Fremd, New Trier seesaw to draw
CSL/MSL Challenge ends in 3-3 deadlock
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- A gripping game between two of the best in Chicagoland Soccer's First 50 preseason poll ended late Monday evening with Fremd and New Trier finishing on even terms at Robert Naughton Field.
Jake Schoffstall's stunning finish in the 80th minute earned visiting Fremd a 3-3 draw in an entertaining season opener that gave fans of both clubs plenty of hope in what could be highly successful seasons.
"This one had a little bit of everything," understated New Trier manager Matt Ravenscraft, who saw his men concede the opener at the quarter hour then find their footing to draw even just before the half hour.
"That was a pretty exciting and well played game when you consider the conditions both sides had to deal with," Ravenscraft said.
Ravenscraft referred to an extreme downpour that gained strength as it continued and created several puddles of water on the Trevians gorgeous pitch, which could no longer hold the volume of rain that swept into the area in the first half.
That the two clubs still managed to play through this wall of water says a lot about the resolve, fortitude and talent of no. 5-rated Fremd and 12th-rated New Trier.
"That's a real talented opponent we played," Ravenscraft said. "They do a lot of things very well. In that first 20-25 minutes, they put us on our heels, put us under a lot of pressure, and showed they will be one of the best around this fall.
"(But) credit Jeffrey Urban, a senior who really came through for us when we needed it most.
"It was his goal that got us back even and helped us find our way to play some very good soccer from that point on until the very end."
The visiting Vikings, who lost a handful of their first 11 from the 2018 club that gave Class 3A state runnerup Libertyville its toughest match of the season during a sectional loss in penalty kicks, looked as though they didn't miss a beat after a marvelous start to the Central Suburban Legue/Mid=Suburban League Challenge contest.
Veteran stars Russell Beaupre, Josh Bennett and Eli Schoffstall proved to have too much pace and purpose for the Trevians from the opening whistle. When Jake Schoffstall steered in his first of his two goals at 15 minutes, it appeared it would be the start of something big for the reigning MSL West Division champs.
"That first 25 minutes was clearly the best soccer we played tonight," began Fremd manager Steve Keller.
"We came out with a lot of energy, moved the ball, got everyone involved, and just played some very good soccer on both sides of the ball.
"After that, we found out things about ourselves that we'll need to work on, including giving up three goals, which is something that I am not happy about."
Schoffstall, the Vikings outstanding center back who earn Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors a year ago, agreed with the assessment of his manager.
"You never know what to expect your first time out, but we were very good leading up to the first goal and right up until they got back even with us," said Schoffstall. "I guess we let up on the gas pedal."
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage moments later after the Trevians were unable to clear a Andrew Clark corner further than they did. Tht allowed Bennett to unleash a wicked blast that was blocked into the box.
Next, a well-executed counter from C.J. Williams and Nick Austin gave Eli Schoffstall a chance at the back post that Trevians keeper Chase Mazzier handled with confidence.
"Fremd was a very good opponent, and they gave us a lot of trouble, especially early on" said senior Ryan Ball, who helped run the show in the middle of the park. "But I was real proud of our effort and our fight, which allowed us to stay in the game with them until we got back even on Urban's goal.
New players will need to step up this season for New Trier.
"After losing eight of our first 11 from a year ago, I will be expecting Ball, and seniors Aidan Crowder, Julio Mora, Alex Powell and Jeffrey Urban to set the standard for our style of play," said Ravenscraft. "All of them did quite well in that regard tonight."
A well-struck freekick from the midline by Jake Krueger ended with Urban finding the far inside netting to awaken the Trevians bench and its now rain-soaked fans.
"From that point on, I felt like we had most of the play," said Ravenscraft.
Will Franzen, back from an extended stay with his academy team at FC United, soon began to control the outside with his enterprising runs, lovely possession and quality passing while the backline of William Gerstein, Ronan O'Neill, James Paden and Urban allowed few, if any, quality, in-close touches by the Vikings.
"New Trier is a quality opponent and a very difficult team to play in your season opener," began Keller. "We allowed them to dictate the play, and we stopped connecting and moving with and without the ball. That's when they took more of the play from us."
New Trier began the second period just as brightly as they ended the first. And if not for a sharp tackle by Clark on Alex Powell, the homeside could have collected its second at 42 minutes.
Next Gerstein skimmed the slippery bar with his effort off a Franzen free kick before O'Neill took one out of the air and unloaded a 16-yard missile into the back of the net in the 50th minute.
Fremd sophomore Eli Schoffstall, the fourth and final Schoffstall brother in the Fremd program, produced a sublime strike to bring the Vikings back level at 52 minutes.
The match continued to ping-pong when Crowder put the Trevians back in front with a superb finish of a brilliant ball from Franzen that concluded a frenzied and fast-paced 10 minutes of box-to-box soccer.
"The movement by Aidan to put himself into position to finish that great cross from Franzen was amazing," Ravenscraft said. "Both players did what they had to do in order to get us that third goal."
Fremd's Keller switched to a 4-4-2 just after the Crowder strike with Beaupre and Bennett now in partnership up-top.
When Ball was forced out due to a leg cramp, Keller then pushed Jake Schoffstall up-front in what was now a 4-3-3.
The Vikings faithful had hoped one of its heroes would be sent to the spot after Nick Austin was roughed up a bit inside the box five minutes from time, but referee Zach Richter, who was strong and consistent all night long, correctly waved off any such request.
With Richter preparing to whistle the contest over, Jake Schoffstall, who led the Vikings with eight goals a year ago, completed his double in spectacular fashion.
"Bennett and Jackson did the work to get me in position for a shot. With their keeper coming at me, I just went the other way," said the three-year veteran.
"We'll get better, but one thing we have to do is to come out and play hard for 80 minutes.
"It's good to get out of here without a loss, but none of us is happy with the way we played overall. So that means we'll have to continue to work harder."
Ball and Ravenscraft were obviously disappointed with the result, but it was an encouraging opening chapter for the 2019 season.
"We came back from a rough start to play some good soccer -- soccer that is our style of play," said Ball. "And we did it against a team that plays hard, direct soccer, and that says a lot about our team."
Ravenscraft complimented several of his men afterwards and was proud of the overall effort on the first official day of classes at New Trier.
"There was lot of stuff to process for the guys today: school starting; an excellent opponent in our season-opener; and playing together for the first time after losing so many players from a year ago," Ravenscraft said.
"It was a good first test, which I feel like we passed.
"I believe strongly in the idea of a holistic New Trier boys soccer program. And we spend a lot of time establishing a style of play that is articulated from freshman year onwards.
"It is now four years into my tenure as manager, and I am pleased with our collective progress. But the most important point, and I cannot stress this enough, is that we all need to buy in and receive contributions from each and every player at every level for this project to work."
Next up for Fremd is a weekend trip to DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., to play powerhouse clubs Notre Dame (Peoria) on Friday evening, then North Central from Indianapolis the following afternoon.
New Trier is on the road Thursday at York and then opens pool play at its prestigious Northside College Showcase. The Trevians will face Grayslake Central on Saturday in Northfield, then hosts Libertyville next Tuesday before finishing up pool play against rival Loyola on September 5.
Starting lineups
Fremd (3-1-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Kaelan Conway
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
DM- C.J. Williams
M- Eli Schoffstall
M- Andrew Clark
M- John Kating
M- Nick Austin
F- Russell Beaupre
F- Josh Bennett
New Trier (4-3-3)
G- Chase Mazzier
D- Ronan O'Neill
D- James Paden
D- Jeffrey Urban
D- Will Gerstein
M- Ryan Ball
M- Julio Mora
M- Will Franzen
F- Alex Powell
F- Aidan Crowder
F- Jake Krueger
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: J. Schoffstall (Clark) 15'
New Trier: Urban (Krueger) 26'
Second half
New Trier: O'Neill (U/A) 50'
Fremd: E. Schoffstall (Clark) 52'
New Trier: Crowder (Franzen) 57'
Fremd: J. Schoffstall (Bennett, Jackson) 80'
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jake Schoffstall, sr., D, Fremd
Will Franzen, sr., MF, New Trier
Referee: Zach Richter
CSL/MSL Challenge ends in 3-3 deadlock
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- A gripping game between two of the best in Chicagoland Soccer's First 50 preseason poll ended late Monday evening with Fremd and New Trier finishing on even terms at Robert Naughton Field.
Jake Schoffstall's stunning finish in the 80th minute earned visiting Fremd a 3-3 draw in an entertaining season opener that gave fans of both clubs plenty of hope in what could be highly successful seasons.
"This one had a little bit of everything," understated New Trier manager Matt Ravenscraft, who saw his men concede the opener at the quarter hour then find their footing to draw even just before the half hour.
"That was a pretty exciting and well played game when you consider the conditions both sides had to deal with," Ravenscraft said.
Ravenscraft referred to an extreme downpour that gained strength as it continued and created several puddles of water on the Trevians gorgeous pitch, which could no longer hold the volume of rain that swept into the area in the first half.
That the two clubs still managed to play through this wall of water says a lot about the resolve, fortitude and talent of no. 5-rated Fremd and 12th-rated New Trier.
"That's a real talented opponent we played," Ravenscraft said. "They do a lot of things very well. In that first 20-25 minutes, they put us on our heels, put us under a lot of pressure, and showed they will be one of the best around this fall.
"(But) credit Jeffrey Urban, a senior who really came through for us when we needed it most.
"It was his goal that got us back even and helped us find our way to play some very good soccer from that point on until the very end."
The visiting Vikings, who lost a handful of their first 11 from the 2018 club that gave Class 3A state runnerup Libertyville its toughest match of the season during a sectional loss in penalty kicks, looked as though they didn't miss a beat after a marvelous start to the Central Suburban Legue/Mid=Suburban League Challenge contest.
Veteran stars Russell Beaupre, Josh Bennett and Eli Schoffstall proved to have too much pace and purpose for the Trevians from the opening whistle. When Jake Schoffstall steered in his first of his two goals at 15 minutes, it appeared it would be the start of something big for the reigning MSL West Division champs.
"That first 25 minutes was clearly the best soccer we played tonight," began Fremd manager Steve Keller.
"We came out with a lot of energy, moved the ball, got everyone involved, and just played some very good soccer on both sides of the ball.
"After that, we found out things about ourselves that we'll need to work on, including giving up three goals, which is something that I am not happy about."
Schoffstall, the Vikings outstanding center back who earn Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors a year ago, agreed with the assessment of his manager.
"You never know what to expect your first time out, but we were very good leading up to the first goal and right up until they got back even with us," said Schoffstall. "I guess we let up on the gas pedal."
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage moments later after the Trevians were unable to clear a Andrew Clark corner further than they did. Tht allowed Bennett to unleash a wicked blast that was blocked into the box.
Next, a well-executed counter from C.J. Williams and Nick Austin gave Eli Schoffstall a chance at the back post that Trevians keeper Chase Mazzier handled with confidence.
"Fremd was a very good opponent, and they gave us a lot of trouble, especially early on" said senior Ryan Ball, who helped run the show in the middle of the park. "But I was real proud of our effort and our fight, which allowed us to stay in the game with them until we got back even on Urban's goal.
New players will need to step up this season for New Trier.
"After losing eight of our first 11 from a year ago, I will be expecting Ball, and seniors Aidan Crowder, Julio Mora, Alex Powell and Jeffrey Urban to set the standard for our style of play," said Ravenscraft. "All of them did quite well in that regard tonight."
A well-struck freekick from the midline by Jake Krueger ended with Urban finding the far inside netting to awaken the Trevians bench and its now rain-soaked fans.
"From that point on, I felt like we had most of the play," said Ravenscraft.
Will Franzen, back from an extended stay with his academy team at FC United, soon began to control the outside with his enterprising runs, lovely possession and quality passing while the backline of William Gerstein, Ronan O'Neill, James Paden and Urban allowed few, if any, quality, in-close touches by the Vikings.
"New Trier is a quality opponent and a very difficult team to play in your season opener," began Keller. "We allowed them to dictate the play, and we stopped connecting and moving with and without the ball. That's when they took more of the play from us."
New Trier began the second period just as brightly as they ended the first. And if not for a sharp tackle by Clark on Alex Powell, the homeside could have collected its second at 42 minutes.
Next Gerstein skimmed the slippery bar with his effort off a Franzen free kick before O'Neill took one out of the air and unloaded a 16-yard missile into the back of the net in the 50th minute.
Fremd sophomore Eli Schoffstall, the fourth and final Schoffstall brother in the Fremd program, produced a sublime strike to bring the Vikings back level at 52 minutes.
The match continued to ping-pong when Crowder put the Trevians back in front with a superb finish of a brilliant ball from Franzen that concluded a frenzied and fast-paced 10 minutes of box-to-box soccer.
"The movement by Aidan to put himself into position to finish that great cross from Franzen was amazing," Ravenscraft said. "Both players did what they had to do in order to get us that third goal."
Fremd's Keller switched to a 4-4-2 just after the Crowder strike with Beaupre and Bennett now in partnership up-top.
When Ball was forced out due to a leg cramp, Keller then pushed Jake Schoffstall up-front in what was now a 4-3-3.
The Vikings faithful had hoped one of its heroes would be sent to the spot after Nick Austin was roughed up a bit inside the box five minutes from time, but referee Zach Richter, who was strong and consistent all night long, correctly waved off any such request.
With Richter preparing to whistle the contest over, Jake Schoffstall, who led the Vikings with eight goals a year ago, completed his double in spectacular fashion.
"Bennett and Jackson did the work to get me in position for a shot. With their keeper coming at me, I just went the other way," said the three-year veteran.
"We'll get better, but one thing we have to do is to come out and play hard for 80 minutes.
"It's good to get out of here without a loss, but none of us is happy with the way we played overall. So that means we'll have to continue to work harder."
Ball and Ravenscraft were obviously disappointed with the result, but it was an encouraging opening chapter for the 2019 season.
"We came back from a rough start to play some good soccer -- soccer that is our style of play," said Ball. "And we did it against a team that plays hard, direct soccer, and that says a lot about our team."
Ravenscraft complimented several of his men afterwards and was proud of the overall effort on the first official day of classes at New Trier.
"There was lot of stuff to process for the guys today: school starting; an excellent opponent in our season-opener; and playing together for the first time after losing so many players from a year ago," Ravenscraft said.
"It was a good first test, which I feel like we passed.
"I believe strongly in the idea of a holistic New Trier boys soccer program. And we spend a lot of time establishing a style of play that is articulated from freshman year onwards.
"It is now four years into my tenure as manager, and I am pleased with our collective progress. But the most important point, and I cannot stress this enough, is that we all need to buy in and receive contributions from each and every player at every level for this project to work."
Next up for Fremd is a weekend trip to DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., to play powerhouse clubs Notre Dame (Peoria) on Friday evening, then North Central from Indianapolis the following afternoon.
New Trier is on the road Thursday at York and then opens pool play at its prestigious Northside College Showcase. The Trevians will face Grayslake Central on Saturday in Northfield, then hosts Libertyville next Tuesday before finishing up pool play against rival Loyola on September 5.
Starting lineups
Fremd (3-1-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Kaelan Conway
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
DM- C.J. Williams
M- Eli Schoffstall
M- Andrew Clark
M- John Kating
M- Nick Austin
F- Russell Beaupre
F- Josh Bennett
New Trier (4-3-3)
G- Chase Mazzier
D- Ronan O'Neill
D- James Paden
D- Jeffrey Urban
D- Will Gerstein
M- Ryan Ball
M- Julio Mora
M- Will Franzen
F- Alex Powell
F- Aidan Crowder
F- Jake Krueger
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: J. Schoffstall (Clark) 15'
New Trier: Urban (Krueger) 26'
Second half
New Trier: O'Neill (U/A) 50'
Fremd: E. Schoffstall (Clark) 52'
New Trier: Crowder (Franzen) 57'
Fremd: J. Schoffstall (Bennett, Jackson) 80'
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jake Schoffstall, sr., D, Fremd
Will Franzen, sr., MF, New Trier
Referee: Zach Richter