Fremd bids adieu to special senior class
By Mike Garofola
It was going to be the season of the Vikings.
Fremd had returning senior starters Missy Adrian and Emilijia Peleckas, and Chicagoland Soccer all-staters Kelsie Stone and Julia Szylke back. With the addition of Julia Leonard and Katie Kiolbassa back from two years of club soccer with Sockers FC, manager Steve Keller now had additional ingredients positionally, tactically and technically to make a serious run at Mid-Suburban League power Barrington, and later, the state playoffs.
The stars were aligned and the Vikings got off to a flying start -- winning their first four games in league play and building a 5-0-1 overall record into the middle of April. Then a a dark cloud came out of nowhere and rained on the Fremd's parade.
During a hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road at Conant, an innocent looking turn along the endline by the Vikings top forward Peleckas resulted in an ACL injury and subsequent season-ending surgery.
Two nights later, in the annual crosstown match with Palatine for the Kinsella Cup, an awkward fall along the endline by Kiolbassa resulted in the midfield star suffering a shattered wrist that required a plate to be inserted during surgery.
After the two sensational senior starters saw their high school careers end, the Vikings roster took one last hit when its marvelous center back Marta Cholewa was injured in the Vikings 1-0 loss in the second game of the Naperville Invitational.
The junior would later find out she too would require surgery to repair a damaged ACL.
Keller called up a handful of freshmen to the big club to try to fill the missing big shoes, and all of them showed promise. Despite their every effort, the big four of Adrian, Stone, Szylke and Leonard were unable to fulfill the team's early season dreams and the Vikings bowed out of the state tourney after a 2-0 loss in their home regional final against Libertyville.
"Injuries are always a part of any sport and season, and we had our share of them, but I would have liked to have our team together (to) see how long of a run we had in us," Keller said after the Vikings fell to Barrington to end its hopes for good for an outright divisional title.
"It was tough losing our last three games to Barrington by the same 1-0 result during the last two years. It was hard to see us suffer those three big injuries this spring," began Adrian.
"But despite everything that happened to us, this was a very special group of seniors. We got along so well, and really formed a bond between all of us, which is something that all of us will take with us."
The two-sport star and Bradley basketball recruit made three trips to the state finals with the Vikings girls hoops team. Adrian was a tri-captain this season and helped lead the team to a fourth place state finish. She led the team in assists and ranked second in rebounds.
"Being a part of the basketball program for four years was a great experience," said Adrian, who plans to enter the physical therapy program at Bradley.
"Missy had a terrific run here at Fremd, earning three state trophies in basketball, while also having an exemplary career with us on the soccer field," said Keller. "And she really stepped up to become a leader on the field for us this year when we really needed her to."
"(Keller) was a great coach to be around, always seemed to be able to put the right people in the right spots in order to you to be at your best for the team. And he always made it fun. (It's) something I will always appreciate," said Adrian, who bagged 7 goals this season while adding 9 helpers.
She was versatile and could play anywhere across the front line, or drop into the middle of the park to give that position balance, defensive stability and ball-winning excellence. She had a solid understanding of her role.
Adrian came through the ranks, alongside Stone, in the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club and has long known of the talents of the Vikings brilliant keeper.
"We could always count on Kelsie to make at least one goal-saving stop in all of our games. And those will be some of the things I'll remember from being on this team, along with a great bunch of seniors that helped make playing soccer here really special."
Stone, who was a human highlight film throughout her career with the Vikings, will play keeper next fall at Drake University. She committed there during a junior campaign in which she began to separate herself from the rest at her position.
"In my opinion, you would be hard pressed to find a better keeper in the state," says Keller, "and, there's no doubt she was the best ever to play at Fremd."
Statistics tell only a fraction of what this veteran has accomplished during her tenure under Keller.
She recorded 33 clean sheets, allowed just over one goal per game and played 6,200-plus minutes between the sticks. She did all this with supreme confidence, remarkable positional savvy, and the ability to turn around a threatening situation into one of calm after one of her many superb saves.
"A lot of credit goes to my goalkeeper coach, Doug Cardosi, whose been at Celtic for a long time, and the reason that I've stayed there instead of moving on to another club," said Stone, who began playing with the local club in third grade.
"Cardosi has taught me so much about the position I play. (All) of the little things that you need to constantly work on, and it's because of (him) that I've been able to bring my game up to another level."
Stone said after some passing interest at other collegiate programs, including UIC, it was the feeling of being right at home with the current players at Drake that made her decision an easy one.
"It felt a lot like it is at Fremd and with our group of seniors who are so close to each other, that's very important to me," said Stone, who will study academic counseling and urban education while at Drake.
"I feel like I'm ready for the college game thanks to (Keller) who demands a lot from all of us, but is a person who I respect a great deal because he played at a great college program (Indiana), knows the game and creates an atmosphere that puts us in a position to compete at a high level."
"I'll miss him a lot, as well as our other coaches, but especially the team, and all of the seniors who were so close.
"It will be weird next year not training with them, and warming up together before a game, but I'll remember everyone even when I'm away at college."
Stone certainly will not forget a goalkeepers' favorite player - and one of the best in the high school game -- defender Julia Szylke.
The three-year veteran was an imposing figure in the center of the Vikings back-four. She was an immovable force with the ability to intercept and tackle with near 100 percent accuracy and had the awareness to end trouble before it began.
"Julia was an absolute pleasure to coach because she had the mindset to succeed and would respond to coaching, even if it meant taking some criticism," said Keller.
"She was strong, skillful when needed, and what I liked, played with a chip on her shoulder, which is imperative when you're playing such an important position on the field."
"I loved playing for Keller," said Szylke, who will play for Dwayne Cruz at Harper Community College next fall.
"He (Keller) could be hard, but it was always with the best intentions. And he taught all of us so much about playing soccer the way it should be played. He knew how to coach a team full of girls, which isn't always the easiest thing to do."
Szylke grew up with several of her high school teammates. Some played at Celtic, or in the case of Leonard and Kiolbasa, Sockers FC, but she chose to play club soccer in Schaumburg.
"I just got comfortable playing there and just stayed. But I enjoyed being a part of soccer at Fremd way more than anything else. And with many of us moving up through the program together, it made these last two years on varsity even more special for all of us.
"All of the rough times we went through this year were hard on all of us. (We) thought we could go pretty far, and maybe to state. But it didn't quite work out the way we wanted it to with the injuries that we had.
"It would be hard to make a list of highlights from playing here, but the memories that I'll take with me from being a part of such a great group of seniors is the best part."
Leonard and Kiolbasa cured Fremd's midfield ills from a year ago, while the aforementioned Peleckas flashed the type of pace and ability to stretch the opponent that would make both her and Adrian first-rate strikers who opened things up for the rest of their mates.
Aside from Class 3A state champion Barrington, you would be hard pressed to a have a more complete starting 11 than the one that Keller put together.
"We had a terrific group coming back, but with Leonard, she would epitomize what an athlete can accomplish in any sport through her intense work ethic, leadership, sportsmanship and grit," said Keller, who had several long talks with the Butler University-bound Leonard in advance of her decision to leave the Vikings for Sockers FC following her rookie season.
"We went back-and-forth (talking) it out, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of both high school and club soccer," recounts Leonard, who chose Butler over Florida Gulf Coast and the University of Georgia, where her older brother Eric stars for the mens team.
"(Keller) was great to talk to - he listened, wasn't judgemental, and was very supportive, but I couldn't wait to get back to play for my school, and my friends in my last season here at Fremd."
Leonard admits it was tough watching her mates eliminated last year in the sectional final against Barrington.
"My heart was always there with them," she said, "and we always remained really close during those two years I was playing club, but there's nothing like being with everyone from the start of training, right up until the very end."
Leonard earned 2017 IHSSCA all-state honors for several reasons, some of which were her obvious box-to-box first-class talent, a sky-high soccer IQ, as well as an awareness, and appreciation and love of the sport that shows whether she has the ball on her foot, or in her anticipation of the game around her.
"When you enjoy your teammates, and your coaches, it's a lot more fun when your coming out to train, and when your out there playing, and that's why this year, despite all of our injuries (was) one that I'll remember for a long time."
McKenna Miller came off the bench to make her senior year contributions to the Vikings this season.
Peleckas, a 2016 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater will attend Miami of Ohio. Tara Bergles, started in the postseason and scored twice in the 5-0 regional semifinal win over Round Lake, will attend Ferris State in Michigan next fall.
Defender Jennifer Josten moves on to the University of Missouri. During her first full season in the lineup, Josten provided outstanding play along the outside in the Vikings backline, showing quality tackling and ball-winning skill as well.
Despite the unlucky events along the way, Fremd had a season to remember. The Vikings remained among the top 10 teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 throughout the regular season and peaked at no. 5 in the April 30 poll. They were unbeaten (6-0-1) in their first seven matches and sported a 11-1-1 record through April 27. The final 15-5-1 record was better than it appeared -- it included 1-0 losses to eventual state champion Barrington, Naperville North (two overtimes) and rival Palatine in the Kinsella Cup. Fremd lost 2-0 to three-time defending state champ and eventual state runnerup New Trier.
By Mike Garofola
It was going to be the season of the Vikings.
Fremd had returning senior starters Missy Adrian and Emilijia Peleckas, and Chicagoland Soccer all-staters Kelsie Stone and Julia Szylke back. With the addition of Julia Leonard and Katie Kiolbassa back from two years of club soccer with Sockers FC, manager Steve Keller now had additional ingredients positionally, tactically and technically to make a serious run at Mid-Suburban League power Barrington, and later, the state playoffs.
The stars were aligned and the Vikings got off to a flying start -- winning their first four games in league play and building a 5-0-1 overall record into the middle of April. Then a a dark cloud came out of nowhere and rained on the Fremd's parade.
During a hard-fought 1-0 victory on the road at Conant, an innocent looking turn along the endline by the Vikings top forward Peleckas resulted in an ACL injury and subsequent season-ending surgery.
Two nights later, in the annual crosstown match with Palatine for the Kinsella Cup, an awkward fall along the endline by Kiolbassa resulted in the midfield star suffering a shattered wrist that required a plate to be inserted during surgery.
After the two sensational senior starters saw their high school careers end, the Vikings roster took one last hit when its marvelous center back Marta Cholewa was injured in the Vikings 1-0 loss in the second game of the Naperville Invitational.
The junior would later find out she too would require surgery to repair a damaged ACL.
Keller called up a handful of freshmen to the big club to try to fill the missing big shoes, and all of them showed promise. Despite their every effort, the big four of Adrian, Stone, Szylke and Leonard were unable to fulfill the team's early season dreams and the Vikings bowed out of the state tourney after a 2-0 loss in their home regional final against Libertyville.
"Injuries are always a part of any sport and season, and we had our share of them, but I would have liked to have our team together (to) see how long of a run we had in us," Keller said after the Vikings fell to Barrington to end its hopes for good for an outright divisional title.
"It was tough losing our last three games to Barrington by the same 1-0 result during the last two years. It was hard to see us suffer those three big injuries this spring," began Adrian.
"But despite everything that happened to us, this was a very special group of seniors. We got along so well, and really formed a bond between all of us, which is something that all of us will take with us."
The two-sport star and Bradley basketball recruit made three trips to the state finals with the Vikings girls hoops team. Adrian was a tri-captain this season and helped lead the team to a fourth place state finish. She led the team in assists and ranked second in rebounds.
"Being a part of the basketball program for four years was a great experience," said Adrian, who plans to enter the physical therapy program at Bradley.
"Missy had a terrific run here at Fremd, earning three state trophies in basketball, while also having an exemplary career with us on the soccer field," said Keller. "And she really stepped up to become a leader on the field for us this year when we really needed her to."
"(Keller) was a great coach to be around, always seemed to be able to put the right people in the right spots in order to you to be at your best for the team. And he always made it fun. (It's) something I will always appreciate," said Adrian, who bagged 7 goals this season while adding 9 helpers.
She was versatile and could play anywhere across the front line, or drop into the middle of the park to give that position balance, defensive stability and ball-winning excellence. She had a solid understanding of her role.
Adrian came through the ranks, alongside Stone, in the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club and has long known of the talents of the Vikings brilliant keeper.
"We could always count on Kelsie to make at least one goal-saving stop in all of our games. And those will be some of the things I'll remember from being on this team, along with a great bunch of seniors that helped make playing soccer here really special."
Stone, who was a human highlight film throughout her career with the Vikings, will play keeper next fall at Drake University. She committed there during a junior campaign in which she began to separate herself from the rest at her position.
"In my opinion, you would be hard pressed to find a better keeper in the state," says Keller, "and, there's no doubt she was the best ever to play at Fremd."
Statistics tell only a fraction of what this veteran has accomplished during her tenure under Keller.
She recorded 33 clean sheets, allowed just over one goal per game and played 6,200-plus minutes between the sticks. She did all this with supreme confidence, remarkable positional savvy, and the ability to turn around a threatening situation into one of calm after one of her many superb saves.
"A lot of credit goes to my goalkeeper coach, Doug Cardosi, whose been at Celtic for a long time, and the reason that I've stayed there instead of moving on to another club," said Stone, who began playing with the local club in third grade.
"Cardosi has taught me so much about the position I play. (All) of the little things that you need to constantly work on, and it's because of (him) that I've been able to bring my game up to another level."
Stone said after some passing interest at other collegiate programs, including UIC, it was the feeling of being right at home with the current players at Drake that made her decision an easy one.
"It felt a lot like it is at Fremd and with our group of seniors who are so close to each other, that's very important to me," said Stone, who will study academic counseling and urban education while at Drake.
"I feel like I'm ready for the college game thanks to (Keller) who demands a lot from all of us, but is a person who I respect a great deal because he played at a great college program (Indiana), knows the game and creates an atmosphere that puts us in a position to compete at a high level."
"I'll miss him a lot, as well as our other coaches, but especially the team, and all of the seniors who were so close.
"It will be weird next year not training with them, and warming up together before a game, but I'll remember everyone even when I'm away at college."
Stone certainly will not forget a goalkeepers' favorite player - and one of the best in the high school game -- defender Julia Szylke.
The three-year veteran was an imposing figure in the center of the Vikings back-four. She was an immovable force with the ability to intercept and tackle with near 100 percent accuracy and had the awareness to end trouble before it began.
"Julia was an absolute pleasure to coach because she had the mindset to succeed and would respond to coaching, even if it meant taking some criticism," said Keller.
"She was strong, skillful when needed, and what I liked, played with a chip on her shoulder, which is imperative when you're playing such an important position on the field."
"I loved playing for Keller," said Szylke, who will play for Dwayne Cruz at Harper Community College next fall.
"He (Keller) could be hard, but it was always with the best intentions. And he taught all of us so much about playing soccer the way it should be played. He knew how to coach a team full of girls, which isn't always the easiest thing to do."
Szylke grew up with several of her high school teammates. Some played at Celtic, or in the case of Leonard and Kiolbasa, Sockers FC, but she chose to play club soccer in Schaumburg.
"I just got comfortable playing there and just stayed. But I enjoyed being a part of soccer at Fremd way more than anything else. And with many of us moving up through the program together, it made these last two years on varsity even more special for all of us.
"All of the rough times we went through this year were hard on all of us. (We) thought we could go pretty far, and maybe to state. But it didn't quite work out the way we wanted it to with the injuries that we had.
"It would be hard to make a list of highlights from playing here, but the memories that I'll take with me from being a part of such a great group of seniors is the best part."
Leonard and Kiolbasa cured Fremd's midfield ills from a year ago, while the aforementioned Peleckas flashed the type of pace and ability to stretch the opponent that would make both her and Adrian first-rate strikers who opened things up for the rest of their mates.
Aside from Class 3A state champion Barrington, you would be hard pressed to a have a more complete starting 11 than the one that Keller put together.
"We had a terrific group coming back, but with Leonard, she would epitomize what an athlete can accomplish in any sport through her intense work ethic, leadership, sportsmanship and grit," said Keller, who had several long talks with the Butler University-bound Leonard in advance of her decision to leave the Vikings for Sockers FC following her rookie season.
"We went back-and-forth (talking) it out, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of both high school and club soccer," recounts Leonard, who chose Butler over Florida Gulf Coast and the University of Georgia, where her older brother Eric stars for the mens team.
"(Keller) was great to talk to - he listened, wasn't judgemental, and was very supportive, but I couldn't wait to get back to play for my school, and my friends in my last season here at Fremd."
Leonard admits it was tough watching her mates eliminated last year in the sectional final against Barrington.
"My heart was always there with them," she said, "and we always remained really close during those two years I was playing club, but there's nothing like being with everyone from the start of training, right up until the very end."
Leonard earned 2017 IHSSCA all-state honors for several reasons, some of which were her obvious box-to-box first-class talent, a sky-high soccer IQ, as well as an awareness, and appreciation and love of the sport that shows whether she has the ball on her foot, or in her anticipation of the game around her.
"When you enjoy your teammates, and your coaches, it's a lot more fun when your coming out to train, and when your out there playing, and that's why this year, despite all of our injuries (was) one that I'll remember for a long time."
McKenna Miller came off the bench to make her senior year contributions to the Vikings this season.
Peleckas, a 2016 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater will attend Miami of Ohio. Tara Bergles, started in the postseason and scored twice in the 5-0 regional semifinal win over Round Lake, will attend Ferris State in Michigan next fall.
Defender Jennifer Josten moves on to the University of Missouri. During her first full season in the lineup, Josten provided outstanding play along the outside in the Vikings backline, showing quality tackling and ball-winning skill as well.
Despite the unlucky events along the way, Fremd had a season to remember. The Vikings remained among the top 10 teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 throughout the regular season and peaked at no. 5 in the April 30 poll. They were unbeaten (6-0-1) in their first seven matches and sported a 11-1-1 record through April 27. The final 15-5-1 record was better than it appeared -- it included 1-0 losses to eventual state champion Barrington, Naperville North (two overtimes) and rival Palatine in the Kinsella Cup. Fremd lost 2-0 to three-time defending state champ and eventual state runnerup New Trier.