2nd half goals lead Fremd over DGS
Austin, Scesniak lead visiting Vikings past Mustangs
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Things have been well for Fremd of late.
The same can not be said of Downers Grove South.
Those trends continued Saturday as the Vikings got a little help from the wind, a big stop from second half goalkeeper Artur Cholewa and a rare goal from Jake Scesniak in a 2-0 win over host Downers Grove South.
The victory was the ninth win in the last 10 games, and first outside of the Mid-Suburban League, for Fremd during the stretch. The Vikings improved to 11-8-0 overall after their fourth place league finish at 8-3-0.
“We made some adjustments,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “We’re understanding the way that we have to play to win.
“Some guys are getting some timely goals, but we’re playing stingy defense, which is good.”
Scesniak and Matt Austin provided the scoring against the Mustangs, who fought valiantly in a game that was tied for 44 minutes.
Austin opened the scoring with 36:52 left when he got a 40-yard free kick up into the wind. The gusty conditions affected the shot, which went over the head of Downers Grove South goalkeeper Parker Smith, who got his fingers on the ball but couldn’t stop it from going in under the crossbar.
It was Austin’s team-leading 11th goal of the year.
“I’ve scored on some free kicks but not from that far out,” Austin said. “I’m happy that the wind was going because it helped out a lot.”
Against the stiff south wind in the first half, the Vikings managed only one shot, a 27-yarder from Angel Virgos that rolled wide left.
But in the same time frame, Fremd gave up only four shots. Only the third, from James David in the third minute, was on frame.
Fremd starting goalkeeper Jack Taraszka made a routine stop of the shot by David, who figured prominently at a crucial turning point later on in the game.
“Especially in the first half, they were playing good because the wind was a big factor ... and whoever has got the wind definitely (has something) in their favor,” Austin said. “At halftime we just regrouped.”
Austin’s goal seemingly gave the Vikings, a huge advantage, yet the Mustangs didn’t go away and got a golden opportunity to tie the score when they were awarded a penalty kick with 25:31 remaining.
David, a senior midfielder and the most consistent player on Downers Grove South, unleashed a low liner that was ticketed for just inside the left post.
But Cholewa, who relieved Taraszka at intermission, lunged to his right to make the save, then stopped David’s rebound from inside the 6.
“He read him right. He guessed right, and that’s all you can do,” Keller said of the stop.
David has scored two goals this season, one of which was a penalty which helped the Mustangs to a 2-2 tie against Lake Park on Sept. 30.
“It was frustrating because (the score) was 1-0 and if I did score it would have totally changed the game,” David said. “But the keeper made a good save.
“He didn’t just dive to the side; he cut off the angle by diving a little more forward. So it was a great save.”
Downers Grove South (6-10-3) closed its regular season with an 2-7-2 mark over its last 11 matches.
The Mustangs have been unable to shake themselves out of the doldrums even with the Saturday performance, which was one of their best performances of the season.
“Since the beginning we haven’t had that much team chemistry but this game you could see a lot of us playing together more and possessing and playing defense,” David said. “That was good to see.
“It’s not like we’re starting over for every game. We improve and progress.”
The Vikings are doing both and also winning.
Fired up by Cholewa’s save, they went on the attack and made it 2-0 six minutes later. A corner kick from Virgos was booted out of the box by a defender, but the ball went straight to Scesniak, a junior midfielder who had been scoreless up to that point.
Scesniak settled the ball and took a big left-footed rip from just outside the top of the box. The ball shot through a crowd and into the goal.
“The ball came in, one of the defenders deflected it out, and it went right to me,” Scesniak said. “I chested it down, I took a touch, and I saw it was wide-open. So I hit it hard and low across the goal.”
Keller was glad to see Scesniak rewarded.
“He’s very dangerous in the attack,” Keller said. “He doesn’t shoot enough, and the couple times he has shot he’s been close, but he’s hit the post or missed just wide.
“So he’s a very talented kid. He’s got to bring his game every day, and he can do that. Hopefully this gives him some more confidence to continue to play like that.”
The Vikings have been gaining confidence with each successive win. Since falling to 2-7-0 after a 3-1 loss to Hinsdale Central on Sept. 9, Fremd has lost only to no. 4 New Trier in a 1-0 decision on Sept. 26.
“At the beginning of the season we weren’t as united as we are now,” Scesniak said. “We know how each other plays more and that helps us pull together.
“We can rely on each other. We know someone else is there for us if we lose the ball and then we go forward.”
Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton is hoping his team can go forward fast. The ninth-seeded Mustangs do not play in the final 10 days of the regular season. They should be rested and prepared for their regional semifinal opener at eighth-seeded Argo on Oct. 27.
If Mustangs fall, they will finish the season with their fewest wins since 1978.
“We do a lot of things well at times and then we have lapses that seem to prevent us from getting over the hump,” Stapleton said. “(The playoffs) is a reset.
“We build on the positive things we’ve done this year and keep working on the things we need to improve. We’ll give them a day or two away to reset and then prepare for the tournament.’
David already knows what it will take to win.
“I’m always communicating that we have to work hard,” David said. “We’ve just got to work hard every minute of every game. ... It’s a team effort.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Jack Taraszka
D Kaelan Conway
D Ben Cuthbert
D Cole Jackson
M Dalton Rogers
M Russell Beaupre
M Matt Austin
M Angel Virgos
M Jake Scesniak
M Jake Schoffstall
F Max Clark
Downers South
GK Parker Smith
D Max Schmidt-Bailey
D Michael Beube
D Alex Wielgosz
M Kurt Bennett
M Jack Daly
M Alex Flores
M Erick Gonzalez
M James David
F Hristijan Veceski
F Enrique Gonzalez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Matt Austin, M, Fremd.
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Fremd – Matt Austin 36:52
Fremd – Jake Scesniak 19:22
Austin, Scesniak lead visiting Vikings past Mustangs
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Things have been well for Fremd of late.
The same can not be said of Downers Grove South.
Those trends continued Saturday as the Vikings got a little help from the wind, a big stop from second half goalkeeper Artur Cholewa and a rare goal from Jake Scesniak in a 2-0 win over host Downers Grove South.
The victory was the ninth win in the last 10 games, and first outside of the Mid-Suburban League, for Fremd during the stretch. The Vikings improved to 11-8-0 overall after their fourth place league finish at 8-3-0.
“We made some adjustments,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “We’re understanding the way that we have to play to win.
“Some guys are getting some timely goals, but we’re playing stingy defense, which is good.”
Scesniak and Matt Austin provided the scoring against the Mustangs, who fought valiantly in a game that was tied for 44 minutes.
Austin opened the scoring with 36:52 left when he got a 40-yard free kick up into the wind. The gusty conditions affected the shot, which went over the head of Downers Grove South goalkeeper Parker Smith, who got his fingers on the ball but couldn’t stop it from going in under the crossbar.
It was Austin’s team-leading 11th goal of the year.
“I’ve scored on some free kicks but not from that far out,” Austin said. “I’m happy that the wind was going because it helped out a lot.”
Against the stiff south wind in the first half, the Vikings managed only one shot, a 27-yarder from Angel Virgos that rolled wide left.
But in the same time frame, Fremd gave up only four shots. Only the third, from James David in the third minute, was on frame.
Fremd starting goalkeeper Jack Taraszka made a routine stop of the shot by David, who figured prominently at a crucial turning point later on in the game.
“Especially in the first half, they were playing good because the wind was a big factor ... and whoever has got the wind definitely (has something) in their favor,” Austin said. “At halftime we just regrouped.”
Austin’s goal seemingly gave the Vikings, a huge advantage, yet the Mustangs didn’t go away and got a golden opportunity to tie the score when they were awarded a penalty kick with 25:31 remaining.
David, a senior midfielder and the most consistent player on Downers Grove South, unleashed a low liner that was ticketed for just inside the left post.
But Cholewa, who relieved Taraszka at intermission, lunged to his right to make the save, then stopped David’s rebound from inside the 6.
“He read him right. He guessed right, and that’s all you can do,” Keller said of the stop.
David has scored two goals this season, one of which was a penalty which helped the Mustangs to a 2-2 tie against Lake Park on Sept. 30.
“It was frustrating because (the score) was 1-0 and if I did score it would have totally changed the game,” David said. “But the keeper made a good save.
“He didn’t just dive to the side; he cut off the angle by diving a little more forward. So it was a great save.”
Downers Grove South (6-10-3) closed its regular season with an 2-7-2 mark over its last 11 matches.
The Mustangs have been unable to shake themselves out of the doldrums even with the Saturday performance, which was one of their best performances of the season.
“Since the beginning we haven’t had that much team chemistry but this game you could see a lot of us playing together more and possessing and playing defense,” David said. “That was good to see.
“It’s not like we’re starting over for every game. We improve and progress.”
The Vikings are doing both and also winning.
Fired up by Cholewa’s save, they went on the attack and made it 2-0 six minutes later. A corner kick from Virgos was booted out of the box by a defender, but the ball went straight to Scesniak, a junior midfielder who had been scoreless up to that point.
Scesniak settled the ball and took a big left-footed rip from just outside the top of the box. The ball shot through a crowd and into the goal.
“The ball came in, one of the defenders deflected it out, and it went right to me,” Scesniak said. “I chested it down, I took a touch, and I saw it was wide-open. So I hit it hard and low across the goal.”
Keller was glad to see Scesniak rewarded.
“He’s very dangerous in the attack,” Keller said. “He doesn’t shoot enough, and the couple times he has shot he’s been close, but he’s hit the post or missed just wide.
“So he’s a very talented kid. He’s got to bring his game every day, and he can do that. Hopefully this gives him some more confidence to continue to play like that.”
The Vikings have been gaining confidence with each successive win. Since falling to 2-7-0 after a 3-1 loss to Hinsdale Central on Sept. 9, Fremd has lost only to no. 4 New Trier in a 1-0 decision on Sept. 26.
“At the beginning of the season we weren’t as united as we are now,” Scesniak said. “We know how each other plays more and that helps us pull together.
“We can rely on each other. We know someone else is there for us if we lose the ball and then we go forward.”
Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton is hoping his team can go forward fast. The ninth-seeded Mustangs do not play in the final 10 days of the regular season. They should be rested and prepared for their regional semifinal opener at eighth-seeded Argo on Oct. 27.
If Mustangs fall, they will finish the season with their fewest wins since 1978.
“We do a lot of things well at times and then we have lapses that seem to prevent us from getting over the hump,” Stapleton said. “(The playoffs) is a reset.
“We build on the positive things we’ve done this year and keep working on the things we need to improve. We’ll give them a day or two away to reset and then prepare for the tournament.’
David already knows what it will take to win.
“I’m always communicating that we have to work hard,” David said. “We’ve just got to work hard every minute of every game. ... It’s a team effort.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Jack Taraszka
D Kaelan Conway
D Ben Cuthbert
D Cole Jackson
M Dalton Rogers
M Russell Beaupre
M Matt Austin
M Angel Virgos
M Jake Scesniak
M Jake Schoffstall
F Max Clark
Downers South
GK Parker Smith
D Max Schmidt-Bailey
D Michael Beube
D Alex Wielgosz
M Kurt Bennett
M Jack Daly
M Alex Flores
M Erick Gonzalez
M James David
F Hristijan Veceski
F Enrique Gonzalez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Matt Austin, M, Fremd.
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Fremd – Matt Austin 36:52
Fremd – Jake Scesniak 19:22