Kwiatkowski cleans up, Fremd bests BG
Senior's 1st goal of the season all Vikings need for 1-0 MSL win
By Bill McLean
BUFFALO GROVE — A guitar soloist performed a unique rendition of the national anthem before the start of the Fremd-Buffalo Grove boys soccer match Thursday night at Grant Blaney Stadium.
Afterward, Fremd coach Steve Keller so proudly hailed his club’s goal scorer in the Vikings’ 1-0 victory. Senior left midfielder Paul Kwiatkowski — one of many fill-ins for Keller’s injury-laden side — scored amid chaos in the goal box in the 36th minute.
“He can play,” Keller said, adding Kwiatkowski’s first tally of the season was a long time coming. “Tonight, Paul played.”
Senior midfielder Russell Beaupre’s lengthy throw-in preceded the night’s lone goal. As players from both squads crowded the goal box, Fremd senior midfielder John Kating struck a shot from close range. The ball deflected off Bison senior goalkeeper Adam Sempoch’s frame and right to Kwiatkowski’s feet.
The alert Vike, who had jumped moments before Kating’s foot met ball, then blasted the rebound from four yards. The soccer ball did a spot-on impression of a pinball during the rapid sequence.
“I felt the goalie on my back,” recalled the 6-foot-1, 165-pound Kwiatkowski, who also played some minutes at center attack Thursday night. “I was also surrounded by about four blue [BG] shirts.
“My first goal,” he added, smiling. “For the win.”
The win on a mild night avenged Fremd’s 2-0 loss to BG in last fall’s Mid-Suburban League fCup; Fremd had also edged BG 1-0 in the regular season in 2018.
A little more than a minute before the goal and not long after Keller had admonished a few of his troops for being too cute during a possession, Fremd produced a pretty rush, triggered by a Kwiatkowski steal. Kwiatkowski fed the ball up to Beaupre, who dished the ball to senior forward Tommy Mayer.
Mayer’s ensuing shot on goal ended up in the hands of Sempoch.
“I was pleased with our performance,” Keller said after his crew — ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — improved to 3-1-4, 3-0-2 in the MSL table. “I felt our confidence building, growing, near the end of the first half, and we continued to play well for most of the second half.
“We played composed soccer.”
Bison second-year head coach Darren Llewellyn, a retired teacher, knew well before kickoff that his boys would not be able to take a shorthanded Fremd bunch lightly.
“Fremd,” Llewellyn noted, “has a bench that has a lot of quality players — as quality as many of its starters.”
Fremd, with four starters and a substantial sub sidelined, didn’t feel sorry for itself from minute 1 to minute 80. Keller had to shuffle his lineup and later lauded efforts from Mayer, junior midfielder Nick Austin, junior forward Kyle Johnston, sophomore defender Beck Smolak and junior backup keeper Joey Gillespie, who donned jersey no. 20 to battle in the field.
“We’d been in a lull,” Kwiatkowski said. “All of our injuries — I think it’s up to five now — didn’t help; nearly half of our starting lineup didn’t play tonight. But everybody out there played very well tonight.
“We showed up.”
A frustrated Llewellyn displayed his class after the tough setback, commending the visitors for taking advantage of their athleticism and speed and playing relentless ball throughout the shutout.
“The first 15-20 minutes we played the way we wanted to play,” said Llewellyn, who guided soccer teams at MSL East schools Hersey and Wheeling before assuming the reins at BG in 2018. “But Fremd had the speed, the aggressiveness, the anticipation. We just didn’t initiate the way we needed to against a strong team like Fremd.”
BG senior defender Marcin Czaplinski used his initiative to win something special off the pitch last spring: an election. BG’s Student Council president wields a gavel in street clothes and wheels to 50/50 balls in soccer togs.
Czaplinski took Thursday’s loss particularly hard, apologizing several times throughout a post-match interview for not providing, in his mind, thorough-enough responses. But he was patient and cooperative and honest.
That’s an entirely different kind of hat-trick to a journalist.
“Fremd,” the co-captain and fourth-year varsity member said, “outworked us. Their players sent long balls the whole game. We couldn't connect.”
Fremd had its scheduled visit no. 3 Naperville North at noon Saturday canceled due to a lack of available officials. BG (6-4-1, 3-2) will train up to a visit to MSL East neighbor Hersey at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Footnotes
Keller, an Indiana University product, and longtime Vikings assistant coach Gerardo Pagnani — an inductee in no fewer than four Halls of Fame, including the athletic ones at Eastern Illinois University and Fremd — have been coaching together at Fremd since 1997, when Keller was one of Pagnani’s assistants in the latter’s final season as head coach. Fremd captured the Class AA state championship in ’97, downing Edwardsville 2-0 in the final; Fremd had also won a state title under Pagnani in ’84. Keller was named Fremd head boys coach in ’98 and has called Pagnani an assistant ever since. Keller guided the Vikings to the state meet six times with third place finishes in 1998, 2011 and 2014, and fourth place finishes in 2000 and 2005 … Keller has won a combined 12 state trophies in boys and girls soccer at Fremd. … Pagnani started the high school boys soccer program at Hoffman Estates in ’75. … One of the assistant referees, Pawel Gucwa, in Thursday’s Fremd-BG match worked the under-level contest beforehand. That never would have been necessary a decade ago. But that’s the reality with a shortage of Illinois High School Association officials. “The number of referees is down 70 percent since 2007,” noted Costel Lungan, the other assistant referee in the varsity match. “We continue to hope more young referees will sign up to work.” … Moving words: On the back of Llewellyn’s shirt at Thursday’s Fremd-BG clash: “Excellence is a journey. Discipline is the vehicle.” … BG’s Czaplinski plans to become a lawyer and will likely major in business before attending law school. … Czaplinski and junior midfielder Brian Perez, blessed with effortless speed and magnificent foot skills, served as BG co-captains Thursday night. Beaupre and Kating wore the “C” bands for Fremd.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Artur Cholewa
D: C.J. Williams
D: Ryan Sapiente
D: Andrew Clark
D: John Kating
MF: Russell Beaupre
MF: Paul Kwiatkowski
MF: Nick Austin
F: Kyle Johnston
F: Tommy Mayer
F: Caden Statz
Buffalo Grove
GK: Adam Sempoch
GK: Marcin Czaplinski
D: Michael Lollino
D: Anshul Biswas
D: Jack Coughlin
MF: Shane Adams
MF: Ryan Kim
MF: Kevin Morales
F: Alexis Escobar
F: Brian Perez
F: Alex Berk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Paul Kwiatkowski, sr., MF, Fremd
Referee: John Jakobsze; assistant referees: Costel Lungan and Pawel Gucwa.
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Kwiatkowski (Kating), 36’
Second half
No scoring
Senior's 1st goal of the season all Vikings need for 1-0 MSL win
By Bill McLean
BUFFALO GROVE — A guitar soloist performed a unique rendition of the national anthem before the start of the Fremd-Buffalo Grove boys soccer match Thursday night at Grant Blaney Stadium.
Afterward, Fremd coach Steve Keller so proudly hailed his club’s goal scorer in the Vikings’ 1-0 victory. Senior left midfielder Paul Kwiatkowski — one of many fill-ins for Keller’s injury-laden side — scored amid chaos in the goal box in the 36th minute.
“He can play,” Keller said, adding Kwiatkowski’s first tally of the season was a long time coming. “Tonight, Paul played.”
Senior midfielder Russell Beaupre’s lengthy throw-in preceded the night’s lone goal. As players from both squads crowded the goal box, Fremd senior midfielder John Kating struck a shot from close range. The ball deflected off Bison senior goalkeeper Adam Sempoch’s frame and right to Kwiatkowski’s feet.
The alert Vike, who had jumped moments before Kating’s foot met ball, then blasted the rebound from four yards. The soccer ball did a spot-on impression of a pinball during the rapid sequence.
“I felt the goalie on my back,” recalled the 6-foot-1, 165-pound Kwiatkowski, who also played some minutes at center attack Thursday night. “I was also surrounded by about four blue [BG] shirts.
“My first goal,” he added, smiling. “For the win.”
The win on a mild night avenged Fremd’s 2-0 loss to BG in last fall’s Mid-Suburban League fCup; Fremd had also edged BG 1-0 in the regular season in 2018.
A little more than a minute before the goal and not long after Keller had admonished a few of his troops for being too cute during a possession, Fremd produced a pretty rush, triggered by a Kwiatkowski steal. Kwiatkowski fed the ball up to Beaupre, who dished the ball to senior forward Tommy Mayer.
Mayer’s ensuing shot on goal ended up in the hands of Sempoch.
“I was pleased with our performance,” Keller said after his crew — ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — improved to 3-1-4, 3-0-2 in the MSL table. “I felt our confidence building, growing, near the end of the first half, and we continued to play well for most of the second half.
“We played composed soccer.”
Bison second-year head coach Darren Llewellyn, a retired teacher, knew well before kickoff that his boys would not be able to take a shorthanded Fremd bunch lightly.
“Fremd,” Llewellyn noted, “has a bench that has a lot of quality players — as quality as many of its starters.”
Fremd, with four starters and a substantial sub sidelined, didn’t feel sorry for itself from minute 1 to minute 80. Keller had to shuffle his lineup and later lauded efforts from Mayer, junior midfielder Nick Austin, junior forward Kyle Johnston, sophomore defender Beck Smolak and junior backup keeper Joey Gillespie, who donned jersey no. 20 to battle in the field.
“We’d been in a lull,” Kwiatkowski said. “All of our injuries — I think it’s up to five now — didn’t help; nearly half of our starting lineup didn’t play tonight. But everybody out there played very well tonight.
“We showed up.”
A frustrated Llewellyn displayed his class after the tough setback, commending the visitors for taking advantage of their athleticism and speed and playing relentless ball throughout the shutout.
“The first 15-20 minutes we played the way we wanted to play,” said Llewellyn, who guided soccer teams at MSL East schools Hersey and Wheeling before assuming the reins at BG in 2018. “But Fremd had the speed, the aggressiveness, the anticipation. We just didn’t initiate the way we needed to against a strong team like Fremd.”
BG senior defender Marcin Czaplinski used his initiative to win something special off the pitch last spring: an election. BG’s Student Council president wields a gavel in street clothes and wheels to 50/50 balls in soccer togs.
Czaplinski took Thursday’s loss particularly hard, apologizing several times throughout a post-match interview for not providing, in his mind, thorough-enough responses. But he was patient and cooperative and honest.
That’s an entirely different kind of hat-trick to a journalist.
“Fremd,” the co-captain and fourth-year varsity member said, “outworked us. Their players sent long balls the whole game. We couldn't connect.”
Fremd had its scheduled visit no. 3 Naperville North at noon Saturday canceled due to a lack of available officials. BG (6-4-1, 3-2) will train up to a visit to MSL East neighbor Hersey at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Footnotes
Keller, an Indiana University product, and longtime Vikings assistant coach Gerardo Pagnani — an inductee in no fewer than four Halls of Fame, including the athletic ones at Eastern Illinois University and Fremd — have been coaching together at Fremd since 1997, when Keller was one of Pagnani’s assistants in the latter’s final season as head coach. Fremd captured the Class AA state championship in ’97, downing Edwardsville 2-0 in the final; Fremd had also won a state title under Pagnani in ’84. Keller was named Fremd head boys coach in ’98 and has called Pagnani an assistant ever since. Keller guided the Vikings to the state meet six times with third place finishes in 1998, 2011 and 2014, and fourth place finishes in 2000 and 2005 … Keller has won a combined 12 state trophies in boys and girls soccer at Fremd. … Pagnani started the high school boys soccer program at Hoffman Estates in ’75. … One of the assistant referees, Pawel Gucwa, in Thursday’s Fremd-BG match worked the under-level contest beforehand. That never would have been necessary a decade ago. But that’s the reality with a shortage of Illinois High School Association officials. “The number of referees is down 70 percent since 2007,” noted Costel Lungan, the other assistant referee in the varsity match. “We continue to hope more young referees will sign up to work.” … Moving words: On the back of Llewellyn’s shirt at Thursday’s Fremd-BG clash: “Excellence is a journey. Discipline is the vehicle.” … BG’s Czaplinski plans to become a lawyer and will likely major in business before attending law school. … Czaplinski and junior midfielder Brian Perez, blessed with effortless speed and magnificent foot skills, served as BG co-captains Thursday night. Beaupre and Kating wore the “C” bands for Fremd.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Artur Cholewa
D: C.J. Williams
D: Ryan Sapiente
D: Andrew Clark
D: John Kating
MF: Russell Beaupre
MF: Paul Kwiatkowski
MF: Nick Austin
F: Kyle Johnston
F: Tommy Mayer
F: Caden Statz
Buffalo Grove
GK: Adam Sempoch
GK: Marcin Czaplinski
D: Michael Lollino
D: Anshul Biswas
D: Jack Coughlin
MF: Shane Adams
MF: Ryan Kim
MF: Kevin Morales
F: Alexis Escobar
F: Brian Perez
F: Alex Berk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Paul Kwiatkowski, sr., MF, Fremd
Referee: John Jakobsze; assistant referees: Costel Lungan and Pawel Gucwa.
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Kwiatkowski (Kating), 36’
Second half
No scoring