove South
Vikings end 2-game skid with 2-0 win
By Matt LeCren
PALATINE – Fremd was staring at the strong possibility of a 0-3 start when it hosted Downers Grove South on Saturday.
The Vikings were coming off a 5-1 loss to New Trier on Thursday, the same night Downers South had routed Glenbard East 6-1 in its season opener.
But the young Vikings got a goal and an assist from their lone returning starter, junior forward Luke Schoffstall, and blanked the Mustangs 2-0.
“It was really important to boost the morale of the team,” Schoffstall said. “We were starting to look down, but we moved the ball and trusted each other this game and things worked out for us.”
It didn’t take long to do so.
Schoffstall worked a textbook give-and-go to perfection with sophomore Dalton Rogers, who bagged his first varsity goal on the play just 4:26 into the game to open the scoring.
Rogers triggered the play with a run up the middle and a pass to Schoffstall just inside the box. Schoffstall quickly gave it back to Rogers, who had sped past his mark, and Downers South goalkeeper Sam Dumford had no chance on the lightning-quick finish.
“I was just looking to get someone in or play it off, and he made a great run around his guy and I just found him,” Schoffstall said. “He hit a great shot to finish it.”
The play happened so quickly even Rogers was stunned.
“It was my second-ever start, and I scored a goal,” Rogers said. “I didn’t even know what happened when the ball went in the back of the net.
“It was just going so fast, and I played it to Luke and he played it right back to me and before you know it, I had a shot.”
That turned out to be the game-winner, and even Downers South coach Jon Stapleton applauded the set-up.
“That was a nice goal,” Stapleton said. “I didn’t think we defended really well on the field 1-v.-1 and that was a good example. Guys were turning their heads and they got in behind and they exposed us.
“We talked about that after our last match. Programs like this are going to expose those mistakes. That’s all part of the process. We’ve got to make sure we have to do something about that.”
Quality chances were actually few and far between and Dumford kept the Mustangs (1-1) within shouting distance with a tremendous save in the first half to rob Matt Austin.
Fremd’s Tyler Johanson’s header was deflected by a defender but it went straight to Austin, whose 15-yard volley was ticketed for the lower left corner before Dumford lunged to his right to save it.
The Vikings (1-2) had another chance to extend the lead with 1:05 remaining. The Mustangs tried to clear a corner kick but Austin tracked the ball down in the right side of the penalty area and then turned and chipped a shot back toward the goal. The ball was headed in but Dumford leaped to snag it just when it looked like it would go over his head.
Dumford, who finished with four saves, didn’t have a chance on Fremd’s second goal, which came with 17:43 to go in the second half.
Rohan Menon sent a 22-yard free kick from just outside the top left corner of the box and two Vikings snuck in behind the Downers South defense. Schoffstall got his foot on it and volleyed it inside the right post for his second goal of the season.
“(Menon) hit it well,” said Schoffstall, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “It just dipped at the last second, and I was fortunate to get a foot on it and it snuck by the keeper.”
Both Fremd goals were indicative of how the Vikings were the more aggressive team.
“They were stepping to the ball instantly,” Dumford said. “We’d touch the ball, and they were on you and once we were in their half we weren’t doing that too much.
“We definitely didn’t play to the standard we’ve been setting for ourselves. The intensity was a little low, we weren’t connecting.
“Our offense we weren’t going side-to-side as much. That’s one of our strengths here, but we have a lot of young forwards up top and we didn’t really connect as well.”
The Mustangs connected plenty against Glenbard East, with Nick Rohl and Peter Becht scoring twice and Garrett Burns and Dylan Mobley each adding a goal. But the Vikings proved to be a tougher nut to crack and proved Dumford’s opinion that the Mustangs will need more offense than last year.
“We definitely (have) a different mentality,” Dumford said. “We lost two or three of our great defenders (to graduation). As much as we were winning games 1-0 last year, we’re looking more like to get 3-2 wins this year. Other than that I think we should be quite agile.”
But it wasn’t enough against Fremd.
“We were very reactive, and I think that’s a credit to them in terms of the energy they brought today,” Stapleton said. “It’s why we always enjoy this matchup. They come out, play hard and they test us. Hopefully we’ll take something from that and learn it.”
With such a young team, Fremd will do much of its learning on the job. Rogers is one of five players – Austin, Max Mayer, Ben Cuthbert and Max Clark are the others – who played on the freshman team last year and are making the leap to varsity.
“We want to do the same as last year’s team (which finished third in the state), and I feel like our talent is there,” Rogers said. “We just got to learn to play with each other, and I think this win kind of showed that we’re getting there little steps at a time. And I think it’s kind of cool following in last year’s team’s footsteps.”
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kramer made four saves and twice came out of his box to knock balls away from onrushing Mustang attackers to record the shutout, a stark contrast to the result against New Trier.
“It was nice to get this win after getting pounded by New Trier, and it is going to be about what do our guys do between the ears,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “Do they buy into what we’re doing? Do they execute what we’re trying to do?
“We’re trying to put this team in the best position to be the most effective they can, and it’s up to them to buy into that and execute.”
Schoffstall will clearly lead that effort.
“Last year I was a little bit of a followerm and this year I’m taking on a bigger role and trying to show the younger guys what varsity level is like and hopefully take us far,” Schoffstall said. “We’re really young, but I think we have some talent that we can use and if we play together as a team I think good things are ahead of us.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Peter Carr
D Ryan Strelau
D Anthony Masello
M Luis Marquez
M Peter Becht
M Andrew Pierropoulos
F Garrett Burns
F Dylan Mobley
F Nick Rohn
Fremd
G Michael Kramer
D Ryan Rowden
D Tyler Alfirivic
D Jake Arbour
M Seiya Iguchi
M Rohan Menon
M James Lefevre
M Dalton Rogers
M Matt Austin
F Max Clark
F Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Luke Schoffstall, F, Fremd.
upends Downers Grove South
Vikings end 2-game skid with 2-0 win
By Matt LeCren
PALATINE – Fremd was staring at the strong possibility of a 0-3 start when it hosted Downers Grove South on Saturday.
The Vikings were coming off a 5-1 loss to New Trier on Thursday, the same night Downers South had routed Glenbard East 6-1 in its season opener.
But the young Vikings got a goal and an assist from their lone returning starter, junior forward Luke Schoffstall, and blanked the Mustangs 2-0.
“It was really important to boost the morale of the team,” Schoffstall said. “We were starting to look down, but we moved the ball and trusted each other this game and things worked out for us.”
It didn’t take long to do so.
Schoffstall worked a textbook give-and-go to perfection with sophomore Dalton Rogers, who bagged his first varsity goal on the play just 4:26 into the game to open the scoring.
Rogers triggered the play with a run up the middle and a pass to Schoffstall just inside the box. Schoffstall quickly gave it back to Rogers, who had sped past his mark, and Downers South goalkeeper Sam Dumford had no chance on the lightning-quick finish.
“I was just looking to get someone in or play it off, and he made a great run around his guy and I just found him,” Schoffstall said. “He hit a great shot to finish it.”
The play happened so quickly even Rogers was stunned.
“It was my second-ever start, and I scored a goal,” Rogers said. “I didn’t even know what happened when the ball went in the back of the net.
“It was just going so fast, and I played it to Luke and he played it right back to me and before you know it, I had a shot.”
That turned out to be the game-winner, and even Downers South coach Jon Stapleton applauded the set-up.
“That was a nice goal,” Stapleton said. “I didn’t think we defended really well on the field 1-v.-1 and that was a good example. Guys were turning their heads and they got in behind and they exposed us.
“We talked about that after our last match. Programs like this are going to expose those mistakes. That’s all part of the process. We’ve got to make sure we have to do something about that.”
Quality chances were actually few and far between and Dumford kept the Mustangs (1-1) within shouting distance with a tremendous save in the first half to rob Matt Austin.
Fremd’s Tyler Johanson’s header was deflected by a defender but it went straight to Austin, whose 15-yard volley was ticketed for the lower left corner before Dumford lunged to his right to save it.
The Vikings (1-2) had another chance to extend the lead with 1:05 remaining. The Mustangs tried to clear a corner kick but Austin tracked the ball down in the right side of the penalty area and then turned and chipped a shot back toward the goal. The ball was headed in but Dumford leaped to snag it just when it looked like it would go over his head.
Dumford, who finished with four saves, didn’t have a chance on Fremd’s second goal, which came with 17:43 to go in the second half.
Rohan Menon sent a 22-yard free kick from just outside the top left corner of the box and two Vikings snuck in behind the Downers South defense. Schoffstall got his foot on it and volleyed it inside the right post for his second goal of the season.
“(Menon) hit it well,” said Schoffstall, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “It just dipped at the last second, and I was fortunate to get a foot on it and it snuck by the keeper.”
Both Fremd goals were indicative of how the Vikings were the more aggressive team.
“They were stepping to the ball instantly,” Dumford said. “We’d touch the ball, and they were on you and once we were in their half we weren’t doing that too much.
“We definitely didn’t play to the standard we’ve been setting for ourselves. The intensity was a little low, we weren’t connecting.
“Our offense we weren’t going side-to-side as much. That’s one of our strengths here, but we have a lot of young forwards up top and we didn’t really connect as well.”
The Mustangs connected plenty against Glenbard East, with Nick Rohl and Peter Becht scoring twice and Garrett Burns and Dylan Mobley each adding a goal. But the Vikings proved to be a tougher nut to crack and proved Dumford’s opinion that the Mustangs will need more offense than last year.
“We definitely (have) a different mentality,” Dumford said. “We lost two or three of our great defenders (to graduation). As much as we were winning games 1-0 last year, we’re looking more like to get 3-2 wins this year. Other than that I think we should be quite agile.”
But it wasn’t enough against Fremd.
“We were very reactive, and I think that’s a credit to them in terms of the energy they brought today,” Stapleton said. “It’s why we always enjoy this matchup. They come out, play hard and they test us. Hopefully we’ll take something from that and learn it.”
With such a young team, Fremd will do much of its learning on the job. Rogers is one of five players – Austin, Max Mayer, Ben Cuthbert and Max Clark are the others – who played on the freshman team last year and are making the leap to varsity.
“We want to do the same as last year’s team (which finished third in the state), and I feel like our talent is there,” Rogers said. “We just got to learn to play with each other, and I think this win kind of showed that we’re getting there little steps at a time. And I think it’s kind of cool following in last year’s team’s footsteps.”
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kramer made four saves and twice came out of his box to knock balls away from onrushing Mustang attackers to record the shutout, a stark contrast to the result against New Trier.
“It was nice to get this win after getting pounded by New Trier, and it is going to be about what do our guys do between the ears,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “Do they buy into what we’re doing? Do they execute what we’re trying to do?
“We’re trying to put this team in the best position to be the most effective they can, and it’s up to them to buy into that and execute.”
Schoffstall will clearly lead that effort.
“Last year I was a little bit of a followerm and this year I’m taking on a bigger role and trying to show the younger guys what varsity level is like and hopefully take us far,” Schoffstall said. “We’re really young, but I think we have some talent that we can use and if we play together as a team I think good things are ahead of us.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Peter Carr
D Ryan Strelau
D Anthony Masello
M Luis Marquez
M Peter Becht
M Andrew Pierropoulos
F Garrett Burns
F Dylan Mobley
F Nick Rohn
Fremd
G Michael Kramer
D Ryan Rowden
D Tyler Alfirivic
D Jake Arbour
M Seiya Iguchi
M Rohan Menon
M James Lefevre
M Dalton Rogers
M Matt Austin
F Max Clark
F Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Luke Schoffstall, F, Fremd.