Championship form on display
for Fremd over Buffalo Grove
Vikings tip Bison thanks to pair of goals by Poder
By Ken Keenan
PALATINE -- A fast-paced affair between Fremd and visiting Buffalo Grove ended with the Mid-Suburban League West champion Vikings showing their mettle in the form of a 2-0 win.
Playing with nothing much on the line after capturing the West Division crown last week, Fremd took a 1-0 lead into halftime on the first of two goals by senior forward Ben Poder. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match was the beneficiary of a poor Bison goal kick, firing a 22-yard rocket past Buffalo Grove senior goalkeeper Daniel Sempoch in the 12th minute.
Poder's second tally came with 17:30 remaining on a close-range tap-in following a strong throw-in by senior midfielder Zach Schoffstall, who also earned an assist on the first goal.
"Ben's been finishing great -- he's got good footwork, speed, and he's good with the ball," Schoffstall said. "But I thought we all did really well. We passed the ball and went north and south toward the goal ... kept attacking. Buffalo Grove kept playing hard, but we played as a team and shut 'em out. (Winning) the division championship is a great feeling, but having a lot of seniors (10 total), we wanted to play hard on our home field."
Fremd head coach Steve Keller said he addressed his troops before the match with the intent of keeping them focused despite any need for urgency.
"I said it would test their character tonight, and they played the whole game," said Keller, whose team upped its mark to 13-5-1 overall and 9-1-1 in conference play. "At critical moments, we made plays that were crucial to the outcome."
Though much of the play stayed in the midfield, both teams had several good chances as the game unfolded. Early on, a throw-in by towering Buffalo Grove junior defender Hans Haller led to a shot over the crossbar by sophomore forward Alex Alfaro. Shortly before the first goal, Poder crossed a ball to junior midfielder Gorgis Yelda, who fired high.
Just after the goal, a nifty passing sequence among Buffalo Grove junior midfielder Drew Brauner, senior midfielder Zach Masciopinto and Alfaro resulted in a bouncing shot handled by Fremd senior goalkeeper Will Lefevre. With 23 minutes left in the first half, Schoffstall unleashed a rocket that sailed wide left; 10 minutes later, Brauner outworked a defender to position himself for a left-footed blast from 15 yards out that missed high.
Less than four minutes into the second half, Fremd senior defender Danny Burton -- who was rock-solid in the back end throughout the match -- snuck into the attack zone for a shot on goal. In the 47th minute, Schoffstall missed wide right on a solid 20-yard kick. With 29 minutes remaining, Yelda pounced on a giveaway and drifted a floater just past a wide-open cage.
Alfaro kept his legs churning to split the Vikings defense for a chance in the 77th minute, and with 3:20 to go, a Buffalo Grove corner kick was snagged in traffic by Lefevre. As the final seconds ticked away, Fremd freshman forward Vania Martin shot high on a breakaway, eliciting a collective moan from the Fremd faithful.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game -- Fremd is really big and strong and organized," Alfaro said. "But we couldn't hit it ... couldn't connect. With playoffs coming, we need to talk to each other more and focus, and try to finish without getting overexcited."
Bison head coach Rick Carlson, who saw his squad fall to 8-9-2, 5-5-1, said, "After the first goal, we had a lot of time to come back and score. We made a mistake on that first goal, but we had opportunities to score and didn't take advantage of them. Fremd put pressure on us, too. They're a fast, athletic team that plays hard -- and we've got make better decisions -- but I thought we did a lot to control the game, too.
"We just seem to make the mistake in each game, and if we avoid that, things will be different."
In the end, the Vikings proved why they're a worthy division champ.
"I think the work rate was key tonight," Burton said. "We stayed composed and worked hard. We wanted to work hard and finish with a win, and we shut 'em down."
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove
GK: Daniel Sempoch
D: Hans Haller
D: Connor Reid
D: Sean King
D: Mike Kotlyar
MF: Zach Masciopinto
MF: Drew Brauner
MF: Ryan Drum
MF: Alexis Alvarez
F: Collin Doyle
F: Alex Alfaro
Fremd
GK: Will Lefevre
D: Danny Burton
D: Ben Borst
D: Tomas Peleckas
D: Luke Kosacz
MF: Jacob Cuthbert
MF: Kurt Rettke
MF: Zach Schoffstall
MF: Gavin McCarty
F: Ben Poder
F: Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Ben Poder, Fremd
Officials: George Ghawi, Gary Jorian, Mark Folta
for Fremd over Buffalo Grove
Vikings tip Bison thanks to pair of goals by Poder
By Ken Keenan
PALATINE -- A fast-paced affair between Fremd and visiting Buffalo Grove ended with the Mid-Suburban League West champion Vikings showing their mettle in the form of a 2-0 win.
Playing with nothing much on the line after capturing the West Division crown last week, Fremd took a 1-0 lead into halftime on the first of two goals by senior forward Ben Poder. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match was the beneficiary of a poor Bison goal kick, firing a 22-yard rocket past Buffalo Grove senior goalkeeper Daniel Sempoch in the 12th minute.
Poder's second tally came with 17:30 remaining on a close-range tap-in following a strong throw-in by senior midfielder Zach Schoffstall, who also earned an assist on the first goal.
"Ben's been finishing great -- he's got good footwork, speed, and he's good with the ball," Schoffstall said. "But I thought we all did really well. We passed the ball and went north and south toward the goal ... kept attacking. Buffalo Grove kept playing hard, but we played as a team and shut 'em out. (Winning) the division championship is a great feeling, but having a lot of seniors (10 total), we wanted to play hard on our home field."
Fremd head coach Steve Keller said he addressed his troops before the match with the intent of keeping them focused despite any need for urgency.
"I said it would test their character tonight, and they played the whole game," said Keller, whose team upped its mark to 13-5-1 overall and 9-1-1 in conference play. "At critical moments, we made plays that were crucial to the outcome."
Though much of the play stayed in the midfield, both teams had several good chances as the game unfolded. Early on, a throw-in by towering Buffalo Grove junior defender Hans Haller led to a shot over the crossbar by sophomore forward Alex Alfaro. Shortly before the first goal, Poder crossed a ball to junior midfielder Gorgis Yelda, who fired high.
Just after the goal, a nifty passing sequence among Buffalo Grove junior midfielder Drew Brauner, senior midfielder Zach Masciopinto and Alfaro resulted in a bouncing shot handled by Fremd senior goalkeeper Will Lefevre. With 23 minutes left in the first half, Schoffstall unleashed a rocket that sailed wide left; 10 minutes later, Brauner outworked a defender to position himself for a left-footed blast from 15 yards out that missed high.
Less than four minutes into the second half, Fremd senior defender Danny Burton -- who was rock-solid in the back end throughout the match -- snuck into the attack zone for a shot on goal. In the 47th minute, Schoffstall missed wide right on a solid 20-yard kick. With 29 minutes remaining, Yelda pounced on a giveaway and drifted a floater just past a wide-open cage.
Alfaro kept his legs churning to split the Vikings defense for a chance in the 77th minute, and with 3:20 to go, a Buffalo Grove corner kick was snagged in traffic by Lefevre. As the final seconds ticked away, Fremd freshman forward Vania Martin shot high on a breakaway, eliciting a collective moan from the Fremd faithful.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game -- Fremd is really big and strong and organized," Alfaro said. "But we couldn't hit it ... couldn't connect. With playoffs coming, we need to talk to each other more and focus, and try to finish without getting overexcited."
Bison head coach Rick Carlson, who saw his squad fall to 8-9-2, 5-5-1, said, "After the first goal, we had a lot of time to come back and score. We made a mistake on that first goal, but we had opportunities to score and didn't take advantage of them. Fremd put pressure on us, too. They're a fast, athletic team that plays hard -- and we've got make better decisions -- but I thought we did a lot to control the game, too.
"We just seem to make the mistake in each game, and if we avoid that, things will be different."
In the end, the Vikings proved why they're a worthy division champ.
"I think the work rate was key tonight," Burton said. "We stayed composed and worked hard. We wanted to work hard and finish with a win, and we shut 'em down."
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove
GK: Daniel Sempoch
D: Hans Haller
D: Connor Reid
D: Sean King
D: Mike Kotlyar
MF: Zach Masciopinto
MF: Drew Brauner
MF: Ryan Drum
MF: Alexis Alvarez
F: Collin Doyle
F: Alex Alfaro
Fremd
GK: Will Lefevre
D: Danny Burton
D: Ben Borst
D: Tomas Peleckas
D: Luke Kosacz
MF: Jacob Cuthbert
MF: Kurt Rettke
MF: Zach Schoffstall
MF: Gavin McCarty
F: Ben Poder
F: Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Ben Poder, Fremd
Officials: George Ghawi, Gary Jorian, Mark Folta