Fremd marches on, bests weary Prospect
No. 2 Vikings extend win streak to 8 with sharp 3-0 victory
By Bobby Narang
MT. PROSPECT — All week, the Prospect soccer team prepared for a different yet more difficult test each game.
Tuesday the Knights pulled out a thrilling 1-0 home win in the final minute of double overtime against Buffalo Grove. Two days later a first half goal was enough to tie Rolling Meadows, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, after 100 minutes of soccer.
But the biggest test was the final game of the week -- the Knights hosted no. 2 Fremd on Saturday afternoon. While Rolling Meadows has yet to lose a game all season, the Vikings entered the Mid-Suburban League game with an undefeated slate against Illinois teams. Their only a defeat came against Missouri school Chaminade.
The previous weekend Fremd shook up the national polls with wins over ranked Naperville North and Marquette (Wis.).
Now the Vikings have recorded eight shutouts in their first 11 games and eight wins in a row after a 3-0 victory over Prospect.
In the second half against Fremd, the Knights started to feel the weight of a difficult and long week as a 1-0 halftime deficit grew at George Gallas Memorial Stadium in front of 230 fans.
The Vikings (10-1-1, 7-0-0) drilled shot after shot at Prospect goalie Alejandro Rider-Leiner before finally breaking the ice on an Eli Schoffstall goal off a Ryan Sapiente corner in the 28th minute. They took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
“We had a set piece off a corner (kick), and I just went front post and flicked it in," Schoffstall said. “We try not to overlook any games and come in with a lot of energy. We need to play our game.
“I feel we can then beat any team. Their keeper played a great game. We managed to put three away, but probably should've put more away. At the end of the day, we got the win and the shutout.”
After the break the Vikings watched three shots in a row hit the Prospect crossbar in a five-minute span.
Rider-Leiner displayed his next-level skill potential with another outstanding performance. His 16 saves included a penalty kick stop against Fremd star Eli Schoffstall in the second half.
Fremd forward Christian Tirado scored off an excellent pass from Demitri Vlahos in the 56th minute to increase the lead to 2-0. Tirado nailed the one-on-one opportunity inside the far post from 18 yards. The senior said the Vikings have big plans.
“We’re going for state and not backing down to any team," he said. "We've been playing together for year after year, even before freshman year. We have all the chemistry and the mindset to win.”
Senior midfielder Sandro Javakhishvili scored the final goal with 1:07 left in regulation. The veteran said the Vikings have to take advantage of their opportunities in the future. Rider-Leiner tallied nine saves in the second half, many of them of the highlight-reel variety.
“I feel our mindset is getting better and better this season," Javakhishvili said. “But we can't be finishing like this every game. We’ve been getting better and better. If we can continue at this pace, I think we can take on any team.
“We kept hitting the posts and sometimes their keeper made insane saves. Their keeper was all over the place. I feel our team is special. We have a lot of skill and chemistry and most of us have been on the same team since freshman year.”
Prospect senior defender Ari Kemperas said the Knights (8-4-1, 4-2-1) gained a lot of perspective during a trying week that included three tough opponents.
“It’s been a long week,” Kemperas said. “I’ve been dealing with shin splints. We ... played two highly ranked teams and played two double-overtime games and came out with good results. I feel like today we could’ve played better, but we fought hard all week.
“I feel we can make a deep run in the playoffs because we’ve played teams like we have this week. It prepared us for the playoffs. I feel even though today's result was 3-0, we can play a lot better and come out with a new result if we played (Fremd) again.
“We grinded all week. We played three of the best teams in the area. As a team, we played really well this week. I just have to give credit to Fremd. They play really well together and were really good competition.”
Rider-Leiner said the Knights can build off the trio of games.
“This whole week has been tough, so that first goal really did put us down,” he said. “I think we have to work on that. We have to know that we’re still in it. We can get that one goal back and be right back being tied and back in the game.
“This week I learned I can step up but also became reassured that tough competition is good. I like playing tough competition, even in today’s game where we lost and gave up three goals. I think I got better.
“This part of the season is about getting better. It’s a build-up to the postseason where everything matters.
“You have to give credit to Fremd. They have really good players, good chemistry and really good defense. They press right away when they lose it. That’s a very important thing to do.”
In comparison, Fremd junior goalie Robby Remian left the stadium with a clean jersey after a rather lonely day in the net. The Knights, due to fatigue, lingering injuries and Fremd’s solid backline rarely mounted an offensive attack. Remian finished with three saves.
Fremd tested Rider-Leiner all game long and didn’t allow the talented goalie to take a break.
The Prospect keeper said one of the positives of the game was his penalty kick save, when he dove to his left to grab Schoffstall’s shot in the 55th minute.
“That’s a special player, so it felt good,” he said. “I was about to dive the other way, but I looked at him and changed my mind. I just bounced on it. It felt good.
“Going into this season, I was not thinking about (college) too hard. But after all this competition, I've stepped up. I think that I can do big things in the future.”
Prospect coach Michael Andrews said the tough week took a toll on his team, and the highly ranked Vikings showed they’re playing at a higher level at this point of the season.
“Fremd is clearly a very good team,” Andrews said. “Without Rider-Leiner making some very impressive saves, it would’ve been even more (goals). He’s improved since last season so much. Every game he becomes even more impressive with his instincts and technique and his physicality, when to come out or not.
"You have to give credit to Fremd, just a fantastic team.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Robby Remian
D Braden Roos
D Beck Smolak
D Caden Statz
D Joey Rodino
M Will Mayer
M Demitri Vlahos
M Brandon Wozniak
M Ryan Sapiente
F Christian Tirado
F Eli Schoffstall
Prospect
GK Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D Sam Heintz
D Ari Kemperas
D Nicholas Casaletto
D David Marshall
M Shea Morris
M Steven Lopez
M Christopher Morys
M Massimo Mho
F Owen Walsh
F Ryan Novak
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Eli Schoffstall, sr., F, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Eli Schoffstall (Ryan Sapiente), 28th minute
Second half
Fremd — Christian Tirado (Demitri Vlahos), 55th minute
Fremd — Sandro Javakhishvili (unassisted), 79th minute
No. 2 Vikings extend win streak to 8 with sharp 3-0 victory
By Bobby Narang
MT. PROSPECT — All week, the Prospect soccer team prepared for a different yet more difficult test each game.
Tuesday the Knights pulled out a thrilling 1-0 home win in the final minute of double overtime against Buffalo Grove. Two days later a first half goal was enough to tie Rolling Meadows, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, after 100 minutes of soccer.
But the biggest test was the final game of the week -- the Knights hosted no. 2 Fremd on Saturday afternoon. While Rolling Meadows has yet to lose a game all season, the Vikings entered the Mid-Suburban League game with an undefeated slate against Illinois teams. Their only a defeat came against Missouri school Chaminade.
The previous weekend Fremd shook up the national polls with wins over ranked Naperville North and Marquette (Wis.).
Now the Vikings have recorded eight shutouts in their first 11 games and eight wins in a row after a 3-0 victory over Prospect.
In the second half against Fremd, the Knights started to feel the weight of a difficult and long week as a 1-0 halftime deficit grew at George Gallas Memorial Stadium in front of 230 fans.
The Vikings (10-1-1, 7-0-0) drilled shot after shot at Prospect goalie Alejandro Rider-Leiner before finally breaking the ice on an Eli Schoffstall goal off a Ryan Sapiente corner in the 28th minute. They took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
“We had a set piece off a corner (kick), and I just went front post and flicked it in," Schoffstall said. “We try not to overlook any games and come in with a lot of energy. We need to play our game.
“I feel we can then beat any team. Their keeper played a great game. We managed to put three away, but probably should've put more away. At the end of the day, we got the win and the shutout.”
After the break the Vikings watched three shots in a row hit the Prospect crossbar in a five-minute span.
Rider-Leiner displayed his next-level skill potential with another outstanding performance. His 16 saves included a penalty kick stop against Fremd star Eli Schoffstall in the second half.
Fremd forward Christian Tirado scored off an excellent pass from Demitri Vlahos in the 56th minute to increase the lead to 2-0. Tirado nailed the one-on-one opportunity inside the far post from 18 yards. The senior said the Vikings have big plans.
“We’re going for state and not backing down to any team," he said. "We've been playing together for year after year, even before freshman year. We have all the chemistry and the mindset to win.”
Senior midfielder Sandro Javakhishvili scored the final goal with 1:07 left in regulation. The veteran said the Vikings have to take advantage of their opportunities in the future. Rider-Leiner tallied nine saves in the second half, many of them of the highlight-reel variety.
“I feel our mindset is getting better and better this season," Javakhishvili said. “But we can't be finishing like this every game. We’ve been getting better and better. If we can continue at this pace, I think we can take on any team.
“We kept hitting the posts and sometimes their keeper made insane saves. Their keeper was all over the place. I feel our team is special. We have a lot of skill and chemistry and most of us have been on the same team since freshman year.”
Prospect senior defender Ari Kemperas said the Knights (8-4-1, 4-2-1) gained a lot of perspective during a trying week that included three tough opponents.
“It’s been a long week,” Kemperas said. “I’ve been dealing with shin splints. We ... played two highly ranked teams and played two double-overtime games and came out with good results. I feel like today we could’ve played better, but we fought hard all week.
“I feel we can make a deep run in the playoffs because we’ve played teams like we have this week. It prepared us for the playoffs. I feel even though today's result was 3-0, we can play a lot better and come out with a new result if we played (Fremd) again.
“We grinded all week. We played three of the best teams in the area. As a team, we played really well this week. I just have to give credit to Fremd. They play really well together and were really good competition.”
Rider-Leiner said the Knights can build off the trio of games.
“This whole week has been tough, so that first goal really did put us down,” he said. “I think we have to work on that. We have to know that we’re still in it. We can get that one goal back and be right back being tied and back in the game.
“This week I learned I can step up but also became reassured that tough competition is good. I like playing tough competition, even in today’s game where we lost and gave up three goals. I think I got better.
“This part of the season is about getting better. It’s a build-up to the postseason where everything matters.
“You have to give credit to Fremd. They have really good players, good chemistry and really good defense. They press right away when they lose it. That’s a very important thing to do.”
In comparison, Fremd junior goalie Robby Remian left the stadium with a clean jersey after a rather lonely day in the net. The Knights, due to fatigue, lingering injuries and Fremd’s solid backline rarely mounted an offensive attack. Remian finished with three saves.
Fremd tested Rider-Leiner all game long and didn’t allow the talented goalie to take a break.
The Prospect keeper said one of the positives of the game was his penalty kick save, when he dove to his left to grab Schoffstall’s shot in the 55th minute.
“That’s a special player, so it felt good,” he said. “I was about to dive the other way, but I looked at him and changed my mind. I just bounced on it. It felt good.
“Going into this season, I was not thinking about (college) too hard. But after all this competition, I've stepped up. I think that I can do big things in the future.”
Prospect coach Michael Andrews said the tough week took a toll on his team, and the highly ranked Vikings showed they’re playing at a higher level at this point of the season.
“Fremd is clearly a very good team,” Andrews said. “Without Rider-Leiner making some very impressive saves, it would’ve been even more (goals). He’s improved since last season so much. Every game he becomes even more impressive with his instincts and technique and his physicality, when to come out or not.
"You have to give credit to Fremd, just a fantastic team.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Robby Remian
D Braden Roos
D Beck Smolak
D Caden Statz
D Joey Rodino
M Will Mayer
M Demitri Vlahos
M Brandon Wozniak
M Ryan Sapiente
F Christian Tirado
F Eli Schoffstall
Prospect
GK Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D Sam Heintz
D Ari Kemperas
D Nicholas Casaletto
D David Marshall
M Shea Morris
M Steven Lopez
M Christopher Morys
M Massimo Mho
F Owen Walsh
F Ryan Novak
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Eli Schoffstall, sr., F, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — Eli Schoffstall (Ryan Sapiente), 28th minute
Second half
Fremd — Christian Tirado (Demitri Vlahos), 55th minute
Fremd — Sandro Javakhishvili (unassisted), 79th minute