Fremd continues
cross-town mastery over Palatine
Vikings retain Kinsella Cup with hard-fought 2-1 win
By Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- On a week when cross-town soccer matches like Wheaton North versus Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton Cup), St. Charles East against St. Charles North and Crystal Lake South vs. Crystal Lake Central were played, it seemed only fitting that the 27th-annual Kinsella Cup would finish up the week.
The series was conjured up by the late Jimmy Kinsella, who founded the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club along with Bill Hughes in 1968. The club has grown throughout the decades, and the Palatine and Fremd boys and girls annual matchups have served as focal points since 1995.
The game is typically about the here and now -- not where Fremd and Palatine will eventually finish in the Mid-Suburban League table. However, this season the Vikings are in a dogfight with surprising sixth-ranked Conant after the Vikings took the title wire-to-wire last season. Palatine led the West Division race early this campaign but has fallen off the pace.
Fremd, which has had the Kinsella Cup locked up in its trophy case since 2016, kept possession once again with a 2-1 victory Thursday night before a huge crowd at Chic Anderson Stadium.
With the bleachers jammed with players of all ages from the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club, as well as friends and families, the Vikings took all the points to boost their division chances.
Fremd then took a 2-1 overtime win at Elk Grove on Saturday for its sixth-straight league win and now holds a three-point conference lead over Conant. Each team has two league matches left.
The Vikings did the work to put away Palatine in the bragging rights match.
"It's not always a pretty game, but you can count on it being physical, intense and hard-fought for sure,” said Fremd manager Steve Keller. “So for us to come out of here with three points means a lot to us as far as the division race."
"This is always an amazing game (and) one that all of us look forward to playing," began Vikings senior Joey Rodino, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"We all know each other, and many of us have either played on the same club team, or came up through the Celtic Club. Tonight was a huge game for us, because there is so much at stake in the division for us.
"We came out flat. That early pen (PK) game us so much momentum, but we didn't use that momentum to our advantage. (Palatine) clearly outworked us during that first half, so we were a bit fortunate to be even with them at the break."
Rodino, was relentless while playing the six. He read every situation imaginable and reacted quickly to each challenge, running with his engine at full blast for 80 minutes.
"Joey was the key to our victory tonight," said Keller.
"He must have run 10 miles out there. At the same time, he won just about every first and second ball, and tackle, while keeping us organized whenever they came forward."
While it was Palatine manager Aaron Morris' club that came out on its collective front foot from the opening whistle, it was the visitors who struck first on what the new Pirates manager felt was an ill-advised PK call in the 7th minute.
That's when senior Leo Akashi steered in the opener from the spot, much to the delight of the Vikings faithful.
"I thought it was bit of a harsh call to get that PK on us so early in the game,” he said. “So often in big games like these, early goals make such a big difference. In this one, which is always physical, it was tough to see that one go against us.
"It seems to be happening to us a lot of late, and it really put us on our heels. However, to the credit of our boys, we responded quickly, and we brought the game to them.”
"I was really proud of the way we came back from that (PK),” said Pirates senior Jordan Mok, who along with Zach Sondergaard and Nick Leyva wear the captains’ armbands for Morris. “This team has a lot of heart and pride. And it showed with the way we picked ourselves up from going down so early in the game, and in front of a big crowd."
"I cannot say enough about Jordan,” added Morris. “He came back from club, trusted (me) and gave this program a chance along with Karol (Noga) and Andrew Kania, who also returned from playing with the Sockers."
When Fremd keeper Robby Remian elevated high above a crowd in his box to pull down a lovely ball sent into the box by Isaac Lara, the Chicagoland Soccer all-stater felt he was given too much of a rough go. That allowed the ball to spill free of his grasp and find the ever-present Kania.
He quickly jumped on his chance from close range to bring the home crowd to its feet when he leveled in the 13th minute.
Remian was booked, most likely for dissent, just after the roar of the crowd. The yellow card was the first of several handed out by referee Adrian Werbecki on this night.
The Kania goal gave new energy to another tense renewal, and increased the pace and urgency from both sides two-fold.
Fremd’s Nick Sapiente and Palatine’s Dennis ValleRauda, in particular, were key to the offensive surge from both sides. Sapiente went wide with two left-footed attempts, and ValleRauda showed the ability to hold, turn and run at the Vikings defenders, also from the wide position.
The home side enjoyed a solid advantage in passing completion and accuracy from the middle of the first half right up until the intermission.
"They had a lot of the play and possessed much better than we did. Like Joey (Rodino) said, they just outworked us in the first half," said Vikings senior Owen Winegar, who is a club teammate of Pirates captain Sondergaard.
Sondergaard, who was in Morris' first 11, gave a brave performance despite playing with a broken toe. He turned in well over an hour of work in the middle of the park for his club.
"Zach toughed it out all night despite being not even close to 100 percent, but he gave us quality minutes. I was very proud of him for his effort," said Morris, who later would need to take attacking weapon Kania from the middle and move him to the backline when Liam Rhattigan was forced out of action due to injury.
Fremd’s Remian, who sustained an injury that put him on the sideline, was nothing short of sensational early in this contest. He turned in consecutive point-blank saves just before the Akashi spot-kick conversion.
Remian’s fearless save on Damien Drzewiecki in-close, was followed by a snap-shot save off the rebound from Isaac Lara provided plenty of angst for both sides in the bleachers. So too did a 50-50 challenge between the Vikings keeper and Jerry Afonrinwo, who met Remian at full speed.
Afonrinwo went over to check on his fallen opponent and wish him well.
Remian was escorted off the pitch on his own power and could be seen applying an ice pack to his face. He appeared to be in good shape when the Vikings lifted the Kinsella Cup after the final whistle.
Junior Bennett Ash stepped in did an admirable job between the sticks for the next 47 minutes. He handled all of his chances with confidence.
A lack of consistency hurt Palatine.
"We really let them off the hook in that first half," admitted Morris. “We've done far too many times this year. Although we had plenty of very positive stretches in this game, our loss of focus cost us tonight.
"The second half did not have much flow to it, we were not crisp in our possession. With a couple of our guys banged up, it forced us to move players out of position, and it showed at times."
The other side held disappointments as well.
"We knew we did not play very well in the first half, and were probably lucky to go into the break at 1-1 with them,” said Rodino. “But we came back out in the second half and played with more heart, energy and purpose, and I think it really energized all of us."
The host's manager and certainly Noga, felt the junior’s long, looping attempt that Ash caught had enough pace to carry the Vikings keeper over the end line to tie the game. However the assistant referee on the near side and the referee felt otherwise as he waved for play to continue in the 46th minute.
"We thought Karol's shot from distance crossed the line,” said Morris. “When it was not ruled a goal, I felt we looked rather deflated afterwards. They closed out the game from there."
The second half surge Morris spoke of came quickly after the missed opportunity. Soon, Fremd’s Kosta Alex, Will Mayer, Akashi, Sapiente and even Kyle Grasse, who came forward from out of the back, buzzed around the Pirates end.
Akashi played a nice ball to Sapiente who, if not for a quick decision and tackle by Kania, could have had Pirates keeper Augustine Medina all to himself in the 52nd minute.
Winegar unloaded a quality attempt on Medina, who saved initially, but Alex retrieved the loose ball and played it back to Akashi, who delivered a clinical finish with his angled 20-yard blast from the right side.
Now in control just after the hour, the Vikings went about their job to manage the one-goal advantage, which nearly doubled before Rodino went wide in the 67th minute.
Then Akashi curled his left-footed free kick up and over the Pirates wall before it hit just under the woodwork in the 70th minute. Sapiente forced a save from Medina minutes later.
In the best effort from Palatine late in the contest, Drzewiecki redirected his attempt from 14 yards after Devin Ashby did well to get to the end line.
In the waning moments, it was none other than Rodino who parried away one last ball sent into the area after Antonio Aguilar put his free kick on frame two minutes from time.
"This is a great win for this team and our program, which can now bring the Kinsella Cup back home for another year," beamed Rodino.
"This is a great night for the sport of soccer in the town of Palatine,” said Keller. “And to see so many young players from the Celtic club and their families makes all of this that much better."
At halftime, Fremd, Palatine and the near 100 youth players from the Palatine Celtic club gathered at midfield during the intermission to be a part of a group picture. It will undoubtably be cherished by those on hand for years to come.
Palatine (8-7-1, 3-4-0) completes its league schedule with game at Schaumburg and Prospect in the upcoming week. After a nonconference match at Lake Zurich on Oct. 8, the Pirates conclude the regular-season with a conference cross-over.
Fremd (9-5-2, 7-2-0) hosts Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg to end its Mid-Suburban League slate and follows that with a match against no. 8 New Trier. It hopes to end its regular-season with the West Division’s berth in the Soccer Bowl.
Starting lineups
Fremd (4-4-2)
G- Robby Remian
D- Kyle Grasse
D- Ronan Allord
D- Michael Leonzcuk
D- Genki Wakayama
MF- Will Mayer
MF- Joey Rodino
MF- Owen Winegar
MF- Nicky Sapiente
F- Leo Akashi
F- Kosta Alex
Palatine (4-4-2)
G- Augustine Medina
D- Fabian Vargas
D- Jordan Mok
D- Karan Toor
D- Liam Rhattigan
MF- Damien Drzewiecki
MF- Zach Sondergaard
MF- Isaac Lara
MF- Andrew Kania
F- Dennis Valle-Rauda
F- Karol Noga
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joey Rodino, sr., MF, Fremd
Officials: Adrian Werbecki (referee); Miguel Chavez (assistant); Peter Stavropoulos (assistant)
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Akashi (PK). 7'
Palatine: Kania (U/A), 13'
Second half
Fremd: Akashi (Alex, Winegar), 62'
Statistics
Shots on goal
Fremd: 6
Palatine: 4
Shots off
Fremd: 5
Palatine: 2
Corner kicks
Fremd: 4
Palatine: 3
Offsides
Fremd: 1
Palatine: 2
Fouls
Fremd: 14
Palatine: 14
Blocks
Fremd: 4
Palatine: 2
Yellow cards
Fremd: 3
Palatine: 2
cross-town mastery over Palatine
Vikings retain Kinsella Cup with hard-fought 2-1 win
By Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- On a week when cross-town soccer matches like Wheaton North versus Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton Cup), St. Charles East against St. Charles North and Crystal Lake South vs. Crystal Lake Central were played, it seemed only fitting that the 27th-annual Kinsella Cup would finish up the week.
The series was conjured up by the late Jimmy Kinsella, who founded the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club along with Bill Hughes in 1968. The club has grown throughout the decades, and the Palatine and Fremd boys and girls annual matchups have served as focal points since 1995.
The game is typically about the here and now -- not where Fremd and Palatine will eventually finish in the Mid-Suburban League table. However, this season the Vikings are in a dogfight with surprising sixth-ranked Conant after the Vikings took the title wire-to-wire last season. Palatine led the West Division race early this campaign but has fallen off the pace.
Fremd, which has had the Kinsella Cup locked up in its trophy case since 2016, kept possession once again with a 2-1 victory Thursday night before a huge crowd at Chic Anderson Stadium.
With the bleachers jammed with players of all ages from the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club, as well as friends and families, the Vikings took all the points to boost their division chances.
Fremd then took a 2-1 overtime win at Elk Grove on Saturday for its sixth-straight league win and now holds a three-point conference lead over Conant. Each team has two league matches left.
The Vikings did the work to put away Palatine in the bragging rights match.
"It's not always a pretty game, but you can count on it being physical, intense and hard-fought for sure,” said Fremd manager Steve Keller. “So for us to come out of here with three points means a lot to us as far as the division race."
"This is always an amazing game (and) one that all of us look forward to playing," began Vikings senior Joey Rodino, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"We all know each other, and many of us have either played on the same club team, or came up through the Celtic Club. Tonight was a huge game for us, because there is so much at stake in the division for us.
"We came out flat. That early pen (PK) game us so much momentum, but we didn't use that momentum to our advantage. (Palatine) clearly outworked us during that first half, so we were a bit fortunate to be even with them at the break."
Rodino, was relentless while playing the six. He read every situation imaginable and reacted quickly to each challenge, running with his engine at full blast for 80 minutes.
"Joey was the key to our victory tonight," said Keller.
"He must have run 10 miles out there. At the same time, he won just about every first and second ball, and tackle, while keeping us organized whenever they came forward."
While it was Palatine manager Aaron Morris' club that came out on its collective front foot from the opening whistle, it was the visitors who struck first on what the new Pirates manager felt was an ill-advised PK call in the 7th minute.
That's when senior Leo Akashi steered in the opener from the spot, much to the delight of the Vikings faithful.
"I thought it was bit of a harsh call to get that PK on us so early in the game,” he said. “So often in big games like these, early goals make such a big difference. In this one, which is always physical, it was tough to see that one go against us.
"It seems to be happening to us a lot of late, and it really put us on our heels. However, to the credit of our boys, we responded quickly, and we brought the game to them.”
"I was really proud of the way we came back from that (PK),” said Pirates senior Jordan Mok, who along with Zach Sondergaard and Nick Leyva wear the captains’ armbands for Morris. “This team has a lot of heart and pride. And it showed with the way we picked ourselves up from going down so early in the game, and in front of a big crowd."
"I cannot say enough about Jordan,” added Morris. “He came back from club, trusted (me) and gave this program a chance along with Karol (Noga) and Andrew Kania, who also returned from playing with the Sockers."
When Fremd keeper Robby Remian elevated high above a crowd in his box to pull down a lovely ball sent into the box by Isaac Lara, the Chicagoland Soccer all-stater felt he was given too much of a rough go. That allowed the ball to spill free of his grasp and find the ever-present Kania.
He quickly jumped on his chance from close range to bring the home crowd to its feet when he leveled in the 13th minute.
Remian was booked, most likely for dissent, just after the roar of the crowd. The yellow card was the first of several handed out by referee Adrian Werbecki on this night.
The Kania goal gave new energy to another tense renewal, and increased the pace and urgency from both sides two-fold.
Fremd’s Nick Sapiente and Palatine’s Dennis ValleRauda, in particular, were key to the offensive surge from both sides. Sapiente went wide with two left-footed attempts, and ValleRauda showed the ability to hold, turn and run at the Vikings defenders, also from the wide position.
The home side enjoyed a solid advantage in passing completion and accuracy from the middle of the first half right up until the intermission.
"They had a lot of the play and possessed much better than we did. Like Joey (Rodino) said, they just outworked us in the first half," said Vikings senior Owen Winegar, who is a club teammate of Pirates captain Sondergaard.
Sondergaard, who was in Morris' first 11, gave a brave performance despite playing with a broken toe. He turned in well over an hour of work in the middle of the park for his club.
"Zach toughed it out all night despite being not even close to 100 percent, but he gave us quality minutes. I was very proud of him for his effort," said Morris, who later would need to take attacking weapon Kania from the middle and move him to the backline when Liam Rhattigan was forced out of action due to injury.
Fremd’s Remian, who sustained an injury that put him on the sideline, was nothing short of sensational early in this contest. He turned in consecutive point-blank saves just before the Akashi spot-kick conversion.
Remian’s fearless save on Damien Drzewiecki in-close, was followed by a snap-shot save off the rebound from Isaac Lara provided plenty of angst for both sides in the bleachers. So too did a 50-50 challenge between the Vikings keeper and Jerry Afonrinwo, who met Remian at full speed.
Afonrinwo went over to check on his fallen opponent and wish him well.
Remian was escorted off the pitch on his own power and could be seen applying an ice pack to his face. He appeared to be in good shape when the Vikings lifted the Kinsella Cup after the final whistle.
Junior Bennett Ash stepped in did an admirable job between the sticks for the next 47 minutes. He handled all of his chances with confidence.
A lack of consistency hurt Palatine.
"We really let them off the hook in that first half," admitted Morris. “We've done far too many times this year. Although we had plenty of very positive stretches in this game, our loss of focus cost us tonight.
"The second half did not have much flow to it, we were not crisp in our possession. With a couple of our guys banged up, it forced us to move players out of position, and it showed at times."
The other side held disappointments as well.
"We knew we did not play very well in the first half, and were probably lucky to go into the break at 1-1 with them,” said Rodino. “But we came back out in the second half and played with more heart, energy and purpose, and I think it really energized all of us."
The host's manager and certainly Noga, felt the junior’s long, looping attempt that Ash caught had enough pace to carry the Vikings keeper over the end line to tie the game. However the assistant referee on the near side and the referee felt otherwise as he waved for play to continue in the 46th minute.
"We thought Karol's shot from distance crossed the line,” said Morris. “When it was not ruled a goal, I felt we looked rather deflated afterwards. They closed out the game from there."
The second half surge Morris spoke of came quickly after the missed opportunity. Soon, Fremd’s Kosta Alex, Will Mayer, Akashi, Sapiente and even Kyle Grasse, who came forward from out of the back, buzzed around the Pirates end.
Akashi played a nice ball to Sapiente who, if not for a quick decision and tackle by Kania, could have had Pirates keeper Augustine Medina all to himself in the 52nd minute.
Winegar unloaded a quality attempt on Medina, who saved initially, but Alex retrieved the loose ball and played it back to Akashi, who delivered a clinical finish with his angled 20-yard blast from the right side.
Now in control just after the hour, the Vikings went about their job to manage the one-goal advantage, which nearly doubled before Rodino went wide in the 67th minute.
Then Akashi curled his left-footed free kick up and over the Pirates wall before it hit just under the woodwork in the 70th minute. Sapiente forced a save from Medina minutes later.
In the best effort from Palatine late in the contest, Drzewiecki redirected his attempt from 14 yards after Devin Ashby did well to get to the end line.
In the waning moments, it was none other than Rodino who parried away one last ball sent into the area after Antonio Aguilar put his free kick on frame two minutes from time.
"This is a great win for this team and our program, which can now bring the Kinsella Cup back home for another year," beamed Rodino.
"This is a great night for the sport of soccer in the town of Palatine,” said Keller. “And to see so many young players from the Celtic club and their families makes all of this that much better."
At halftime, Fremd, Palatine and the near 100 youth players from the Palatine Celtic club gathered at midfield during the intermission to be a part of a group picture. It will undoubtably be cherished by those on hand for years to come.
Palatine (8-7-1, 3-4-0) completes its league schedule with game at Schaumburg and Prospect in the upcoming week. After a nonconference match at Lake Zurich on Oct. 8, the Pirates conclude the regular-season with a conference cross-over.
Fremd (9-5-2, 7-2-0) hosts Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg to end its Mid-Suburban League slate and follows that with a match against no. 8 New Trier. It hopes to end its regular-season with the West Division’s berth in the Soccer Bowl.
Starting lineups
Fremd (4-4-2)
G- Robby Remian
D- Kyle Grasse
D- Ronan Allord
D- Michael Leonzcuk
D- Genki Wakayama
MF- Will Mayer
MF- Joey Rodino
MF- Owen Winegar
MF- Nicky Sapiente
F- Leo Akashi
F- Kosta Alex
Palatine (4-4-2)
G- Augustine Medina
D- Fabian Vargas
D- Jordan Mok
D- Karan Toor
D- Liam Rhattigan
MF- Damien Drzewiecki
MF- Zach Sondergaard
MF- Isaac Lara
MF- Andrew Kania
F- Dennis Valle-Rauda
F- Karol Noga
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joey Rodino, sr., MF, Fremd
Officials: Adrian Werbecki (referee); Miguel Chavez (assistant); Peter Stavropoulos (assistant)
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Akashi (PK). 7'
Palatine: Kania (U/A), 13'
Second half
Fremd: Akashi (Alex, Winegar), 62'
Statistics
Shots on goal
Fremd: 6
Palatine: 4
Shots off
Fremd: 5
Palatine: 2
Corner kicks
Fremd: 4
Palatine: 3
Offsides
Fremd: 1
Palatine: 2
Fouls
Fremd: 14
Palatine: 14
Blocks
Fremd: 4
Palatine: 2
Yellow cards
Fremd: 3
Palatine: 2