Fremd runneth to
Kinsella Cup win over Palatine
2-1 win keeps travelling trophy in Vikings hands
By Bill McLean
PALATINE — Give Ashley Scesniak a soccer ball, a little space and a pivotal moment in a game and then wait for it — magic.
The Fremd senior midfielder performed her “Ashley-cadabra” trick in the 65th minute of the Kinsella Cup on crosstown rival Palatine’s pitch Wednesday night. Scesniak, with a Pirates defender closing in and eager to disrupt, settled the ball, executed a slick step-over, tapped the ball twice and blasted a near-post shot past Palatine sophomore goalkeeper Kate Latek.
The rising fastball curled and screamed for about 20 yards and ended up being the clinching goal in the Vikings’ 2-1 victory in balmy conditions.
“That’s Ashley’s move,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “She does it all the time.”
“It’s very effective,” he added.
Mere seconds before Scesniak’s right foot mashed the ball, Keller had shouted “Take her!”
Asked and answered?
No.
More like ordered and followed, quickly.
Palatine coach Willie Filian — whose club had entered the match with one win to Fremd’s seven — didn’t take down Fremd, but he was quick to share his encouraging takeaway after the tight Mid-Suburban League contest at Chic Anderson Stadium.
“We’d been waiting for an effort and performance like this all season,” he said. “I liked our tenacity, and the bite we showed out there against a very good program. Credit Fremd — Fremd brought that energy and ability out of us.
“Now we just have to play this way against opponents not named Fremd for the rest of the season.”
Fremd (8-2-0, 7-1-0), ranked no. 18 in Chicagoland Soccer’s Top 25, and Palatine (1-7-2, 1-6-1) played scoreless soccer for the first 26 minutes. Vikings freshman midfielder and designated set-piece hitter Gemma Gillespie knocked the nil off one part of the scoreboard with her 25-yard free kick that cleared a small village of combatants in the box before bouncing once in front of Latek (eight saves) and sneaking under the keeper’s left arm.
“Perfect placement,” Scesniak said of Gillespie’s third goal of the season.
Pirates sophomore defender Angelina Lopez struck the equalizer — her first tally of the 2021 season — from about the same location eight minutes after the second half kickoff.
“Second ball; it bounced back to me,” said Lopez, a former attacking midfielder. “I touched it. I found space. I shot it. So exciting. I yelled, and I heard my teammates yelling, including my sister (senior defender Jennifer Lopez).
“Our mindset from the beginning of the game was, ‘Play hard as a team.’ We did that.”
Fremd, which had been holding the Kinsella Cup since downing Palatine 2-0 in the schools’ last meeting in 2019, upped its sense of urgency after scoring first. Vikings junior forward Lily “Spo” Spotak’s speed was glaring; senior Caeleigh Stone, another fast forward, was a legit and constant threat to either chip a dangerous cross or score; and forays by junior midfielder Kylie Williams and junior forward/midfielder Anna Schmitt also made the night a challenging one for Palatine’s backs.
But Filian’s determined bunch frustrated the talented visitors. The Pirates’ defense — paced by the Lopez sisters’ speed and toughness and senior Caden Bargowski, who won several 50/50 balls via her forehead — was stout. Pirates sophomore midfielder Mia Ramirez was seemingly everywhere at once and combined with junior forward Olivia Riley on an impressive sequence of passing in the 43rd minute.
“We played decent, and we strung together passes,” Filian said. “I’m proud of our effort.”
Latek made the save of the night in the 51st minute, halting a point-blank shot from Spotak.
Keller expected more from his crew.
“I’m a little disappointed,” the Vikings’ 21st-year coach admitted. “Subpar performance by us. We looked lethargic for most of the night. I didn’t like our demeanor on the field.”
Fremd defenders Palak Khera, Shannon Moran and Bella Scesniak provided stability in front of winning keeper Sam Gary, who stopped seven shots.
The competitive game ended fittingly, with Moran, a shrewd junior, and Palatine senior reserve defender Jacky Vargas falling simultaneously after colliding while charging hard for a loose ball. The two hit the turf.
The final horn blared a nanosecond later.
Fremd visits Elk Grove on Friday at 4:45 p.m. and hosts Hoffman Estates on Saturday at 2 p.m.; Palatine visits Schaumburg on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Footnotes
Fremd lost senior midfielder Abigail Iannuzzelli to a season-ending right knee injury. The starter was playing at an all-MSL level when she suffered a torn ACL in the second half of Fremd’s 1-0 win over host Hersey on May 5. “We miss her,” Keller said before the Kinsella Cup kickoff at Palatine. “She was a leader for us, always giving us a tremendous effort and always smiling.” Scheduled for surgery this summer, Iannuzzelli walked and ran gingerly while helping her teammates warm up for the game against the Pirates. She also took action photographs from the Vikings’ bench during Fremd’s 2-1 win. … Filian, on the late Jimmy Kinsella, who founded the Palatine-based Celtic Soccer Club and is the “Kinsella” in the Cup for which the boys and girls soccer teams at Palatine and Fremd battle each academic year: “He was a fantastic man, a true gentleman.” … Bloody Wednesday: A Viking (sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Rodi) and a Pirate (sophomore Tara O’Sullivan) each had to exit the game Wednesday night with a bloody nose in the second half. A few minutes separated the incidents. Both returned to the action. … The announced attendance of the 2021 Kinsella Cup game: 246. Wait, check that. Wednesday night’s game was the second 2021 Kinsella Cup. Because of the pandemic, the Fremd and Palatine boys teams played for the Cup on March 18 instead of in the fall. Fremd’s boys, also coached by Keller, edged Palatine’s boys, also coached by Filian, 2-1 in overtime. Fremd wound up ranked no. 28 in Chicagoland Soccer’s Final 50. … Palatine’s girls gathered at senior forward Aubrey Grans’ house for a Kinsella Cup Eve team dinner on May 18. “That helped us get ready for Fremd,” said Pirates senior back Angelina Lopez, who consumed macaroni and cheese, Texas toast and fruit.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Sam Gary
D Palak Khera
D Shannon Moran
D Bella Scesniak
M Ashley Scesniak
M Gemma Gillespie
M Kylie Williams
M Kaitlyn Rodi
F Caeleigh Stone
F Anna Schmitt
F Lily Spotak
Palatine
GK Kate Latek
D Caden Bargowski
D Jennifer Lopez
D Angelina Lopez
D Grace Monroe
M Alyson Kolbus
M Maggie Monroe
M Mia Ramirez
M Tara O’Sullivan
M Allie Henning
F Olivia Riley
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Ashley Scesniak, sr., MF, Fremd;
Gemma Gillespie, fr., MF, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Gillespie (UA), 27’
Second half
Palatine — A. Lopez (UA), 48’
Fremd — A. Scesniak (UA), 65’
Kinsella Cup win over Palatine
2-1 win keeps travelling trophy in Vikings hands
By Bill McLean
PALATINE — Give Ashley Scesniak a soccer ball, a little space and a pivotal moment in a game and then wait for it — magic.
The Fremd senior midfielder performed her “Ashley-cadabra” trick in the 65th minute of the Kinsella Cup on crosstown rival Palatine’s pitch Wednesday night. Scesniak, with a Pirates defender closing in and eager to disrupt, settled the ball, executed a slick step-over, tapped the ball twice and blasted a near-post shot past Palatine sophomore goalkeeper Kate Latek.
The rising fastball curled and screamed for about 20 yards and ended up being the clinching goal in the Vikings’ 2-1 victory in balmy conditions.
“That’s Ashley’s move,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “She does it all the time.”
“It’s very effective,” he added.
Mere seconds before Scesniak’s right foot mashed the ball, Keller had shouted “Take her!”
Asked and answered?
No.
More like ordered and followed, quickly.
Palatine coach Willie Filian — whose club had entered the match with one win to Fremd’s seven — didn’t take down Fremd, but he was quick to share his encouraging takeaway after the tight Mid-Suburban League contest at Chic Anderson Stadium.
“We’d been waiting for an effort and performance like this all season,” he said. “I liked our tenacity, and the bite we showed out there against a very good program. Credit Fremd — Fremd brought that energy and ability out of us.
“Now we just have to play this way against opponents not named Fremd for the rest of the season.”
Fremd (8-2-0, 7-1-0), ranked no. 18 in Chicagoland Soccer’s Top 25, and Palatine (1-7-2, 1-6-1) played scoreless soccer for the first 26 minutes. Vikings freshman midfielder and designated set-piece hitter Gemma Gillespie knocked the nil off one part of the scoreboard with her 25-yard free kick that cleared a small village of combatants in the box before bouncing once in front of Latek (eight saves) and sneaking under the keeper’s left arm.
“Perfect placement,” Scesniak said of Gillespie’s third goal of the season.
Pirates sophomore defender Angelina Lopez struck the equalizer — her first tally of the 2021 season — from about the same location eight minutes after the second half kickoff.
“Second ball; it bounced back to me,” said Lopez, a former attacking midfielder. “I touched it. I found space. I shot it. So exciting. I yelled, and I heard my teammates yelling, including my sister (senior defender Jennifer Lopez).
“Our mindset from the beginning of the game was, ‘Play hard as a team.’ We did that.”
Fremd, which had been holding the Kinsella Cup since downing Palatine 2-0 in the schools’ last meeting in 2019, upped its sense of urgency after scoring first. Vikings junior forward Lily “Spo” Spotak’s speed was glaring; senior Caeleigh Stone, another fast forward, was a legit and constant threat to either chip a dangerous cross or score; and forays by junior midfielder Kylie Williams and junior forward/midfielder Anna Schmitt also made the night a challenging one for Palatine’s backs.
But Filian’s determined bunch frustrated the talented visitors. The Pirates’ defense — paced by the Lopez sisters’ speed and toughness and senior Caden Bargowski, who won several 50/50 balls via her forehead — was stout. Pirates sophomore midfielder Mia Ramirez was seemingly everywhere at once and combined with junior forward Olivia Riley on an impressive sequence of passing in the 43rd minute.
“We played decent, and we strung together passes,” Filian said. “I’m proud of our effort.”
Latek made the save of the night in the 51st minute, halting a point-blank shot from Spotak.
Keller expected more from his crew.
“I’m a little disappointed,” the Vikings’ 21st-year coach admitted. “Subpar performance by us. We looked lethargic for most of the night. I didn’t like our demeanor on the field.”
Fremd defenders Palak Khera, Shannon Moran and Bella Scesniak provided stability in front of winning keeper Sam Gary, who stopped seven shots.
The competitive game ended fittingly, with Moran, a shrewd junior, and Palatine senior reserve defender Jacky Vargas falling simultaneously after colliding while charging hard for a loose ball. The two hit the turf.
The final horn blared a nanosecond later.
Fremd visits Elk Grove on Friday at 4:45 p.m. and hosts Hoffman Estates on Saturday at 2 p.m.; Palatine visits Schaumburg on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Footnotes
Fremd lost senior midfielder Abigail Iannuzzelli to a season-ending right knee injury. The starter was playing at an all-MSL level when she suffered a torn ACL in the second half of Fremd’s 1-0 win over host Hersey on May 5. “We miss her,” Keller said before the Kinsella Cup kickoff at Palatine. “She was a leader for us, always giving us a tremendous effort and always smiling.” Scheduled for surgery this summer, Iannuzzelli walked and ran gingerly while helping her teammates warm up for the game against the Pirates. She also took action photographs from the Vikings’ bench during Fremd’s 2-1 win. … Filian, on the late Jimmy Kinsella, who founded the Palatine-based Celtic Soccer Club and is the “Kinsella” in the Cup for which the boys and girls soccer teams at Palatine and Fremd battle each academic year: “He was a fantastic man, a true gentleman.” … Bloody Wednesday: A Viking (sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Rodi) and a Pirate (sophomore Tara O’Sullivan) each had to exit the game Wednesday night with a bloody nose in the second half. A few minutes separated the incidents. Both returned to the action. … The announced attendance of the 2021 Kinsella Cup game: 246. Wait, check that. Wednesday night’s game was the second 2021 Kinsella Cup. Because of the pandemic, the Fremd and Palatine boys teams played for the Cup on March 18 instead of in the fall. Fremd’s boys, also coached by Keller, edged Palatine’s boys, also coached by Filian, 2-1 in overtime. Fremd wound up ranked no. 28 in Chicagoland Soccer’s Final 50. … Palatine’s girls gathered at senior forward Aubrey Grans’ house for a Kinsella Cup Eve team dinner on May 18. “That helped us get ready for Fremd,” said Pirates senior back Angelina Lopez, who consumed macaroni and cheese, Texas toast and fruit.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Sam Gary
D Palak Khera
D Shannon Moran
D Bella Scesniak
M Ashley Scesniak
M Gemma Gillespie
M Kylie Williams
M Kaitlyn Rodi
F Caeleigh Stone
F Anna Schmitt
F Lily Spotak
Palatine
GK Kate Latek
D Caden Bargowski
D Jennifer Lopez
D Angelina Lopez
D Grace Monroe
M Alyson Kolbus
M Maggie Monroe
M Mia Ramirez
M Tara O’Sullivan
M Allie Henning
F Olivia Riley
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Ashley Scesniak, sr., MF, Fremd;
Gemma Gillespie, fr., MF, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Gillespie (UA), 27’
Second half
Palatine — A. Lopez (UA), 48’
Fremd — A. Scesniak (UA), 65’