Schoffstall brothers advance Fremd
Vikings top Lake Zurich 2-0, meet host Stevenson in regional final
By Bill McLean
LINCOLNSHIRE — As Lake Zurich darted and scrambled to set up their defense for a Fremd free kick in a Class 3A regional semifinal Tuesday night, senior defender Jake Schoffstall — Fremd’s set-piece machine — could have asked the center referee for 10 yards of breathing room.
The Viking chose not to do so.
He opted instead to quick-kick a 20-yard shot near the top of the box. The Bears wall was still forming when Schoffstall’s ball hissed past Lake Zurich junior goalkeeper Matt Vollmer in the 15th minute of the first Stevenson Regional semifinal.
Call the free kick “priceless.”
The stunning goal finished the Vikings scoring in their 2-0 victory.
“Good heads-up play by Jake,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said matter-of-factly after his dangerous club (12-1-4) extended its unbeaten streak to 15 matches.
Fremd — ranked no. 6 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — had opened the scoring six minutes earlier in brisk, occasionally gusty conditions, following a superb service from junior midfielder and Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Nick Austin.
Austin, wide open with the ball at his feet near a sideline, swung his right leg measuredly and lofted a majestic pass from about 35 yards — think spot-on approach shot, in golf.
Austin’s delivery found Fremd sophomore Eli Schoffstall, who popped up for the successful header.
“Eli,” Austin said, “did a good job getting under it and finishing.”
Fremd, seeded fourth in the Libertyville Sectional, faces either 12th-seeded Stevenson, a 2-1 upset winner over fifth-seeded Zion-Benton, for the regional championship Friday at 5 p.m.
“We all cared a lot, and we all had put in the work,” Austin said. “We played physical soccer tonight. We were passionate tonight, too, yelling at each other and encouraging each other.
“The times we yelled, the message was, ‘We can be better than this.’”
Fremd’s two goals in its playoff opener meant it has struck for nine unanswered tallies since trailing 1-0 — in the third minute — to Wheeling in the Vikings’ resounding 7-1 victory in the Mid-Suburban League Soccer Cup on Oct. 17.
“I thought we played a little too conservatively, defensively,” Keller said Tuesday night, when his boys had the wind at their backs in the productive first half. “I wasn’t necessarily pleased with our performance, but we had some nice sequences, even in the second half.”
Fremd has the wherewithal to out-physical foes, and it did that for the bulk of the 80 minutes against a spirited bunch of Bears (5-10-5) from the North Suburban Conference. Lake Zurich junior defender Miles Larson, as tenacious and as resilient as anybody on the pitch, competed tirelessly. Via a header in the box, he cleared a Vikings scoring chance in the 75th minute.
“He’s a physical player, and he doesn’t quit,” said Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz, the program’s varsity boss since 2007. “Miles gives his best effort all of the time; we have a lot of guys like that.
“I thought we played hard, We didn’t get as many scoring opportunities as I thought we would. I’m proud of the way we battled. Fremd has big, strong guys. Fremd’s players play direct and like to score off set pieces.”
Austin played sound soccer before and after booting that pretty assist. His all-out hustle allowed him to author a textbook cross in the 18th minute. Six minutes later he provided yet another promising cross to senior forward Josh Bennett.
“Good ball,” Keller said of Austin’s assist, launched in front of the Bears’ bench. “He’s got the ability to do things like that. We expect that from him.”
Bennett earned a pair of scoring chances with his savvy and swiftness between the 29th and 32nd minutes, as the Vikings — well aware that their cleat-less ally (the wind) would become a turncoat in the second 40 minutes — kept applying the heat on the Bears’ side of the pitch.
Fremd senior defender C.J. Williams was the picture of control throughout the night. He played panic-free soccer in traffic and a high percentage of his passes landed in ideal spots for his gliding teammates.
The shutout in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal was Fremd’s seventh of the season. Senior keeper Artur Cholewa notched the clean-sheet. Among his top saves was a stop of senior midfielder Andrew Juarez’s shot with 19 ticks remaining in the first half.
Footnotes
Schmitz, a Wauconda graduate, played soccer at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. Schmitz, on his Bears’ season before their playoff opener Tuesday night: “Weird one.
Lots of injuries.” … Fremd absorbed its lone loss of the season on Aug. 30, when it fell 2-1 to Notre Dame (Peoria) at the Tradition Classic in Indiana. … Jake Schoffstall, Fremd’s indispensible force in the back, suffered a back injury late Tuesday night and had to come out for a spell. “I’m fine,” Schoffstall said afterward. .... The Vikes’ speedy Bennett collided hard with Lake Zurich keeper Vollmer late in the second half and landed awkwardly on a shoulder. He, too, had to exit the action. The injury did not appear too serious as he sat for the final 2:15. Keller sauntered toward Bennett to check on the status of his valuable forward. “You OK?” the coach asked. Bennett nodded. … Flashback I: Fremd downed visiting Waukegan 2-0 in a Class 3A regional semifinal last fall. The Vikings’ 2018 season ended with a shootout loss to Libertyville in a Barrington Sectional semifinal. … Flashback II: Lake Zurich needed two overtimes to eliminate Highland Park 4-3 in a regional opener last autumn. The Bears later bowed 2-0 to Libertyville in the Barrington Sectional final. … Fremd’s Jake Schoffstall, on his team’s sensible approach to matches in the postseason: “Seeds don’t matter.”
Starting lineups
Lake Zurich
GK: Matt Vollmer
D: Miles Larson
D: Erik Rejent
D: Brenden Sink
D: Nic Spacone
M: Eryk Grabowski
M: Andrew Juarez
M: Mikolaj Wierzbicki
F: Nate Wenzel
F: Aiman Naqvi
F: Eric Bibb
Fremd
GK: Artur Cholewa
D: Andrew Clark
D: Cole Jackson
D: Jake Schoffstall
D: C.J. Williams
M: Russell Beaupre
M: John Kating
M: Nick Austin
M: Kaelan Conway
F: Josh Bennett
F: Eli Schoffstall
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nick Austin, jr., M, Fremd
Referees: Dave Ganshaw (center); Vic Walker; Lorry Salasche
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — E. Schoffstall (Austin), 9’
Fremd — J. Schoffstall (FK), 15’
Second half
No scoring
Vikings top Lake Zurich 2-0, meet host Stevenson in regional final
By Bill McLean
LINCOLNSHIRE — As Lake Zurich darted and scrambled to set up their defense for a Fremd free kick in a Class 3A regional semifinal Tuesday night, senior defender Jake Schoffstall — Fremd’s set-piece machine — could have asked the center referee for 10 yards of breathing room.
The Viking chose not to do so.
He opted instead to quick-kick a 20-yard shot near the top of the box. The Bears wall was still forming when Schoffstall’s ball hissed past Lake Zurich junior goalkeeper Matt Vollmer in the 15th minute of the first Stevenson Regional semifinal.
Call the free kick “priceless.”
The stunning goal finished the Vikings scoring in their 2-0 victory.
“Good heads-up play by Jake,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said matter-of-factly after his dangerous club (12-1-4) extended its unbeaten streak to 15 matches.
Fremd — ranked no. 6 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — had opened the scoring six minutes earlier in brisk, occasionally gusty conditions, following a superb service from junior midfielder and Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Nick Austin.
Austin, wide open with the ball at his feet near a sideline, swung his right leg measuredly and lofted a majestic pass from about 35 yards — think spot-on approach shot, in golf.
Austin’s delivery found Fremd sophomore Eli Schoffstall, who popped up for the successful header.
“Eli,” Austin said, “did a good job getting under it and finishing.”
Fremd, seeded fourth in the Libertyville Sectional, faces either 12th-seeded Stevenson, a 2-1 upset winner over fifth-seeded Zion-Benton, for the regional championship Friday at 5 p.m.
“We all cared a lot, and we all had put in the work,” Austin said. “We played physical soccer tonight. We were passionate tonight, too, yelling at each other and encouraging each other.
“The times we yelled, the message was, ‘We can be better than this.’”
Fremd’s two goals in its playoff opener meant it has struck for nine unanswered tallies since trailing 1-0 — in the third minute — to Wheeling in the Vikings’ resounding 7-1 victory in the Mid-Suburban League Soccer Cup on Oct. 17.
“I thought we played a little too conservatively, defensively,” Keller said Tuesday night, when his boys had the wind at their backs in the productive first half. “I wasn’t necessarily pleased with our performance, but we had some nice sequences, even in the second half.”
Fremd has the wherewithal to out-physical foes, and it did that for the bulk of the 80 minutes against a spirited bunch of Bears (5-10-5) from the North Suburban Conference. Lake Zurich junior defender Miles Larson, as tenacious and as resilient as anybody on the pitch, competed tirelessly. Via a header in the box, he cleared a Vikings scoring chance in the 75th minute.
“He’s a physical player, and he doesn’t quit,” said Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz, the program’s varsity boss since 2007. “Miles gives his best effort all of the time; we have a lot of guys like that.
“I thought we played hard, We didn’t get as many scoring opportunities as I thought we would. I’m proud of the way we battled. Fremd has big, strong guys. Fremd’s players play direct and like to score off set pieces.”
Austin played sound soccer before and after booting that pretty assist. His all-out hustle allowed him to author a textbook cross in the 18th minute. Six minutes later he provided yet another promising cross to senior forward Josh Bennett.
“Good ball,” Keller said of Austin’s assist, launched in front of the Bears’ bench. “He’s got the ability to do things like that. We expect that from him.”
Bennett earned a pair of scoring chances with his savvy and swiftness between the 29th and 32nd minutes, as the Vikings — well aware that their cleat-less ally (the wind) would become a turncoat in the second 40 minutes — kept applying the heat on the Bears’ side of the pitch.
Fremd senior defender C.J. Williams was the picture of control throughout the night. He played panic-free soccer in traffic and a high percentage of his passes landed in ideal spots for his gliding teammates.
The shutout in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal was Fremd’s seventh of the season. Senior keeper Artur Cholewa notched the clean-sheet. Among his top saves was a stop of senior midfielder Andrew Juarez’s shot with 19 ticks remaining in the first half.
Footnotes
Schmitz, a Wauconda graduate, played soccer at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. Schmitz, on his Bears’ season before their playoff opener Tuesday night: “Weird one.
Lots of injuries.” … Fremd absorbed its lone loss of the season on Aug. 30, when it fell 2-1 to Notre Dame (Peoria) at the Tradition Classic in Indiana. … Jake Schoffstall, Fremd’s indispensible force in the back, suffered a back injury late Tuesday night and had to come out for a spell. “I’m fine,” Schoffstall said afterward. .... The Vikes’ speedy Bennett collided hard with Lake Zurich keeper Vollmer late in the second half and landed awkwardly on a shoulder. He, too, had to exit the action. The injury did not appear too serious as he sat for the final 2:15. Keller sauntered toward Bennett to check on the status of his valuable forward. “You OK?” the coach asked. Bennett nodded. … Flashback I: Fremd downed visiting Waukegan 2-0 in a Class 3A regional semifinal last fall. The Vikings’ 2018 season ended with a shootout loss to Libertyville in a Barrington Sectional semifinal. … Flashback II: Lake Zurich needed two overtimes to eliminate Highland Park 4-3 in a regional opener last autumn. The Bears later bowed 2-0 to Libertyville in the Barrington Sectional final. … Fremd’s Jake Schoffstall, on his team’s sensible approach to matches in the postseason: “Seeds don’t matter.”
Starting lineups
Lake Zurich
GK: Matt Vollmer
D: Miles Larson
D: Erik Rejent
D: Brenden Sink
D: Nic Spacone
M: Eryk Grabowski
M: Andrew Juarez
M: Mikolaj Wierzbicki
F: Nate Wenzel
F: Aiman Naqvi
F: Eric Bibb
Fremd
GK: Artur Cholewa
D: Andrew Clark
D: Cole Jackson
D: Jake Schoffstall
D: C.J. Williams
M: Russell Beaupre
M: John Kating
M: Nick Austin
M: Kaelan Conway
F: Josh Bennett
F: Eli Schoffstall
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nick Austin, jr., M, Fremd
Referees: Dave Ganshaw (center); Vic Walker; Lorry Salasche
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd — E. Schoffstall (Austin), 9’
Fremd — J. Schoffstall (FK), 15’
Second half
No scoring