Fremd gains final with 3-1 win vs. Warren Murauskis brace leads way in Buffalo Grove sectional semi
By Mike Garofola
BUFFALO GROVE -- When a team has conceded just 11 goals in 21 games, it's only reasonable to think it was capable of turning in another defensive gem in its biggest game of the year.
That's exactly what Fremd (14-4-3) did Tuesday night at Grant Blaney Stadium, when the third-seeded Vikings tightened their grip in the second half against upstart no. 7-seed Warren to record a well-deserved 3-1 victory.
With the win, manager Steve Keller's club advances into the Buffalo Grove Sectional final to play top-seed Stevenson (21-1-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Patriots, ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were 1-0 winners over Lake Zurich in the first game of the sectional semifinals Tuesday.
Warren upset second-seeded Libertyville at home to earn its sectional berth.
"Warren was a tough team to play," began Keller.
"(They) had players with skill, energy and work-rate. In the end it was a strong defensive effort that was the difference, because once again our ability to finish chances is not at a level that it needs to be to continue to advance in the tournament."
The Vikings, ranked 18th in the Top 25, got a boost recenty when they welcomed back top-flight center back Lauren Burk to the pitch.
At the start of the 2019 campaign, Keller knew he had an excellent middle back to build his defense around. The junior is an ace organizer, reads the game and shows no fear when going into the tackle.
Alongside Burk, Keller stationed Liz and Allie Prigge, then installed a handful of others to round out his backline
The addition this year of senior Christy Murauskis was a massive boost for Fremd. Her abilities to play as a central midfielder when the Vikings are in a traditional 4-4-2 formation or sitting just in front of her backline in a 3-5-2 have made her a valuable commodity.
When Burk went on the injured list early on, Murauskis easily slid into the backline. But of late with Burk back onboard, Murauskis has shown her value as a clinical finisher.
Murauskis scored a goal in the Vikings 2-1 win against Prospect in the regional final. Tuesday night, with the stakes even higher, she bagged two goals off set piece opportunities to help her club gain the sectional final.
"You just do what you have to do out there, but I've come to learn it's all about defending, something Keller stresses," said Murauskis.
The Vikings were on their collective front foot after the opening whistle. Although the Blue Devils (13-9-3) have a talented unit in their midfield, they were unable to match the pressure in the center of the park, as well as that from Vikings forwards Emma Spotak and Caeleigh Stone.
"Fremd put us under a lot of pressure early," said Warren manager Ryan McCabe.
"We were ready for it, but sometime(s) it doesn't matter in a big game like this one."
The Vikings constant running and pressing led to a pair of deep throws, one half-chance and a pair of free kicks. The second led to the opener in the eighth minute.
That's when Liz Prigge drove her 40-yard effort to the back post, and Murauskis ran on to it.
"Liz gave me a great ball, there's no way I could have missed scoring on that one," said Murauskis, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Just moments after the Vikings took the lead, the Blue Devils suffered the first of two injuries. Annika Attiah was declared out of the match due to concussion-like symptoms.
McCabe brought on Megan Best on to replace his terrific midfielder, and the senior did well in helping direct the Warren attack. She put in a box-to-box effort.
Up until the Attiah injury, much of the Warren attack was being run through its Chicagoland Soccer all-state midfielder Courtney Chomko. It was the senior captain, Elizabeth Weinberg, Emily Soriaga and Emma Preda, who brought their club back in the game.
"We rebounded well from our slow start, and when we got back even on the Weinberg goal, you could see us come alive until disaster struck again," said McCabe.
The emotional roller coaster the Blue Devils endured went 180 degrees after Weinburg went airborne to head an exquisite corner from Ella Skelton at 21 minutes. The excitement soon ebbed when Chomko went down with an ankle injury two minutes later.
"Just a great goal from Elizabeth, but such a punch in the stomach when Courtney had to be helped off," said McCabe.
"It's been one of those seasons where we went through a variety of injuries, and only recently were we able to be near fit and at 100% when both Soriaga and Morgan Liebau came back," continued McCabe.
"Having those two players back was key in the last two weeks of the season when we drew (0-0) with Maine South, beat Deerfield and Mundelein, then the no. 2 seed (Libertyville) in the regional final to get into this game.
"It was tough to watch both Courtney and Annika have their season end the way it did, but after we would sort through not having them, we played some pretty good soccer to stay in the game."
Fremd responded to having Warren pull back the early opener and created a few chances that Warren keeper Sarah Barbosa handled.
Spotak was the first to test Barbosa, then Murauskis after some lovely combination work with Rose Kentish at 33 minutes.
Spotak latched onto a well-paced ball over the top from Burk and forced Barbosa to come off her line with authority to end the threat.
Three minutes later, Blue Devils' fans held their breathe when they watched Murauskis' long-range send fall to Spotak, who quickly fired her attempt off the gloves of Barbosa.
Fremd's Stone tried her luck on frame. When her shot glanced off Barbosa, it gave the Vikings a corner.
Allie Prigge's bending left-footed serve deflected off Barbosa in a crowd, then rolled into the net after finding Murauskis two minutes before the halftime horn.
"Another great ball, this time from Allie. In that situation, all I wanted to do was try to get to the ball, and find a way to send it into the back of the net," said Murauskis.
With the play after intermission struggling to find any rhythm or urgency, it was Warren which made a splash in a less than thrilling first quarter hour of the new period.
Skelton, Preda and Best were at the heart of the Blue Devils emergence after the break. A well-played build-up from Soriaga and Weinberg ended with Fremd keeper Jennifer Norris easily saving.
"One of the many things that I love about this team is its heart and desire to compete as hard as it can for 80 minutes," said the Blue Devils junior captain Olivia Wolf. "Even though we lost two great players to injuries and were down a goal at the half, this team never quit."
Fremd's Kentish, who would later cement the victory with the Vikings final goal of the night, drove a dangerous 24-yard free kick off the football crossbar in the 64th minute.
Later the sophomore was put through along the outside and if not for a sturdy, sharp tackle from Wolf would have been in on Barbosa.
Warren's Sarah Kreppein, strong all evening as an outside back for McCabe, intercepted a ball sent into the box then quickly began a dangerous counter with a tactically smart early ball to Weinberg. Unfortunately the send had too much pace for the Warren junior to catch.
Burk, who left earlier when she aggravated a previous upper leg injury, hobbled off for good in the 76th minute and celebrated the Kentish goal on the bench two minutes from time.
"It was nice to see Rose rewarded for some good work in the second half," Keller said.
The loss signaled the end of the high school careers of six Warren players. However, the Blue Devils return most of their first 11.
"There's a lot for all of us to be proud of, especially the last two-plus weeks when it all came together for us," began Wolf.
"We played through some adversity early in the year with injuries and did so again tonight. We showed we can play with anybody, and that only means good news for us next year."
Fremd has a chance to reach its first supersectional since 2011 on Saturday. But all parties agreed the effort and overall play must improve in order to upset Stevenson.
"Just a great start for us toy," began Allie Prigge. "That dropped off after we scored. We stepped it up again but never finished our chances to put the game away.
"There wasn't much life in the game in the second half, so we'll need to be much better with that on Saturday, which I know we're capable of."
Starting lineups
Warren (4-3-3)
G- Sarah Barbosa
D- Ella Skelton
D- Morgan Liebau
D- Olivia Wolf
D- Sarah Kreppein
M- Emma Preda
M- Annika Attiah
M- Emily Soriaga
F- Elizabeth Weinberg
F- Cate Cullison
F- Courtney Chomko
Fremd (3-5-2)
G- Jennifer Norris
D- Allie Prigge
D- Lauren Burk
D- Liz Prigge
M- Christy Murauskis
M- Ashley Scesniak
M- Rose Kentish
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Claire Stewart
F- Emma Spotak
F- Caeleigh Stone
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Christy Murauskis, sr., MF/D, Fremd
Olivia Wolf, jr., D, Warren
Referee: Mariusz Folta
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Murauskis (E. Prigge) 8'
Warren: Weinberg (Skelton) 21'
Fremd: Murauskis (A. Prigge) 38'
Second half
Fremd: Kentish (U/A) 78'
By Mike Garofola
BUFFALO GROVE -- When a team has conceded just 11 goals in 21 games, it's only reasonable to think it was capable of turning in another defensive gem in its biggest game of the year.
That's exactly what Fremd (14-4-3) did Tuesday night at Grant Blaney Stadium, when the third-seeded Vikings tightened their grip in the second half against upstart no. 7-seed Warren to record a well-deserved 3-1 victory.
With the win, manager Steve Keller's club advances into the Buffalo Grove Sectional final to play top-seed Stevenson (21-1-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Patriots, ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were 1-0 winners over Lake Zurich in the first game of the sectional semifinals Tuesday.
Warren upset second-seeded Libertyville at home to earn its sectional berth.
"Warren was a tough team to play," began Keller.
"(They) had players with skill, energy and work-rate. In the end it was a strong defensive effort that was the difference, because once again our ability to finish chances is not at a level that it needs to be to continue to advance in the tournament."
The Vikings, ranked 18th in the Top 25, got a boost recenty when they welcomed back top-flight center back Lauren Burk to the pitch.
At the start of the 2019 campaign, Keller knew he had an excellent middle back to build his defense around. The junior is an ace organizer, reads the game and shows no fear when going into the tackle.
Alongside Burk, Keller stationed Liz and Allie Prigge, then installed a handful of others to round out his backline
The addition this year of senior Christy Murauskis was a massive boost for Fremd. Her abilities to play as a central midfielder when the Vikings are in a traditional 4-4-2 formation or sitting just in front of her backline in a 3-5-2 have made her a valuable commodity.
When Burk went on the injured list early on, Murauskis easily slid into the backline. But of late with Burk back onboard, Murauskis has shown her value as a clinical finisher.
Murauskis scored a goal in the Vikings 2-1 win against Prospect in the regional final. Tuesday night, with the stakes even higher, she bagged two goals off set piece opportunities to help her club gain the sectional final.
"You just do what you have to do out there, but I've come to learn it's all about defending, something Keller stresses," said Murauskis.
The Vikings were on their collective front foot after the opening whistle. Although the Blue Devils (13-9-3) have a talented unit in their midfield, they were unable to match the pressure in the center of the park, as well as that from Vikings forwards Emma Spotak and Caeleigh Stone.
"Fremd put us under a lot of pressure early," said Warren manager Ryan McCabe.
"We were ready for it, but sometime(s) it doesn't matter in a big game like this one."
The Vikings constant running and pressing led to a pair of deep throws, one half-chance and a pair of free kicks. The second led to the opener in the eighth minute.
That's when Liz Prigge drove her 40-yard effort to the back post, and Murauskis ran on to it.
"Liz gave me a great ball, there's no way I could have missed scoring on that one," said Murauskis, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors.
Just moments after the Vikings took the lead, the Blue Devils suffered the first of two injuries. Annika Attiah was declared out of the match due to concussion-like symptoms.
McCabe brought on Megan Best on to replace his terrific midfielder, and the senior did well in helping direct the Warren attack. She put in a box-to-box effort.
Up until the Attiah injury, much of the Warren attack was being run through its Chicagoland Soccer all-state midfielder Courtney Chomko. It was the senior captain, Elizabeth Weinberg, Emily Soriaga and Emma Preda, who brought their club back in the game.
"We rebounded well from our slow start, and when we got back even on the Weinberg goal, you could see us come alive until disaster struck again," said McCabe.
The emotional roller coaster the Blue Devils endured went 180 degrees after Weinburg went airborne to head an exquisite corner from Ella Skelton at 21 minutes. The excitement soon ebbed when Chomko went down with an ankle injury two minutes later.
"Just a great goal from Elizabeth, but such a punch in the stomach when Courtney had to be helped off," said McCabe.
"It's been one of those seasons where we went through a variety of injuries, and only recently were we able to be near fit and at 100% when both Soriaga and Morgan Liebau came back," continued McCabe.
"Having those two players back was key in the last two weeks of the season when we drew (0-0) with Maine South, beat Deerfield and Mundelein, then the no. 2 seed (Libertyville) in the regional final to get into this game.
"It was tough to watch both Courtney and Annika have their season end the way it did, but after we would sort through not having them, we played some pretty good soccer to stay in the game."
Fremd responded to having Warren pull back the early opener and created a few chances that Warren keeper Sarah Barbosa handled.
Spotak was the first to test Barbosa, then Murauskis after some lovely combination work with Rose Kentish at 33 minutes.
Spotak latched onto a well-paced ball over the top from Burk and forced Barbosa to come off her line with authority to end the threat.
Three minutes later, Blue Devils' fans held their breathe when they watched Murauskis' long-range send fall to Spotak, who quickly fired her attempt off the gloves of Barbosa.
Fremd's Stone tried her luck on frame. When her shot glanced off Barbosa, it gave the Vikings a corner.
Allie Prigge's bending left-footed serve deflected off Barbosa in a crowd, then rolled into the net after finding Murauskis two minutes before the halftime horn.
"Another great ball, this time from Allie. In that situation, all I wanted to do was try to get to the ball, and find a way to send it into the back of the net," said Murauskis.
With the play after intermission struggling to find any rhythm or urgency, it was Warren which made a splash in a less than thrilling first quarter hour of the new period.
Skelton, Preda and Best were at the heart of the Blue Devils emergence after the break. A well-played build-up from Soriaga and Weinberg ended with Fremd keeper Jennifer Norris easily saving.
"One of the many things that I love about this team is its heart and desire to compete as hard as it can for 80 minutes," said the Blue Devils junior captain Olivia Wolf. "Even though we lost two great players to injuries and were down a goal at the half, this team never quit."
Fremd's Kentish, who would later cement the victory with the Vikings final goal of the night, drove a dangerous 24-yard free kick off the football crossbar in the 64th minute.
Later the sophomore was put through along the outside and if not for a sturdy, sharp tackle from Wolf would have been in on Barbosa.
Warren's Sarah Kreppein, strong all evening as an outside back for McCabe, intercepted a ball sent into the box then quickly began a dangerous counter with a tactically smart early ball to Weinberg. Unfortunately the send had too much pace for the Warren junior to catch.
Burk, who left earlier when she aggravated a previous upper leg injury, hobbled off for good in the 76th minute and celebrated the Kentish goal on the bench two minutes from time.
"It was nice to see Rose rewarded for some good work in the second half," Keller said.
The loss signaled the end of the high school careers of six Warren players. However, the Blue Devils return most of their first 11.
"There's a lot for all of us to be proud of, especially the last two-plus weeks when it all came together for us," began Wolf.
"We played through some adversity early in the year with injuries and did so again tonight. We showed we can play with anybody, and that only means good news for us next year."
Fremd has a chance to reach its first supersectional since 2011 on Saturday. But all parties agreed the effort and overall play must improve in order to upset Stevenson.
"Just a great start for us toy," began Allie Prigge. "That dropped off after we scored. We stepped it up again but never finished our chances to put the game away.
"There wasn't much life in the game in the second half, so we'll need to be much better with that on Saturday, which I know we're capable of."
Starting lineups
Warren (4-3-3)
G- Sarah Barbosa
D- Ella Skelton
D- Morgan Liebau
D- Olivia Wolf
D- Sarah Kreppein
M- Emma Preda
M- Annika Attiah
M- Emily Soriaga
F- Elizabeth Weinberg
F- Cate Cullison
F- Courtney Chomko
Fremd (3-5-2)
G- Jennifer Norris
D- Allie Prigge
D- Lauren Burk
D- Liz Prigge
M- Christy Murauskis
M- Ashley Scesniak
M- Rose Kentish
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Claire Stewart
F- Emma Spotak
F- Caeleigh Stone
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Christy Murauskis, sr., MF/D, Fremd
Olivia Wolf, jr., D, Warren
Referee: Mariusz Folta
Scoring summary
First half
Fremd: Murauskis (E. Prigge) 8'
Warren: Weinberg (Skelton) 21'
Fremd: Murauskis (A. Prigge) 38'
Second half
Fremd: Kentish (U/A) 78'