Fremd's Halloran finishes off Elk Grove
Back-and-forth affair comes down to only Vikings goal
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — The first month of the season, Fremd has experimented with different approaches, styles of play and combination of lineups to find out its strengths and discover how best to take advantage of the opportunities afforded them.
Elk Grove has undergone a different tact in trying to assimilate its youth into the speed and intensity of varsity play and to understand what it takes — physically and emotionally — to achieve success.
Both teams found inspiration and areas that require improvement. Elk Grove unveiled a gifted and brilliant junior keeper in Cassie Slattery, who withstood tremendous pressure to keep the Grenadiers close.
In the end, Fremd had too many weapons.
Slattery recorded 14 saves, but one goal was all the Vikings needed. Junior midfielder Kellie Halloran provided that when she broke the interior of Elk Grove's defense and drilled a ball from about nine yards out in the 36th minute that held up in the Vikings' 1-0 victory in a Mid-Suburban League win Monday night.
Halloran, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, scored her first goal of the year for the Vikings (3-3, 3-1). Racing down the right edge, she caught a well-played through ball from Janine Burchert, taking the ball in stride and pulling a beautiful ball across her body for the game winner.
"My coach always tells me to go low and far post — it's ingrained in my memory," Halloran said. "It was a great ball by Janine. I think we're doing a much better job of getting out together and building out of the back.
"We have to do a better job on the finishing touch, but the pressure finally paid off for us."
Fremd seized command at the 12-minute mark of the first half. The Vikings dominated possession time and offensive opportunities in the final third. Fremd was the aggressor on offense, generating three corner kicks and sharp execution.
"I told the girls I was very pleased with the buildup and the opportunities we created, but we did a very poor job of finishing," Fremd coach Steve Keller said.
"Some of the combination play was very good. We were making good passes and making the good first and second touch. We were able to take girls 1-on-1 and get behind them and create some good chances. "
Slattery was a classic ball stopper who repeatedly denied the Vikings, from multiple angles and points of view.
"She made some phenomenal and made a couple of spectacular saves, but you have to be able to put the ball in the back of the net when you have your chances," Keller said.
Elk Grove (2-6, 1-3) mounted its best scoring chance in the 42nd minute when a defensive error allowed junior midfielder Liz McDaniel a wide-open look. Fremd keeper Kelsie Stone made an intuitive lunge to her right for the diving stop.
"I took a touch around the girl, and I hit it as hard as I could, and the keeper made a great play," McDaniel said.
The sequence wasn't lost on Keller.
"We got away with one there, and our goalie made a great save," he said.
Elk Grove has eight freshmen in its rotation.
"Five of them started, and some of the stronger ones in that group are banged up right now," Elk Grove coach Dan Klaus said. "We had six that were playing, and five had a lot of minutes. I thought in the first half we did a better job connecting on our passes than we have in quite a while.
"The second half not as much, but we were playing more direct. I can't fault the girls' efforts, but we obviously have to create more of an attack."
Klaus is observing subtle improvements, a better awareness of game situations and not simply reacting to the actions of the other team though anticipating actions and counter movements and making better adjustments on the run.
The Grenadiers are struggling to find a smoother rhythm, McDaniel said.
"I think the fact they were connecting more gave them so many more chances," she said. "They were able to clear balls into the corner, get shot after shot, and we were not able to get that kind of sequence going."
Fremd's lone forward in its 1-5-4 attack, Jessica Kopec, generated some strong scoring chances in concert with midfielder Katie Zara. The Halloran goal was the inevitable result of the relentless nature of the Vikings' forward attack.
"We did the little things very well tonight — making good tackles, cutting their players off and taking away the angles," Kopec said. "We've been emphasizing a lot about winning the 50-50 balls and getting the headers and the volleys and we were able to do that.
"We're working hard on [generating] shots."
If Keller wanted greater urgency and results in the final 18, Fremd's players showcased enough strengths to smooth over the disappointing edges. The work in progress showed considerable balance and gains.
"The first month of the season, we've found out about ourselves, have a grasp of what will work and what we have to focus on as a group to keep improving," Keller said.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Cassie Slattery
D: Jackie Benitez
D: Emma Slattery
D: Ally Czyzewski
D: Alexis Olague
D: Kathryn Riopel
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Kelly Walker
M: Emma Simmons
M: Leila Aguilar
F: Bailey Murphy
Fremd
GK: Kelsie Stone
D: Jayne DePaolis
D: Annika Morin
D: Sarah Marturano
D: Reilly Siepka
M: Danielle Money
M: Kellie Halloran
M: Missy Adrian
M: Katie Zara
M: Emily Rogers
F: Jessica Kopec
MVP of the Match: Kellie Halloran, MF, Fremd
Back-and-forth affair comes down to only Vikings goal
By Patrick Z. McGavin
PALATINE — The first month of the season, Fremd has experimented with different approaches, styles of play and combination of lineups to find out its strengths and discover how best to take advantage of the opportunities afforded them.
Elk Grove has undergone a different tact in trying to assimilate its youth into the speed and intensity of varsity play and to understand what it takes — physically and emotionally — to achieve success.
Both teams found inspiration and areas that require improvement. Elk Grove unveiled a gifted and brilliant junior keeper in Cassie Slattery, who withstood tremendous pressure to keep the Grenadiers close.
In the end, Fremd had too many weapons.
Slattery recorded 14 saves, but one goal was all the Vikings needed. Junior midfielder Kellie Halloran provided that when she broke the interior of Elk Grove's defense and drilled a ball from about nine yards out in the 36th minute that held up in the Vikings' 1-0 victory in a Mid-Suburban League win Monday night.
Halloran, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, scored her first goal of the year for the Vikings (3-3, 3-1). Racing down the right edge, she caught a well-played through ball from Janine Burchert, taking the ball in stride and pulling a beautiful ball across her body for the game winner.
"My coach always tells me to go low and far post — it's ingrained in my memory," Halloran said. "It was a great ball by Janine. I think we're doing a much better job of getting out together and building out of the back.
"We have to do a better job on the finishing touch, but the pressure finally paid off for us."
Fremd seized command at the 12-minute mark of the first half. The Vikings dominated possession time and offensive opportunities in the final third. Fremd was the aggressor on offense, generating three corner kicks and sharp execution.
"I told the girls I was very pleased with the buildup and the opportunities we created, but we did a very poor job of finishing," Fremd coach Steve Keller said.
"Some of the combination play was very good. We were making good passes and making the good first and second touch. We were able to take girls 1-on-1 and get behind them and create some good chances. "
Slattery was a classic ball stopper who repeatedly denied the Vikings, from multiple angles and points of view.
"She made some phenomenal and made a couple of spectacular saves, but you have to be able to put the ball in the back of the net when you have your chances," Keller said.
Elk Grove (2-6, 1-3) mounted its best scoring chance in the 42nd minute when a defensive error allowed junior midfielder Liz McDaniel a wide-open look. Fremd keeper Kelsie Stone made an intuitive lunge to her right for the diving stop.
"I took a touch around the girl, and I hit it as hard as I could, and the keeper made a great play," McDaniel said.
The sequence wasn't lost on Keller.
"We got away with one there, and our goalie made a great save," he said.
Elk Grove has eight freshmen in its rotation.
"Five of them started, and some of the stronger ones in that group are banged up right now," Elk Grove coach Dan Klaus said. "We had six that were playing, and five had a lot of minutes. I thought in the first half we did a better job connecting on our passes than we have in quite a while.
"The second half not as much, but we were playing more direct. I can't fault the girls' efforts, but we obviously have to create more of an attack."
Klaus is observing subtle improvements, a better awareness of game situations and not simply reacting to the actions of the other team though anticipating actions and counter movements and making better adjustments on the run.
The Grenadiers are struggling to find a smoother rhythm, McDaniel said.
"I think the fact they were connecting more gave them so many more chances," she said. "They were able to clear balls into the corner, get shot after shot, and we were not able to get that kind of sequence going."
Fremd's lone forward in its 1-5-4 attack, Jessica Kopec, generated some strong scoring chances in concert with midfielder Katie Zara. The Halloran goal was the inevitable result of the relentless nature of the Vikings' forward attack.
"We did the little things very well tonight — making good tackles, cutting their players off and taking away the angles," Kopec said. "We've been emphasizing a lot about winning the 50-50 balls and getting the headers and the volleys and we were able to do that.
"We're working hard on [generating] shots."
If Keller wanted greater urgency and results in the final 18, Fremd's players showcased enough strengths to smooth over the disappointing edges. The work in progress showed considerable balance and gains.
"The first month of the season, we've found out about ourselves, have a grasp of what will work and what we have to focus on as a group to keep improving," Keller said.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK: Cassie Slattery
D: Jackie Benitez
D: Emma Slattery
D: Ally Czyzewski
D: Alexis Olague
D: Kathryn Riopel
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Kelly Walker
M: Emma Simmons
M: Leila Aguilar
F: Bailey Murphy
Fremd
GK: Kelsie Stone
D: Jayne DePaolis
D: Annika Morin
D: Sarah Marturano
D: Reilly Siepka
M: Danielle Money
M: Kellie Halloran
M: Missy Adrian
M: Katie Zara
M: Emily Rogers
F: Jessica Kopec
MVP of the Match: Kellie Halloran, MF, Fremd