Fremd's Remian stops Morton
Junior keeper makes sensational saves to deny Mustangs
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Robby Remian has the right attributes to stand out in goal -- excellent size at 6-foot-1, range, anticipation skills and athleticism.
Against one of the most feared offensive attacks in the state, he took his game to another level. His rival keeper certainly took notice.
“Their goalkeeper was great,” Morton keeper Daniel Martinez said. “That was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
“He blocked three of our free kicks and made some amazing saves.”
Remian posted eight saves, and Eli Schoffstall delivered the necessary offense with a brilliant free kick score as Fremd survived Morton 1-0 in a Class 3A state semifinal before an overflow crowd of an estimated 5,000 people Friday night.
Fremd (21-2-1) advances to the state championship game against York, which defeated Lockport 3-2.
The victory marks the fourth state-championship appearance in program history, and the first under Steve Keller.
The team captured the state title in 1984 and 1997 and finished second under legendary coach Gerardo Paganini, who is now an assistant coach.
Keller took the program over in 1998 and led the team to a third place finish that yar. Keller’s teams have now won six state trophies.
Morton (21-2-3), which lost in the title match in 2019, had sought its first state title since 2011.
“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “I think we played a good game. We had some chances.
“Two quality teams playing each other at this time of the year, you know it’s going to be a one-goal game either way.”
Schoffstall scored the game-winner against Oak Park and River Forest in the Tuesday supersectional with a 78th-minute goal.
His fifth-minute goal off a free kick from 25 yards provided the margin of victory.
“We knew they were a really good team,” Schoffstall said. “We knew that re-starts and set pieces were going to be have a big impact on the game.
“We got off to a great start, and that really motivated us a lot. We were thinking the whole game we could win this and get a shutout.”
Morton and Fremd have each spent time as the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The game showed why.
Morton’s precise, lyrical and free-flowing offensive attack stood in opposition to the big, athletic and punishing defensive style of Fremd.
Central back Beck Smolek is one of the state’s elite defenders. Teams that play Morton typically concede the Mustangs are going to have the majority of possession.
Fremd often made it appear they had 13 or 14 players on the field.
“I thought we were on fire the entire game,” Remian said. ‘We pressed high, and we didn’t let them get many chances.
“When we did, we always recovered, and we always came back throughout the game.”
Morton has many moving parts, interchangeable players who are quick, brilliant with the ball and play in a dashing harmony with the other players.
The Mustangs always seem connected with each other, on the field, every player intuitively aware of the runs and position of each other.
Giovanni Alvarez is the lynchpin of the attack. The all-state midfielder had 21 goals and 17 assists. His speed on the ball is mercurial and few players have his ability to create off the dribble.
“I knew no. 10 was a great player,” Remian said of Alvarez. “I just had to make it my goal to stop him. Those two free kicks were two of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen.”
The dynamic between Alvarez and Remian were about as electric as the game gets. The fans -- of which Morton accounted for an estimated 60 percent -- stood en masse through an absolutely riveting game between the two.
Three times Alvarez unleashed rocket balls, once moving in space from about 35 yards out and twice on those aforementioned free kicks.
Each time, Remian made extraordinary saves with three diving stops moving to his right. On the third kick, Alvarez’s free kick from 30 yards, Remian stretched out his entire body and caught the ball before gravity crashed him into the ground.
“Those saves were huge for us,” Schoffstall said. “That motivated us to come out strong in the second half and bring all the energy that we had.”
Remian earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his superb play.
“I went out for them, and I did what I was supposed to do,” he said.
“We haven’t been to state as a team in so long, and this was such a big deal with the number of seniors that we have. We just had to get it done.”
Martinez was the near equal of Remian in the second half.
He made a series of striking stops of his own to keep the Mustangs close. He finished with six saves, including three during a bang-bang sequence in the second half.
Martinez stopped another rocket ball from Schoffstall and a header from close range by Demetri Vlahos.
“Giving up a second goal in that situation was not an option,” Martinez said. “I was trying to rally everybody, and keep them in the game.
“Luckily those saves kept us there in the game. Everybody was playing really well.”
Morton was shut out for just the fourth time this season.
“We came out well, but we didn’t find the space to finish one,” Martinez said. “We couldn’t get a play through. We could have gotten a goal.
“We just got unlucky.”
Remian drove his own narrative. The shutout was his 17th of the year. The Vikings have permitted just 10 goals.
Fremd has outscored its six opponents during the state tournament by an aggregate of 22-1.
The backline of Smolak, Adrian Blonski, Braden Roos and Joey Rodino showed tremendous poise, toughness and a blistering work rate.
Blonski was another standout, underscoring the Vikings’ ability to close space and shut off the parts of the field where Morton is at its most threatening.
“We kept them in front of us the whole game, and we didn’t really give them any chances,” Schoffstall said.
When Morton midfielder Jonathan Murillo pushed another free kick just wide in the second half, the Vikings breathed a sigh of relief.
Most damaging for the Mustangs, Alvarez was issued a red card in the 79th minute, forcing Morton down a man and prematurely ending his remarkable high school career.
Fremd stole the Mustangs’ thunder.
“Coach Pagnani is still wearing one of his rings from the ‘90s,” Remian said. “We need to get him a new one.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Robby Remian
D: Braden Roos
D: Adrian Blonski
D: Beck Smolak
D: Joey Rodino
MF: Brandon Wozniak
MF: Eli Schoffstall
MF: Sandro Javakhishvili
F: Ryan Sapiente
F: Demetri Vlahos
F: Leo Akashi
Morton
GK: Daniel Martinez
D: Ivan Ramirez
D: Eddie Barraza
D: Juan Ramirez
D: Luis Gonzalez
MF: Edgar Quintero
MF: Giovanni Alvarez
MF: Daniel Diaz
MF: Max Aquino
MF: Jonathan Murillo
F: Ismael Zepeda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robby Remian, jr., GK, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd—Eli Schoffstall (free kick), fifth minute
Second half
No scoring
Junior keeper makes sensational saves to deny Mustangs
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Robby Remian has the right attributes to stand out in goal -- excellent size at 6-foot-1, range, anticipation skills and athleticism.
Against one of the most feared offensive attacks in the state, he took his game to another level. His rival keeper certainly took notice.
“Their goalkeeper was great,” Morton keeper Daniel Martinez said. “That was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
“He blocked three of our free kicks and made some amazing saves.”
Remian posted eight saves, and Eli Schoffstall delivered the necessary offense with a brilliant free kick score as Fremd survived Morton 1-0 in a Class 3A state semifinal before an overflow crowd of an estimated 5,000 people Friday night.
Fremd (21-2-1) advances to the state championship game against York, which defeated Lockport 3-2.
The victory marks the fourth state-championship appearance in program history, and the first under Steve Keller.
The team captured the state title in 1984 and 1997 and finished second under legendary coach Gerardo Paganini, who is now an assistant coach.
Keller took the program over in 1998 and led the team to a third place finish that yar. Keller’s teams have now won six state trophies.
Morton (21-2-3), which lost in the title match in 2019, had sought its first state title since 2011.
“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “I think we played a good game. We had some chances.
“Two quality teams playing each other at this time of the year, you know it’s going to be a one-goal game either way.”
Schoffstall scored the game-winner against Oak Park and River Forest in the Tuesday supersectional with a 78th-minute goal.
His fifth-minute goal off a free kick from 25 yards provided the margin of victory.
“We knew they were a really good team,” Schoffstall said. “We knew that re-starts and set pieces were going to be have a big impact on the game.
“We got off to a great start, and that really motivated us a lot. We were thinking the whole game we could win this and get a shutout.”
Morton and Fremd have each spent time as the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The game showed why.
Morton’s precise, lyrical and free-flowing offensive attack stood in opposition to the big, athletic and punishing defensive style of Fremd.
Central back Beck Smolek is one of the state’s elite defenders. Teams that play Morton typically concede the Mustangs are going to have the majority of possession.
Fremd often made it appear they had 13 or 14 players on the field.
“I thought we were on fire the entire game,” Remian said. ‘We pressed high, and we didn’t let them get many chances.
“When we did, we always recovered, and we always came back throughout the game.”
Morton has many moving parts, interchangeable players who are quick, brilliant with the ball and play in a dashing harmony with the other players.
The Mustangs always seem connected with each other, on the field, every player intuitively aware of the runs and position of each other.
Giovanni Alvarez is the lynchpin of the attack. The all-state midfielder had 21 goals and 17 assists. His speed on the ball is mercurial and few players have his ability to create off the dribble.
“I knew no. 10 was a great player,” Remian said of Alvarez. “I just had to make it my goal to stop him. Those two free kicks were two of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen.”
The dynamic between Alvarez and Remian were about as electric as the game gets. The fans -- of which Morton accounted for an estimated 60 percent -- stood en masse through an absolutely riveting game between the two.
Three times Alvarez unleashed rocket balls, once moving in space from about 35 yards out and twice on those aforementioned free kicks.
Each time, Remian made extraordinary saves with three diving stops moving to his right. On the third kick, Alvarez’s free kick from 30 yards, Remian stretched out his entire body and caught the ball before gravity crashed him into the ground.
“Those saves were huge for us,” Schoffstall said. “That motivated us to come out strong in the second half and bring all the energy that we had.”
Remian earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his superb play.
“I went out for them, and I did what I was supposed to do,” he said.
“We haven’t been to state as a team in so long, and this was such a big deal with the number of seniors that we have. We just had to get it done.”
Martinez was the near equal of Remian in the second half.
He made a series of striking stops of his own to keep the Mustangs close. He finished with six saves, including three during a bang-bang sequence in the second half.
Martinez stopped another rocket ball from Schoffstall and a header from close range by Demetri Vlahos.
“Giving up a second goal in that situation was not an option,” Martinez said. “I was trying to rally everybody, and keep them in the game.
“Luckily those saves kept us there in the game. Everybody was playing really well.”
Morton was shut out for just the fourth time this season.
“We came out well, but we didn’t find the space to finish one,” Martinez said. “We couldn’t get a play through. We could have gotten a goal.
“We just got unlucky.”
Remian drove his own narrative. The shutout was his 17th of the year. The Vikings have permitted just 10 goals.
Fremd has outscored its six opponents during the state tournament by an aggregate of 22-1.
The backline of Smolak, Adrian Blonski, Braden Roos and Joey Rodino showed tremendous poise, toughness and a blistering work rate.
Blonski was another standout, underscoring the Vikings’ ability to close space and shut off the parts of the field where Morton is at its most threatening.
“We kept them in front of us the whole game, and we didn’t really give them any chances,” Schoffstall said.
When Morton midfielder Jonathan Murillo pushed another free kick just wide in the second half, the Vikings breathed a sigh of relief.
Most damaging for the Mustangs, Alvarez was issued a red card in the 79th minute, forcing Morton down a man and prematurely ending his remarkable high school career.
Fremd stole the Mustangs’ thunder.
“Coach Pagnani is still wearing one of his rings from the ‘90s,” Remian said. “We need to get him a new one.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Robby Remian
D: Braden Roos
D: Adrian Blonski
D: Beck Smolak
D: Joey Rodino
MF: Brandon Wozniak
MF: Eli Schoffstall
MF: Sandro Javakhishvili
F: Ryan Sapiente
F: Demetri Vlahos
F: Leo Akashi
Morton
GK: Daniel Martinez
D: Ivan Ramirez
D: Eddie Barraza
D: Juan Ramirez
D: Luis Gonzalez
MF: Edgar Quintero
MF: Giovanni Alvarez
MF: Daniel Diaz
MF: Max Aquino
MF: Jonathan Murillo
F: Ismael Zepeda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robby Remian, jr., GK, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd—Eli Schoffstall (free kick), fifth minute
Second half
No scoring