Fremd's Schoffstall shows
Hersey flash before thunder
Vikings lead 2-0 in weather-suspended game
By Dave Owen
PALATINE – First it was Luke Schoffstall’s turn to strike. Then it was Mother Nature.
Fremd took a 2-0 lead over visiting Hersey on Thursday as Schoffstall scored twice in a span of 3:45 midway through the first half.
But a flash of lightning with 10:42 left in the half resulted in a delay. After 30 minutes, a continued series of other lightning sightings prompted the suspension of the match.
Play will resume at approximately 6:15 p.m. on Monday at Fremd, after the 4:30 p.m. JV match is completed.
Not being able to finish the match Thursday left the Vikings with mixed feelings.
“I guess we kind of lose our momentum,” Fremd goalkeeper Michael Kramer said, “but we’ll just try to play (Monday) like we have been, and we can win.”
Third-year varsity standout junior Schoffstall has been playing very well this season, and took over the match before the weather did.
With 24:12 left in the half, a Matt Austin cross from right of the net found Schoffstall unmarked 10 yards from the goal. His straight-on liner sailed inside the lower right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Then at the 20:27 mark, Fremd’s Rohan Menon attacked from the right flank and passed to Schoffstall again in the middle of the field. Faking a shot and stepping left to elude a defender, Schoffstall lined a low 22-yard shot inside the left post to make the score 2-0.
With 10 goals and three assists in what is now 10 3/8 games this fall, Schoffstall has already topped his 2014 goal total of nine.
“He’s a very talented player,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said, and I think what you saw tonight was him playing composed. When he does that, he can score like that.
“He draws a lot of attention, so we’ve been really working with him on how we want him to play so he can be successful with a lot of pressure on him. Both those finishes were very nice tonight. He’s a gifted player with being able to hold the ball, and when he incorporates his teammates and gets them involved it’s only going to benefit him as we go forward.”
To Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn, Schoffstall somehow managed to not draw enough attention on his two finishes.
“We played really well the last couple of games, and tonight we really came out confident and a little cocky,” Llewellyn said. “But we left him (Schoffstall) open twice, back shoulder in the middle of the box and then 10 yards off him. We tried to go 1-v.-1 at the corner of the box with no support.
“Mental mistakes by young players is not uncommon, and he did what he does. He got open, he turned, and it was almost like he was surprised on the first one to be so open. He turned, was like ‘Are you kidding me?’ and shot it in. So it’s a learning experience for us.”
Hersey’s defense came up with nice plays to repel other early Fremd chances.
Defender Michael Santry nicely broke up a Viking rush in the 13th minute, then goalkeeper Brett Harris batted a 35-yard Schoffstall rising shot over the crossbar at 21:45.
Then three minutes later with the score 2-0, Hersey’s Giuseppe Scaletta prevented further trouble when he blocked and cleared the crease of a shot towards the right corner of the net by Fremd sophomore Angel Virgos.
Jack Rasmussen also had two nice steals and clears of Viking threats, the latter of those on Austin’s dribble into the box with 13:15 left.
In an ironic twist considering the outcome, Llewellyn was sported a T-shirt with the words "Hersey Soccer" and an orange lightning bolt on the front.
Now because of a few real bolts across the sky, the Huskies will have four days to wait before Thursday’s match is completed.
“We have games this weekend in Rockford, so hopefully that will spur us and get us back on track,” Llewellyn said.
“And even if we lose this game (in Monday’s completion), my last comment to them tonight was ‘you learn from adversity,’ especially when you’re young. We’re going to go forward and see what happens.”
Hersey’s offensive chances included a Christian Castro corner kick in the 24th minute, which Fremd’s Shinataro Hidaka headed upfield and out of danger.
Coming off a fourth place state finish with a senior-dominated team last year, Fremd has started 4-6-0 this fall against a tough schedule.
“We’re playing a little bit different,” Keller said. “We do a lot of talking with our guys about what this particular group has to do to win. Each group is different. They’re working at it, and we’re watching and seeing who’s going to be able to do what we’re asking.
“So far tonight in this game it was pretty good. We gave up a couple of shots, but they weren’t extremely dangerous. So the key for us is to work to really solidify the back and make it very tough to score on us. And when we do get chances, we have to put them away like we did tonight.
“If we do that, we’ll be OK,” Keller added. “If we don’t, we’ll be in barnburners.”
Kramer saw action at goalkeeper in 12 matches last season. As one of this year’s senior leaders, he hopes to add to the strong Fremd tradition of success.
“It motivates us a lot,” Kramer said of the 2014 tournament run. “We want to do better and hopefully win (state) this year.
“We’ve been playing well together, and we’re all getting along well which is good.”
Weather intervened Thursday to turn a long delay into a multiple-day wait to finish the match.
“It’s never good,” Keller said of the wait until Monday, “but personally I think it’s better than having to go back and play today (after the long delay).”
The Fremd coach has one main concern when play resumes.
“We have a 2-0 lead, and how do we respond to that,” Keller said. “If they come out thinking, ‘We’re up already’ and let up, it could be bad. So mentally you hope they’re still sharp come Monday.”
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK- Brett Harris
D- Steven Custer
D- Daniel Gritt
D- Giuseppe Scaletta
D- Michael Santry
M- Christian Castro
M- Alex Filian
M- Jack Rasmussen
M- Saul Casillas
F- Matthew Dickey
F- Thomas Skiba
Fremd
GK- Michael Kramer
D- Ryan Rowden
D- Seiya Iguchi
D- Max Clark
D- Ben Cuthbert
M- Michael LaBarge
M- RJ Cortez
M- Rohan Menon
M- James Lefevre
F- Luke Schoffstall
F- Matt Austin
Hersey flash before thunder
Vikings lead 2-0 in weather-suspended game
By Dave Owen
PALATINE – First it was Luke Schoffstall’s turn to strike. Then it was Mother Nature.
Fremd took a 2-0 lead over visiting Hersey on Thursday as Schoffstall scored twice in a span of 3:45 midway through the first half.
But a flash of lightning with 10:42 left in the half resulted in a delay. After 30 minutes, a continued series of other lightning sightings prompted the suspension of the match.
Play will resume at approximately 6:15 p.m. on Monday at Fremd, after the 4:30 p.m. JV match is completed.
Not being able to finish the match Thursday left the Vikings with mixed feelings.
“I guess we kind of lose our momentum,” Fremd goalkeeper Michael Kramer said, “but we’ll just try to play (Monday) like we have been, and we can win.”
Third-year varsity standout junior Schoffstall has been playing very well this season, and took over the match before the weather did.
With 24:12 left in the half, a Matt Austin cross from right of the net found Schoffstall unmarked 10 yards from the goal. His straight-on liner sailed inside the lower right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Then at the 20:27 mark, Fremd’s Rohan Menon attacked from the right flank and passed to Schoffstall again in the middle of the field. Faking a shot and stepping left to elude a defender, Schoffstall lined a low 22-yard shot inside the left post to make the score 2-0.
With 10 goals and three assists in what is now 10 3/8 games this fall, Schoffstall has already topped his 2014 goal total of nine.
“He’s a very talented player,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said, and I think what you saw tonight was him playing composed. When he does that, he can score like that.
“He draws a lot of attention, so we’ve been really working with him on how we want him to play so he can be successful with a lot of pressure on him. Both those finishes were very nice tonight. He’s a gifted player with being able to hold the ball, and when he incorporates his teammates and gets them involved it’s only going to benefit him as we go forward.”
To Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn, Schoffstall somehow managed to not draw enough attention on his two finishes.
“We played really well the last couple of games, and tonight we really came out confident and a little cocky,” Llewellyn said. “But we left him (Schoffstall) open twice, back shoulder in the middle of the box and then 10 yards off him. We tried to go 1-v.-1 at the corner of the box with no support.
“Mental mistakes by young players is not uncommon, and he did what he does. He got open, he turned, and it was almost like he was surprised on the first one to be so open. He turned, was like ‘Are you kidding me?’ and shot it in. So it’s a learning experience for us.”
Hersey’s defense came up with nice plays to repel other early Fremd chances.
Defender Michael Santry nicely broke up a Viking rush in the 13th minute, then goalkeeper Brett Harris batted a 35-yard Schoffstall rising shot over the crossbar at 21:45.
Then three minutes later with the score 2-0, Hersey’s Giuseppe Scaletta prevented further trouble when he blocked and cleared the crease of a shot towards the right corner of the net by Fremd sophomore Angel Virgos.
Jack Rasmussen also had two nice steals and clears of Viking threats, the latter of those on Austin’s dribble into the box with 13:15 left.
In an ironic twist considering the outcome, Llewellyn was sported a T-shirt with the words "Hersey Soccer" and an orange lightning bolt on the front.
Now because of a few real bolts across the sky, the Huskies will have four days to wait before Thursday’s match is completed.
“We have games this weekend in Rockford, so hopefully that will spur us and get us back on track,” Llewellyn said.
“And even if we lose this game (in Monday’s completion), my last comment to them tonight was ‘you learn from adversity,’ especially when you’re young. We’re going to go forward and see what happens.”
Hersey’s offensive chances included a Christian Castro corner kick in the 24th minute, which Fremd’s Shinataro Hidaka headed upfield and out of danger.
Coming off a fourth place state finish with a senior-dominated team last year, Fremd has started 4-6-0 this fall against a tough schedule.
“We’re playing a little bit different,” Keller said. “We do a lot of talking with our guys about what this particular group has to do to win. Each group is different. They’re working at it, and we’re watching and seeing who’s going to be able to do what we’re asking.
“So far tonight in this game it was pretty good. We gave up a couple of shots, but they weren’t extremely dangerous. So the key for us is to work to really solidify the back and make it very tough to score on us. And when we do get chances, we have to put them away like we did tonight.
“If we do that, we’ll be OK,” Keller added. “If we don’t, we’ll be in barnburners.”
Kramer saw action at goalkeeper in 12 matches last season. As one of this year’s senior leaders, he hopes to add to the strong Fremd tradition of success.
“It motivates us a lot,” Kramer said of the 2014 tournament run. “We want to do better and hopefully win (state) this year.
“We’ve been playing well together, and we’re all getting along well which is good.”
Weather intervened Thursday to turn a long delay into a multiple-day wait to finish the match.
“It’s never good,” Keller said of the wait until Monday, “but personally I think it’s better than having to go back and play today (after the long delay).”
The Fremd coach has one main concern when play resumes.
“We have a 2-0 lead, and how do we respond to that,” Keller said. “If they come out thinking, ‘We’re up already’ and let up, it could be bad. So mentally you hope they’re still sharp come Monday.”
Starting lineups
Hersey
GK- Brett Harris
D- Steven Custer
D- Daniel Gritt
D- Giuseppe Scaletta
D- Michael Santry
M- Christian Castro
M- Alex Filian
M- Jack Rasmussen
M- Saul Casillas
F- Matthew Dickey
F- Thomas Skiba
Fremd
GK- Michael Kramer
D- Ryan Rowden
D- Seiya Iguchi
D- Max Clark
D- Ben Cuthbert
M- Michael LaBarge
M- RJ Cortez
M- Rohan Menon
M- James Lefevre
F- Luke Schoffstall
F- Matt Austin