Fremd raises MSL Cup
Luke Schoffstall strikes 71st minute game-winner
By Mike Garofola
WHEELING -- There can't be two kings of the Mid-Suburban League. After the final whistle was blown, West Division leader Fremd took the conference crown with a 1-0 win over host and East Division leader Wheeling.
Luke Schoffstall found the back of the net nine minutes from time as the Vikings humbled the reigning conference champs to earn a seventh Mid-Suburban League Cup, the most in the history of the league.
"It really was a very good performance on our part from front-to-back," said manager Steve Keller, who in 2010 guided his club past Elk Grove to end 17-years of chasing its last championship season.
"Wheeling is a very talented, and skillful team, and we knew coming in there were certain things we had to do in order to neutralize their strengths," he said. "And we did just that tonight.
"Our backline was solid, keeping them to just a few chances, while getting a few blocks in close. The midfield outworked their counterparts, and never really allowed Frankie Estrada to get into any kind of rhythm, and Luke (schoffstall), Ben Poder and Zach (Schoffstall) showed a lot of pace and creativity up top to keep the pressure on all throughout."
Keller's summation was right on. The performance equaled an almost quiet domination of an opponent that finished the regular season on the upbeat, winning its last five matches to grab a second-consecutive MSL East title.
"The boys were excited, and ready to play coming in, but Fremd was just a little quicker and faster than us from almost the start," said Wildcats manager Ed Uhrik. "We had trouble winning balls, and dealing with the pressure they put on us, especially in the middle, which really limited how we were able to generate any attack through Frankie."
The All-State senior candidate tried to impose influence the attack of the Wildcats (12-6-4, 8-2-1), but the quartet of Zach Schoffstall, Jacob Cuthbert, Rohan Menon and Kurt Rettke would have none of that. After a rather dodgey opening quarter-hour, this group in the middle of the park slowly began to win most of the play - thus helping turn loose the aforementioned Poder and Luke Schoffstall.
"We felt like we could attack and create coming into this game, and we were able to create a few chances in that first half," Poder said. "But halfway through the second half, I felt like I could take on, and beat my guy on the outside. And with the way Luke was running and playing tonight, I (think) the both of us felt like something would come from either one of us sooner or later."
Luke Schoffstall liked what he saw looking at the middle of the pitch from his forward position.
"Our midfield did a great job of stopping that neat little one-two (quick) passing game that Wheeling is so good at," said Schoffstall, who now leads the club with eight goals. ""With them doing that, it opened up a lot for me and Ben, plus my brother. So after awhile, we seemed to be in their end a lot more, especially in the second half."
The super-soph flashed a wicked ball into the box from the near flag which almost unlocked the Wildcats goal at 22 minutes, and if not for an alert tackle from the Wheeling's elite defender Francisco Arellano, the Vikings' Tomas Peleckas would have netted the opening goal.
In the traditional Mid-Suburban League ceremony at halftime of the Soccer Bowl, Peleckas and Arellano were honored as the West and East division players of the year and the all-conference players were introduced and recognized.
Just before this sequence, the home side nearly struck first when Estrada quickly put Allen Mancilla inside the box. Fittingly, his low drive appeared to be blocked, and parried out of danger by Peleckas.
The Vikings backline star came this close to catching up to a well-aimed and paced serve from Zach Schoffstall to the back post at 32 minutes - then just before the break, Poder saw his chance of redirecting a Kurt Rettke ball into the box pulled out of the air by the Wildcats wonderful sophomore keeper Castillo, who turned in a quality performance throughout the game.
Fremd was on the front foot from the opening stages of the second period. The Vikings (14-5-1, 9-1-1) started brightly with Poder outracing two down the right side before forcing Castillo to make a save at the near post. That was followed by Luke Kosacz' drive of a superb crossfield ball to the onrushing Rettke, who would easily put it in if not for the excellent read and reaction from Castillo, who made coming off his line look easy.
With the wind in its sails now, the Vikings continued to maintain its intense pace and aggression.
Zach Schoffstall nearly seized the moment with a right-footed cracker on frame in the 63rd minute, then two minutes later, his younger brother was unable to put enough pace on a low drive towards the back post after he turned his mark around, but pulled Castillo off his line when Poder pried the Wheeling defense open for his teammate.
"We didn't get frustrated when we couldn't finish, because we knew it would come," said Poder.
Castillo once again beat Zach Schoffstall to a Poder serve into the box, and in the 66th minute, Gavin McCarty, just brought on by Keller, nearly squeezed his shot into the net on the right side after Poder turned, before putting the senior through.
Luke Schoffstall would put an exclamation point on his Man-of-the-Match evening with a clinical finish in the 71st minute off a brilliant ball sent in from the endline by Poder. Nine minutes later, the Vikings bench rushed their mates on the pitch to enjoy their well-deserved championship.
"I saw the opportunity coming for me when Ben raced up the right side and beat a couple of guys - I knew he'd give me a great ball to do something with," the young striker said with a smile.
"Luke has been a real pleasant surprise for us this year," began Keller.
"He's given us a lot of imagination up top, held the ball well, and created chances for himself and others, and has proven to be a difference maker, just as he did tonight."
Senior Will Lefevre had an easy time of it between the sticks for the Vikings, playing spectator more that keeper as he recorded the clean-sheet, thanks in part to air-tight work from Peleckas, Danny Burton, Ben Borst and Kosacz.
"They were the better team tonight, and they deserved the win and the MSL championship," said Uhrik.
"I am, of course, very proud of my guys, a team that many figured wouldn't be back here after losing so many top players from our state runner-up team. But tonight, Steve and his guys just were better, and that's the way it goes in this game."
Starting lineups
Wheeling
GK: Jose Castillo
D: Franciso Arellano
D: Victor Gomez
D: Pedro Flores
D: Jose Mancilla
MF: Jonathan Sanchez
MF: Joshua Prindle
MF: Bryan Cervantes
MF: Frankie Estrada
F: Allen Mancilla
F: Fabian Acosta
Fremd
GK: Will Lefevre
D: Danny Burton
D: Tomas Peleckas
D: Ben Borst
D: Luke Kosacz
MF: Rohan Menon
MF: Zach Schoffstall
MF: Jacob Cuthbert
MF: Kurt Rettke
F: Ben Poder
F: Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Luke Schoffstall, Fremd
Officials: Mike Valsamis (center); Mohammad Mushtad; William Niemeyer.
Luke Schoffstall strikes 71st minute game-winner
By Mike Garofola
WHEELING -- There can't be two kings of the Mid-Suburban League. After the final whistle was blown, West Division leader Fremd took the conference crown with a 1-0 win over host and East Division leader Wheeling.
Luke Schoffstall found the back of the net nine minutes from time as the Vikings humbled the reigning conference champs to earn a seventh Mid-Suburban League Cup, the most in the history of the league.
"It really was a very good performance on our part from front-to-back," said manager Steve Keller, who in 2010 guided his club past Elk Grove to end 17-years of chasing its last championship season.
"Wheeling is a very talented, and skillful team, and we knew coming in there were certain things we had to do in order to neutralize their strengths," he said. "And we did just that tonight.
"Our backline was solid, keeping them to just a few chances, while getting a few blocks in close. The midfield outworked their counterparts, and never really allowed Frankie Estrada to get into any kind of rhythm, and Luke (schoffstall), Ben Poder and Zach (Schoffstall) showed a lot of pace and creativity up top to keep the pressure on all throughout."
Keller's summation was right on. The performance equaled an almost quiet domination of an opponent that finished the regular season on the upbeat, winning its last five matches to grab a second-consecutive MSL East title.
"The boys were excited, and ready to play coming in, but Fremd was just a little quicker and faster than us from almost the start," said Wildcats manager Ed Uhrik. "We had trouble winning balls, and dealing with the pressure they put on us, especially in the middle, which really limited how we were able to generate any attack through Frankie."
The All-State senior candidate tried to impose influence the attack of the Wildcats (12-6-4, 8-2-1), but the quartet of Zach Schoffstall, Jacob Cuthbert, Rohan Menon and Kurt Rettke would have none of that. After a rather dodgey opening quarter-hour, this group in the middle of the park slowly began to win most of the play - thus helping turn loose the aforementioned Poder and Luke Schoffstall.
"We felt like we could attack and create coming into this game, and we were able to create a few chances in that first half," Poder said. "But halfway through the second half, I felt like I could take on, and beat my guy on the outside. And with the way Luke was running and playing tonight, I (think) the both of us felt like something would come from either one of us sooner or later."
Luke Schoffstall liked what he saw looking at the middle of the pitch from his forward position.
"Our midfield did a great job of stopping that neat little one-two (quick) passing game that Wheeling is so good at," said Schoffstall, who now leads the club with eight goals. ""With them doing that, it opened up a lot for me and Ben, plus my brother. So after awhile, we seemed to be in their end a lot more, especially in the second half."
The super-soph flashed a wicked ball into the box from the near flag which almost unlocked the Wildcats goal at 22 minutes, and if not for an alert tackle from the Wheeling's elite defender Francisco Arellano, the Vikings' Tomas Peleckas would have netted the opening goal.
In the traditional Mid-Suburban League ceremony at halftime of the Soccer Bowl, Peleckas and Arellano were honored as the West and East division players of the year and the all-conference players were introduced and recognized.
Just before this sequence, the home side nearly struck first when Estrada quickly put Allen Mancilla inside the box. Fittingly, his low drive appeared to be blocked, and parried out of danger by Peleckas.
The Vikings backline star came this close to catching up to a well-aimed and paced serve from Zach Schoffstall to the back post at 32 minutes - then just before the break, Poder saw his chance of redirecting a Kurt Rettke ball into the box pulled out of the air by the Wildcats wonderful sophomore keeper Castillo, who turned in a quality performance throughout the game.
Fremd was on the front foot from the opening stages of the second period. The Vikings (14-5-1, 9-1-1) started brightly with Poder outracing two down the right side before forcing Castillo to make a save at the near post. That was followed by Luke Kosacz' drive of a superb crossfield ball to the onrushing Rettke, who would easily put it in if not for the excellent read and reaction from Castillo, who made coming off his line look easy.
With the wind in its sails now, the Vikings continued to maintain its intense pace and aggression.
Zach Schoffstall nearly seized the moment with a right-footed cracker on frame in the 63rd minute, then two minutes later, his younger brother was unable to put enough pace on a low drive towards the back post after he turned his mark around, but pulled Castillo off his line when Poder pried the Wheeling defense open for his teammate.
"We didn't get frustrated when we couldn't finish, because we knew it would come," said Poder.
Castillo once again beat Zach Schoffstall to a Poder serve into the box, and in the 66th minute, Gavin McCarty, just brought on by Keller, nearly squeezed his shot into the net on the right side after Poder turned, before putting the senior through.
Luke Schoffstall would put an exclamation point on his Man-of-the-Match evening with a clinical finish in the 71st minute off a brilliant ball sent in from the endline by Poder. Nine minutes later, the Vikings bench rushed their mates on the pitch to enjoy their well-deserved championship.
"I saw the opportunity coming for me when Ben raced up the right side and beat a couple of guys - I knew he'd give me a great ball to do something with," the young striker said with a smile.
"Luke has been a real pleasant surprise for us this year," began Keller.
"He's given us a lot of imagination up top, held the ball well, and created chances for himself and others, and has proven to be a difference maker, just as he did tonight."
Senior Will Lefevre had an easy time of it between the sticks for the Vikings, playing spectator more that keeper as he recorded the clean-sheet, thanks in part to air-tight work from Peleckas, Danny Burton, Ben Borst and Kosacz.
"They were the better team tonight, and they deserved the win and the MSL championship," said Uhrik.
"I am, of course, very proud of my guys, a team that many figured wouldn't be back here after losing so many top players from our state runner-up team. But tonight, Steve and his guys just were better, and that's the way it goes in this game."
Starting lineups
Wheeling
GK: Jose Castillo
D: Franciso Arellano
D: Victor Gomez
D: Pedro Flores
D: Jose Mancilla
MF: Jonathan Sanchez
MF: Joshua Prindle
MF: Bryan Cervantes
MF: Frankie Estrada
F: Allen Mancilla
F: Fabian Acosta
Fremd
GK: Will Lefevre
D: Danny Burton
D: Tomas Peleckas
D: Ben Borst
D: Luke Kosacz
MF: Rohan Menon
MF: Zach Schoffstall
MF: Jacob Cuthbert
MF: Kurt Rettke
F: Ben Poder
F: Luke Schoffstall
Man of the Match: Luke Schoffstall, Fremd
Officials: Mike Valsamis (center); Mohammad Mushtad; William Niemeyer.