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Glenbrook North-Fremd draw
Fremd's Remian, GBN's Bachenheimer shine in 1-1 deadlock
By Mike Garofola
GLENVIEW – Max Bachenheimer's stunning saves helped Glenbrook North claim a 1-1 draw at Walter Lutz Stadium in Glenview against 2021 Class 3A state runnerup Fremd,
whose senior keeper Robby Remian was sensational himself.
The pair took turns taking balls out of the back of the net and shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for their efforts.
Bachenheimer saved the day for the Spartans against the no. 7 team in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll. He made a penalty kick stop and two marvelous late saves that helped preserve the draw in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge match, which was the season-opener for each side.
All this was made even more impressive by an intentional handball call that forced Glenbrook North to play shorthanded.
"If you had told me we’d play to a draw after playing the last 15 minutes a man down against a team that was throwing everything at us during that time, I would have thought you were daft," began Paul Gibbs, who in his first contest as manager saw his club produce an inspiring 80 minutes before an appreciative crowd.
"(We) had a few chances, but they had more than we did. But Max, a kid who I've trained since he was nine years old, was absolutely brilliant for us tonight," continued Gibbs, who took over the program for Paul Vignocchi, who stepped back into the assistant’s role.
"If there was a D I manager in the crowd tonight, they saw a young man who has it all at his position, did all that we asked of him and more, but then so did their keeper as well," said Gibbs.
Remian, a 2021 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater, came to the Vikings rescue early. He ventured far off his line to stop a 1-v-1 situation against Vinny Sabbione that dashed the hopes of an early opener from the home side.
Just before the hour, Remian was at it again. After Steven Rhee sent Sabbione through to set up another glorious chance for the senior, the Fremd keeper fearlessly turned away what could have been the second goal of the evening for the Spartans.
"Robby was amazing all night long, so was their keeper. He kept us from putting a couple more on the scoreboard tonight," said Fremd senior Joey Rodino, a key figure in the Vikings memorable run a year ago to its ninth MSL title and fourth state championship game appearance.
"It was a great first game of the year for sure," began Remian, who recorded 17 clean-sheets and a stingy 0.41 goals-against average a year ago.
"Their keeper was fearless tonight. He made some big saves for them. But I thought even with this draw, we played well enough to win. That says a lot about our team, which lost so many starters from a year ago and had a bunch of first-time varsity guys out there tonight."
"It was a very intense first game of the season for us,” said Bachenheimer. “We responded well to the pressure they brought, especially after we went a man down. We did a lot of good things and had our chances as well."
This game was part of the annual, season-opening showdown that was the brainchild of Vignocchi and Barrington manager Scott Steib.
The CSL won this year’s edition with a 5-3-4 overall mark.
"It was a good, hard-fought season-opener," said Fremd manager Steve Keller, who enters his 25th season with a 310-172-73 overall record and six state trophies to his name. “We found out some things about ourselves that we'll need to correct, had a very good second half of play and had our chances (but) could not finish them thanks to phenomenal effort by their keeper."
Glenbrook North, which is ranked 42nd in the First 50, was dangerous during the early stages. Rhee's free kick was parried out of the area by Mark Ariagno before a misplayed ball in the Vikings end led to Sabbione nearly beating Remian.
Ariagno is part of a brand-new Fremd backline which replaces a superb defensive unit that was strong on the ball and in the air, tactically aware, athletic and willing to go forward.
"Like I said, we have a lot of new guys on this roster, but our energy was very good. As the game went on, we defended much better than we did in the first half," said Remian.
Ariagno, Ronan Allord, Charles Fritz and Genki Wakayama made up the Vikings backline. Rodino moved back into the spot Fritz worked when the senior suffered an injury just before the intermission that kept him out of the second half.
The home side did well to play quickly and direct in the first period to put the Vikings under more pressure than they liked. Contributors to the attack included Rhee, Ian Lee and especially Sabbione, whose impressive form, pace and speed made him a dangerous option in the Glenbrook North attack.
"Vinny's pace, ability to create and intensity up-top tonight was a great help going forward," said Gibbs.
"It was a good game,” said Sabbione. “We played really well in the first half. We defended more than we attacked in the second half, but we gave a good effort against a very good opponent."
Fremd came into the game just after the 20-minute mark thanks to Nicky Sapiente and Leo Akashi. Senior forward Kosta Alex added energy coming off the bench.
Sapiente got a step on his mark, then turned quickly inside, only to have Glenbrook North defender Tal Yedlin react quickly to tackle the senior before he could have one on frame.
Rodino fired the visitors into the lead in the 28th minute, but the Vikings conceded the equalizer four minutes later. Sabbione used his speed to force Remian far off his line to challenge, leaving an open net behind him.
"(Glenbrook North's) attacking players were better than us in the first half,” Keller said. “Our decision-making wasn't where it should have been, and we were not patient enough either."
The Vikings went to a 4-4-2 formation after the break to offset the move of Rodino into the backline for the injured Fritz. It wasn't long before the visitors put forth more effort into the attack.
Sapiente went just wide with his left-footed free kick in the 43rd minutes. Then a lovely bit of combination work from Sapiente and Akashi made Bachenheimer turn around an Akashi blast with a late save.
The ensuing corner ended with a well-struck half volley from Akashi that led to the Vikings third early corner.
Glenbrook North nearly stunned a more confident Fremd club when Rhee sent Sabbione through once again in the 53rd minute.
As he did all of last season into the start of this one, Remian made another remarkable save to keep the contest level.
"Robby is such a great keeper for us,” Rodino said. “We can always count on him when we need him the most."
The super-save from Remian seemed to immediately add more urgency into the play from both sides. Each first and second ball was challenged more intently and the box-to-box play had more purpose and meaning.
This uptick in speed, pace and intensity led to a handful of stoppages due to players suffering leg cramps.
"We'll need to work on our fitness more, witnessed by the cramping we saw in the second half," admitted Gibbs.
When back up and running, Bachenheimer saved a 22-yard effort from Sapiente, then thanked his back post which was in the way to deflect an attempt by Sapiente out of harm’s way.
It was during this sequence that a return shot by a Vikings player was redirected by the hand of a Spartans player, resulting in a penalty awarded by referee Kevin Parker.
Bachenheimer guessed correctly on the Sapiente spot-kick. In full extension to his right, he stopped the potential goal-winner 14 minutes from time.
"He was a lefty, and they usually go to their left," said Bachenheimer. “So that's the way I went on his shot.”
Even with an extra-man advantage and pushing numbers in the final quarter hour, Fremd came up empty.
Kosta Alex rattled the bar with a left-footed cracker in the 67th minute. Bachenheimer saved a 35-yard free kick from Kenan Mesic and an Akashi effort before another brave stop from the Spartans keeper on Kosta in the 78th minute all but sealed the draw.
"That's a classy, talented and hard-working team over there," said Keller pointing in the direction of the Spartans.
"I liked our fight, energy and work rate, especially in the second half. So, there were some positive things to take from this game going forward."
Next up for the Vikings is a home date with Streamwood on Friday.
Glenbrook North left the pitch content.
"I saw a lot of good stuff from the lads tonight,” said Gibbs. “We handled their pressure well at times, but they put us under a lot in that second half. We have some work to do.”
The Spartans took their first win of the season Thursday night with a 3-0 decision against Cristo Rey St. Martin. Monday they travel to play Streamwood in the opening round of the Barrington Classic.
Starting lineups
FREMD (4-3-3)
G- Robby Remian
D- Ronan Allord
D- Charles Fritz
D- Genki Wakayama
D- Mark Ariagno
M- Sena Akashi
M- Owen Winegar
M- Joey Rodino
F- Kenan Mesic
F- Leo Akashi
F- Will Mayer
GLENBROOK NORTH (4-4-2)
G- Max Bachenheimer
D- Jordan Elliott
D- Ethan Klinghofer
D- Tal Yedlin
D- Marco Coronado
M- Brian Pekala
M- Ian Lee
M- Sam Lappin
M- Chris Sanchez
F- Vinny Sabbione
F- Steven Rhee
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Max Bachenheimer, sr., GK, Glenbrook North;
Robby Remian, sr., GK, Fremd
Referee: Kevin Parker
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Rodino (U/A), 28'
Glenbrook North: Sabbione (U/A) 32'
Second half
No scoring
Glenbrook North-Fremd draw
Fremd's Remian, GBN's Bachenheimer shine in 1-1 deadlock
By Mike Garofola
GLENVIEW – Max Bachenheimer's stunning saves helped Glenbrook North claim a 1-1 draw at Walter Lutz Stadium in Glenview against 2021 Class 3A state runnerup Fremd,
whose senior keeper Robby Remian was sensational himself.
The pair took turns taking balls out of the back of the net and shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for their efforts.
Bachenheimer saved the day for the Spartans against the no. 7 team in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll. He made a penalty kick stop and two marvelous late saves that helped preserve the draw in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge match, which was the season-opener for each side.
All this was made even more impressive by an intentional handball call that forced Glenbrook North to play shorthanded.
"If you had told me we’d play to a draw after playing the last 15 minutes a man down against a team that was throwing everything at us during that time, I would have thought you were daft," began Paul Gibbs, who in his first contest as manager saw his club produce an inspiring 80 minutes before an appreciative crowd.
"(We) had a few chances, but they had more than we did. But Max, a kid who I've trained since he was nine years old, was absolutely brilliant for us tonight," continued Gibbs, who took over the program for Paul Vignocchi, who stepped back into the assistant’s role.
"If there was a D I manager in the crowd tonight, they saw a young man who has it all at his position, did all that we asked of him and more, but then so did their keeper as well," said Gibbs.
Remian, a 2021 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater, came to the Vikings rescue early. He ventured far off his line to stop a 1-v-1 situation against Vinny Sabbione that dashed the hopes of an early opener from the home side.
Just before the hour, Remian was at it again. After Steven Rhee sent Sabbione through to set up another glorious chance for the senior, the Fremd keeper fearlessly turned away what could have been the second goal of the evening for the Spartans.
"Robby was amazing all night long, so was their keeper. He kept us from putting a couple more on the scoreboard tonight," said Fremd senior Joey Rodino, a key figure in the Vikings memorable run a year ago to its ninth MSL title and fourth state championship game appearance.
"It was a great first game of the year for sure," began Remian, who recorded 17 clean-sheets and a stingy 0.41 goals-against average a year ago.
"Their keeper was fearless tonight. He made some big saves for them. But I thought even with this draw, we played well enough to win. That says a lot about our team, which lost so many starters from a year ago and had a bunch of first-time varsity guys out there tonight."
"It was a very intense first game of the season for us,” said Bachenheimer. “We responded well to the pressure they brought, especially after we went a man down. We did a lot of good things and had our chances as well."
This game was part of the annual, season-opening showdown that was the brainchild of Vignocchi and Barrington manager Scott Steib.
The CSL won this year’s edition with a 5-3-4 overall mark.
"It was a good, hard-fought season-opener," said Fremd manager Steve Keller, who enters his 25th season with a 310-172-73 overall record and six state trophies to his name. “We found out some things about ourselves that we'll need to correct, had a very good second half of play and had our chances (but) could not finish them thanks to phenomenal effort by their keeper."
Glenbrook North, which is ranked 42nd in the First 50, was dangerous during the early stages. Rhee's free kick was parried out of the area by Mark Ariagno before a misplayed ball in the Vikings end led to Sabbione nearly beating Remian.
Ariagno is part of a brand-new Fremd backline which replaces a superb defensive unit that was strong on the ball and in the air, tactically aware, athletic and willing to go forward.
"Like I said, we have a lot of new guys on this roster, but our energy was very good. As the game went on, we defended much better than we did in the first half," said Remian.
Ariagno, Ronan Allord, Charles Fritz and Genki Wakayama made up the Vikings backline. Rodino moved back into the spot Fritz worked when the senior suffered an injury just before the intermission that kept him out of the second half.
The home side did well to play quickly and direct in the first period to put the Vikings under more pressure than they liked. Contributors to the attack included Rhee, Ian Lee and especially Sabbione, whose impressive form, pace and speed made him a dangerous option in the Glenbrook North attack.
"Vinny's pace, ability to create and intensity up-top tonight was a great help going forward," said Gibbs.
"It was a good game,” said Sabbione. “We played really well in the first half. We defended more than we attacked in the second half, but we gave a good effort against a very good opponent."
Fremd came into the game just after the 20-minute mark thanks to Nicky Sapiente and Leo Akashi. Senior forward Kosta Alex added energy coming off the bench.
Sapiente got a step on his mark, then turned quickly inside, only to have Glenbrook North defender Tal Yedlin react quickly to tackle the senior before he could have one on frame.
Rodino fired the visitors into the lead in the 28th minute, but the Vikings conceded the equalizer four minutes later. Sabbione used his speed to force Remian far off his line to challenge, leaving an open net behind him.
"(Glenbrook North's) attacking players were better than us in the first half,” Keller said. “Our decision-making wasn't where it should have been, and we were not patient enough either."
The Vikings went to a 4-4-2 formation after the break to offset the move of Rodino into the backline for the injured Fritz. It wasn't long before the visitors put forth more effort into the attack.
Sapiente went just wide with his left-footed free kick in the 43rd minutes. Then a lovely bit of combination work from Sapiente and Akashi made Bachenheimer turn around an Akashi blast with a late save.
The ensuing corner ended with a well-struck half volley from Akashi that led to the Vikings third early corner.
Glenbrook North nearly stunned a more confident Fremd club when Rhee sent Sabbione through once again in the 53rd minute.
As he did all of last season into the start of this one, Remian made another remarkable save to keep the contest level.
"Robby is such a great keeper for us,” Rodino said. “We can always count on him when we need him the most."
The super-save from Remian seemed to immediately add more urgency into the play from both sides. Each first and second ball was challenged more intently and the box-to-box play had more purpose and meaning.
This uptick in speed, pace and intensity led to a handful of stoppages due to players suffering leg cramps.
"We'll need to work on our fitness more, witnessed by the cramping we saw in the second half," admitted Gibbs.
When back up and running, Bachenheimer saved a 22-yard effort from Sapiente, then thanked his back post which was in the way to deflect an attempt by Sapiente out of harm’s way.
It was during this sequence that a return shot by a Vikings player was redirected by the hand of a Spartans player, resulting in a penalty awarded by referee Kevin Parker.
Bachenheimer guessed correctly on the Sapiente spot-kick. In full extension to his right, he stopped the potential goal-winner 14 minutes from time.
"He was a lefty, and they usually go to their left," said Bachenheimer. “So that's the way I went on his shot.”
Even with an extra-man advantage and pushing numbers in the final quarter hour, Fremd came up empty.
Kosta Alex rattled the bar with a left-footed cracker in the 67th minute. Bachenheimer saved a 35-yard free kick from Kenan Mesic and an Akashi effort before another brave stop from the Spartans keeper on Kosta in the 78th minute all but sealed the draw.
"That's a classy, talented and hard-working team over there," said Keller pointing in the direction of the Spartans.
"I liked our fight, energy and work rate, especially in the second half. So, there were some positive things to take from this game going forward."
Next up for the Vikings is a home date with Streamwood on Friday.
Glenbrook North left the pitch content.
"I saw a lot of good stuff from the lads tonight,” said Gibbs. “We handled their pressure well at times, but they put us under a lot in that second half. We have some work to do.”
The Spartans took their first win of the season Thursday night with a 3-0 decision against Cristo Rey St. Martin. Monday they travel to play Streamwood in the opening round of the Barrington Classic.
Starting lineups
FREMD (4-3-3)
G- Robby Remian
D- Ronan Allord
D- Charles Fritz
D- Genki Wakayama
D- Mark Ariagno
M- Sena Akashi
M- Owen Winegar
M- Joey Rodino
F- Kenan Mesic
F- Leo Akashi
F- Will Mayer
GLENBROOK NORTH (4-4-2)
G- Max Bachenheimer
D- Jordan Elliott
D- Ethan Klinghofer
D- Tal Yedlin
D- Marco Coronado
M- Brian Pekala
M- Ian Lee
M- Sam Lappin
M- Chris Sanchez
F- Vinny Sabbione
F- Steven Rhee
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Max Bachenheimer, sr., GK, Glenbrook North;
Robby Remian, sr., GK, Fremd
Referee: Kevin Parker
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Rodino (U/A), 28'
Glenbrook North: Sabbione (U/A) 32'
Second half
No scoring