Fremd claims 1-0 season-opening win versus SCE
No. 23-ranked Vikings hold off no. 43 St. Charles East
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- When the curtain went up on the 2019 season for host St. Charles East and visiting Fremd, many of the participants were left wishing there could have been at least one more dress rehearsal.
As almost is always the tradition for girls soccer in the spring, the layered look was in fashion along with blankets, mittens, scarves, hats and boots. However any muffled applause was delayed.
Due to a bus breakdown, visiting Fremd -- ranked 23rd in Chicagoland Soccer’s preseason state-wide First 50 poll -- arrived well past curtain time.
However, a far more notable absence was the missing director for St. Charles East’s Fighting Saints -- rated 43rd in the same CS list. Late in the JV1 match, St. Charles East head coach Vince DiNuzzo was ejected. That meant the second-year Saints boss was banished from the sideline for the varsity match began.
Of course the play must go on and ultimately Fremd made an early first half goal stand up for a 1-0 victory. It was a measure of revenge for the Vikings who lost the 2018 season opener to East by a 2-0 count in Palatine.
Acknowledging the evening may not have been award-worthy, Fremd coach Steve Keller labeled the shutout victory “a big start” for his Mid-Suburban League West Division crew. At the least, it was a stellar performance by junior defender Allie Prigge, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match status.
“She was making plays for us all over the field, simply tenacious, willing to go 1-v.-1 with anyone and win,” Keller said. “All evening she tracked down threats and made some critical first half plays to keep us ahead.”
Fremd gained the lead just 5:17 into the match when Elizabeth Prigge’s through-ball put teammate Caeleigh Stone ahead of the Saints’ defensive line for a breakaway opportunity.
“We’ve done that so many times,” Elizabeth Prigge explained. “I know Caeleigh is super fast, so whenever I can get her the ball over the defensive line, she’ll be right there because she is so athletic and fast. Getting the lead early is a huge confidence booster for us, and it’s discouraging for the other team.”
“Liz and I have had a lot of those connections,” echoed Stone, a member of the Chicagoland Soccer 2018 All-State Watch List. “Once she got it past the last defender and I saw their keeper rushing out, I just focused on going low for the far post. Getting a win on the road is a really good start.”
A bonus for Fremd was that the goal came working against the breeze. Thirteen minutes in the Saints had a moment of concern when an errant back pass had goalie Grace Griffin racing back to her line to keep a slow roller from doubling the deficit.
St. Charles East varsity assistants Bruce Rasmussen and Bernie Kehoe, plus JV coach Bob Akers, got their squad refocused resulting in a series of opportunities. Emma Blankenship had a fast break chance of her own, however, Fremd goalie Jennifer Norris snuffed that with a big save. The Viking junior followed with a sprint out to cover a potentially dangerous ball at 31:28.
A Renee Unterberg header for the Saints was caught at 32:57, and a strong Lauren Arvizu blast was also snared by Norris at 35:36 to keep the tally at 1-0 in favor of Fremd.
Ten minutes into the second half, Elle McCaslin -- a welcome addition for East as a transfer from Plymouth, Mich. -- sent a corner kick through the goal crease that begged for a redirect before resulting in a handling the ball violation. However, that was evidence of how much the Saints began fighting for an equalizer.
“While a win is a very good start, we had far too many mental errors, especially in the second half,” Keller noted. “Caeleigh’s (score) was done with composure. Our defense in the last half was sometimes achieved with good fortune.”
There was 26:52 remaining when Norris was caught well off of her line, then a floating try from East was wide left. A couple minutes later, Blankenship launched a 25-yard blast clearly curving inside the far right post only to be denied by Norris. The Viking goalie and her defenders managed to make a couple defensive blocks and a clear during another scramble right of center with 17:37 left.
“Obviously it feels great to start the year with a shutout, but that doesn’t happen without my defensive line,” Norris insisted. “They always deserve credit, especially when you’re facing a team with a lot of threats.”
Fremd managed a couple threats of its own in the second half. Elizabeth Prigge put a 26-yarder off the field goal crossbar and with 4:04 to go added a one-hop free kick from distance that Griffin stopped.
East finished with a 15-5 edge in overall attempts and a 7-4 advantage for shots on goal. The bulk of the shots came in the last 40 minutes with nine overall and five on frame.
“There were times we did a good job of connecting passes and worked well as a team, but we definitely need to keep our intensity throughout,” East junior midfielder Margaret Harper said. “Obviously we have to finish strong, especially when we create chances. We have to finish those.”
“We saw some solid play in back, our outside backs played with high energy,” Rasmussen said. “We need to put this one behind us and regroup building off the positive moments. Alondra (Carranza) was a force for us. She settled us down, particularly after giving a goal, and she got us into transition all game.
“Those playing their first varsity game performed well. We made a tactical decision to push numbers up, but we didn’t get the end result, so obviously we’d like to see those opportunities finished,” Rasmussen added.
“Give Fremd credit for a very good defensive effort,” Akers said. “They used a high line, but covered well. In the second half we sustained the attack fairly well, but unfortunately didn’t score. We can always win more balls in midfield. Out defensive backs all stepped up to the challenge.”
That next challenge for St. Charles East comes Friday when the Saints pay a 4:30 p.m. visit to West Aurora. Fremd is back in action on Thursday as the Vikings welcome Lake Zurich for a 7 p.m. match.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Jennifer Norris
D: Allie Prigge
D Christy Murauskis
D Lauren Burk
D Elizabeth Prigge
M Claire Stewart
M Maddie McCarthy
M Ashley Scesniak
M Emma Katovich
F Kayla Tanner
F Caeleigh Stone
St. Charles East
GK: Grace Griffin
D Alondra Carranza
D Bailey King
D Ashley DiOrio
M Margaret Harper
M Kayla Villa
M Lindsey Rzeszutko
M Sidda Patel
M Renee Unterberg
F Emma Blankenship
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Allie Prigge, Jr. D, Fremd, 1-0 win over St. Charles East (3-12-2019)
Referees: Tony Martinez (center), John O’Bryan, Mario McNeill
Game summary
Fremd 1, St. Charles East 0
Fremd 1 0 --- 1 (1-0-0)
SCE 0 0 --- 0 (0-1-0)
Scoring
First half
F --- Stone 21-yard breakaway slipped past out-rushing keeper (E. Prigge), 5:17 gone
Second half
No scoring
Overall shots
F 4 – 1 -- 5
SCE 6 – 9 -- 15
Shots on goal
F 3 – 1 -- 4
SCE 2 – 5 -- 7
Saves (goalie)
F (Norris) 2 – 5 -- 7
SCE (Griffin) 3 – 1 -- 4
Corner kicks
F 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 0 – 0 -- 0
Offsides
F 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 0 – 1 -- 1
No. 23-ranked Vikings hold off no. 43 St. Charles East
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- When the curtain went up on the 2019 season for host St. Charles East and visiting Fremd, many of the participants were left wishing there could have been at least one more dress rehearsal.
As almost is always the tradition for girls soccer in the spring, the layered look was in fashion along with blankets, mittens, scarves, hats and boots. However any muffled applause was delayed.
Due to a bus breakdown, visiting Fremd -- ranked 23rd in Chicagoland Soccer’s preseason state-wide First 50 poll -- arrived well past curtain time.
However, a far more notable absence was the missing director for St. Charles East’s Fighting Saints -- rated 43rd in the same CS list. Late in the JV1 match, St. Charles East head coach Vince DiNuzzo was ejected. That meant the second-year Saints boss was banished from the sideline for the varsity match began.
Of course the play must go on and ultimately Fremd made an early first half goal stand up for a 1-0 victory. It was a measure of revenge for the Vikings who lost the 2018 season opener to East by a 2-0 count in Palatine.
Acknowledging the evening may not have been award-worthy, Fremd coach Steve Keller labeled the shutout victory “a big start” for his Mid-Suburban League West Division crew. At the least, it was a stellar performance by junior defender Allie Prigge, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match status.
“She was making plays for us all over the field, simply tenacious, willing to go 1-v.-1 with anyone and win,” Keller said. “All evening she tracked down threats and made some critical first half plays to keep us ahead.”
Fremd gained the lead just 5:17 into the match when Elizabeth Prigge’s through-ball put teammate Caeleigh Stone ahead of the Saints’ defensive line for a breakaway opportunity.
“We’ve done that so many times,” Elizabeth Prigge explained. “I know Caeleigh is super fast, so whenever I can get her the ball over the defensive line, she’ll be right there because she is so athletic and fast. Getting the lead early is a huge confidence booster for us, and it’s discouraging for the other team.”
“Liz and I have had a lot of those connections,” echoed Stone, a member of the Chicagoland Soccer 2018 All-State Watch List. “Once she got it past the last defender and I saw their keeper rushing out, I just focused on going low for the far post. Getting a win on the road is a really good start.”
A bonus for Fremd was that the goal came working against the breeze. Thirteen minutes in the Saints had a moment of concern when an errant back pass had goalie Grace Griffin racing back to her line to keep a slow roller from doubling the deficit.
St. Charles East varsity assistants Bruce Rasmussen and Bernie Kehoe, plus JV coach Bob Akers, got their squad refocused resulting in a series of opportunities. Emma Blankenship had a fast break chance of her own, however, Fremd goalie Jennifer Norris snuffed that with a big save. The Viking junior followed with a sprint out to cover a potentially dangerous ball at 31:28.
A Renee Unterberg header for the Saints was caught at 32:57, and a strong Lauren Arvizu blast was also snared by Norris at 35:36 to keep the tally at 1-0 in favor of Fremd.
Ten minutes into the second half, Elle McCaslin -- a welcome addition for East as a transfer from Plymouth, Mich. -- sent a corner kick through the goal crease that begged for a redirect before resulting in a handling the ball violation. However, that was evidence of how much the Saints began fighting for an equalizer.
“While a win is a very good start, we had far too many mental errors, especially in the second half,” Keller noted. “Caeleigh’s (score) was done with composure. Our defense in the last half was sometimes achieved with good fortune.”
There was 26:52 remaining when Norris was caught well off of her line, then a floating try from East was wide left. A couple minutes later, Blankenship launched a 25-yard blast clearly curving inside the far right post only to be denied by Norris. The Viking goalie and her defenders managed to make a couple defensive blocks and a clear during another scramble right of center with 17:37 left.
“Obviously it feels great to start the year with a shutout, but that doesn’t happen without my defensive line,” Norris insisted. “They always deserve credit, especially when you’re facing a team with a lot of threats.”
Fremd managed a couple threats of its own in the second half. Elizabeth Prigge put a 26-yarder off the field goal crossbar and with 4:04 to go added a one-hop free kick from distance that Griffin stopped.
East finished with a 15-5 edge in overall attempts and a 7-4 advantage for shots on goal. The bulk of the shots came in the last 40 minutes with nine overall and five on frame.
“There were times we did a good job of connecting passes and worked well as a team, but we definitely need to keep our intensity throughout,” East junior midfielder Margaret Harper said. “Obviously we have to finish strong, especially when we create chances. We have to finish those.”
“We saw some solid play in back, our outside backs played with high energy,” Rasmussen said. “We need to put this one behind us and regroup building off the positive moments. Alondra (Carranza) was a force for us. She settled us down, particularly after giving a goal, and she got us into transition all game.
“Those playing their first varsity game performed well. We made a tactical decision to push numbers up, but we didn’t get the end result, so obviously we’d like to see those opportunities finished,” Rasmussen added.
“Give Fremd credit for a very good defensive effort,” Akers said. “They used a high line, but covered well. In the second half we sustained the attack fairly well, but unfortunately didn’t score. We can always win more balls in midfield. Out defensive backs all stepped up to the challenge.”
That next challenge for St. Charles East comes Friday when the Saints pay a 4:30 p.m. visit to West Aurora. Fremd is back in action on Thursday as the Vikings welcome Lake Zurich for a 7 p.m. match.
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Jennifer Norris
D: Allie Prigge
D Christy Murauskis
D Lauren Burk
D Elizabeth Prigge
M Claire Stewart
M Maddie McCarthy
M Ashley Scesniak
M Emma Katovich
F Kayla Tanner
F Caeleigh Stone
St. Charles East
GK: Grace Griffin
D Alondra Carranza
D Bailey King
D Ashley DiOrio
M Margaret Harper
M Kayla Villa
M Lindsey Rzeszutko
M Sidda Patel
M Renee Unterberg
F Emma Blankenship
F Elle McCaslin
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Allie Prigge, Jr. D, Fremd, 1-0 win over St. Charles East (3-12-2019)
Referees: Tony Martinez (center), John O’Bryan, Mario McNeill
Game summary
Fremd 1, St. Charles East 0
Fremd 1 0 --- 1 (1-0-0)
SCE 0 0 --- 0 (0-1-0)
Scoring
First half
F --- Stone 21-yard breakaway slipped past out-rushing keeper (E. Prigge), 5:17 gone
Second half
No scoring
Overall shots
F 4 – 1 -- 5
SCE 6 – 9 -- 15
Shots on goal
F 3 – 1 -- 4
SCE 2 – 5 -- 7
Saves (goalie)
F (Norris) 2 – 5 -- 7
SCE (Griffin) 3 – 1 -- 4
Corner kicks
F 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 0 – 0 -- 0
Offsides
F 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 0 – 1 -- 1