Fremd finds footing, rallies past Mundelein
3 2nd half goals do the trick in 4-1 regional semi win
By Dave Owen
PALATINE – Fremd’s 2021 Class 3A state runnerup trophy came with an accessory: a target.
Teams have not overlooked the Vikings after their long run last fall, and that factor certainly kicked in quickly in Tuesday’s regional semifinal match vs. Mundelein.
The visiting and 12th-seeded Mustangs (9-6-7) grabbed a 1-0 lead 13 minutes in, and nearly doubled their lead midway through the half when a shot hit the right post.
But fifth-seeded Fremd (14-5-2) regrouped to tie the game 1:42 before halftime on a Kosta Alex goal, and used two second half goals by Leo Akashi and a penalty kick put-away by Will Mayer to pull away to a hard-fought 4-1 win.
The final two Vikings goals came in the final 4:24 of the match and came on the heels of an array of huge saves by Fremd goalkeeper Robby Remian, a 2021 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater who kept his team in front.
“It feels great,” Remian said of the win, “especially after the first goal happened. After we got scored on, I feel we had the momentum, and even after this match I feel the momentum we had might stay with us.
“Hopefully we can use this energy and keep going like this for the rest of the season. I'm really hoping to make another run like last year.”
The next step is Saturday’s regional final vs. no. 4-seed Zion-Benton. But the first stride toward another state run wasn’t easy.
The teams exchanged corner kicks in the first four minutes, but Mundelein then continued to press with an excellent chance in the 11th minute when a corner kick send to the box required a Ronan Allord blocked shot and Joey Rodino clear to deny the Mustangs.
Then 27:15 before halftime, a Mundelein send from just inside midfield to the box resulted in a race to the ball, controversy and a goal.
Remian came off his line to block Omar Mangato’s initial shot. Mangato’s rebound try was deflected toward Diego Sanchez behind any defender at the left post. He made the score 1-0, despite prolonged Fremd pleas and an officials’ discussion about a possible offsides call that didn’t come.
“We all thought he was on our goal line,” Remian said, “and that there was no one behind him to put him on-side.
“But I guess we just turned that frustration and kind of anger we had with the call that was made, and we put that toward putting a goal in the back of the net. I think that's what really motivated us for the rest of the half.”
Alex provided the tying goal, and he tried to keep the offsides controversy in perspective.
“It is what it is,” Alex said of the ruling. “There's nothing we can do about it. So, we just had to continue to play.
“At first we were a little bit jittery I'd say, especially when they scored that first goal on us. Then we had the momentum going forward because everyone got a little riled up. We decided we needed to step up and take the ‘W.’”
Fremd’s response began just 35 seconds after the goal, Mayer made a nice spin move to create space left of the net and chipped a shot onto the top of the net.
But Mundelein was hardly letting up. With 18:15 before halftime, Sanchez burst in on the right side and rocketed a low, hard shot from 10 yards off the right post.
“We knew this was not going to be easy, and it showed,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “They came out all over us. We weathered the storm for about eight minutes (midway through the half), and then things started to settle down a little bit.”
The shot off the post could have made the lead 2-0, and was followed just over a minute later by a free kick that Remian grabbed at the top of the six just ahead of Mundelein’s Frankie Jimenez charge.
“I thought we had some good chances in the first half that could have gone slightly different,” Mundelein coach Sebastian Falinski said. “And if we finished those, maybe it's a different game.
“In the first 20 minutes I thought we had the run of play. We were knocking it around and creating chances, but we just didn't capitalize. Then when things settled down, both teams had their chances in front.
“I thought they outworked us at times,” Falinski added, “but they have a good group, and well-coached.”
Fremd upped the heat late in the half, when Akashi won a loose ball in the 29th minute and lined an 18-yard shot just over the crossbar.
Genki Wakayama (high lofting 30-yarder grabbed at the post by Mundelein goalkeeper Wyatt Griffin) and Kenan Mesic (33-yard free kick headed away) followed with chances in the next two minutes.
Then 4:30 before halftime, a great one-handed reach back deflection by Griffin denied Akashi’s left-side 20-yard drive that seemed bound for the twine.
Finally just 1:42 before the half, Fremd’s persistent, late push paid off with an Alex left-side dribble drive and 10-yard shot. Griffin again got a hand on the shot, but it caromed inside the right post to tie the game 1-1.
“I want to say Leo (Akashi) played it down the side on the right,” Alex said. “I beat my defender, went around him, took the shot through and just found the net.”
Said Keller: “I thought we responded well (to being down 1-0). It was a big play by Kosta to get that goal.”
The importance of Alex’s goal as a momentum-turning moment was huge.
“Once we had that goal, I think we really had them on their heels,” Ramian said. “That was the turning point in the match I think.”
Fremd drove home that point by grabbing a 2-1 lead not even six minutes into the second half.
This time Alex was the initiator. He chipped a pass from the left edge of the box to Akashi, who dribbled toward the center of the field and lined a low 15-yarder inside the right post.
“Usually, Leo and I have a pretty good connection,” Alex said, “so we knew where each other are pretty much in the box. And we usually come out with success, especially in tight games like this.”
The magnitude of the moment made the finish even sweeter for Akashi.
“It's regionals, so I really wanted to score in this game and win this game,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game. I had to work hard, and I'm so happy to score and help us win the game.”
Fremd hardly rested on its 2-1 lead. Just 50 seconds later, Mayer’s right-side attack and 10-yard shot were denied on another Griffin one-handed block. Then one minute after that, Bennett Boghossian started a nice counterattack that ended with another Mayer quality shot and a diving one-handed deflection wide at the right post by Griffin.
But if Griffin’s extra-effort heroics loomed large on those chances, Fremd star goalkeeper Remian had his own huge moments to keep his team in front.
The first came with 27:45 left with Remian’s grab of a hard 25-yard Adrian Rosiles liner.
Remian had to really hang tough with 23:50 to go, when he came off his line and endured contact from a Mundelein player to grab a nice send to the box.
Then on a Mustangs corner kick with 21:40 left, Remian made a huge block wide at the right post on a Jimenez shot to keep the Vikings up 2-1.
An old hand at pressure postseason situations after the 2021 run, Remian hung tough Tuesday.
“It happens some games, that an offense is so good that they're going to break through no matter what,” he said. “Once I made the first couple saves it’s kind of like that sets the tone, at least personally for me for the rest of the match.”
Mundelein kept coming with three chances in the next three minutes. Nice clears by Rodino and Ronan Allord denied the first two, then the Mustangs’ 21-yard free kick with 18:30 left was blocked by a wall of Fremd defenders.
“I thought Ronan Allard was phenomenal tonight,” Keller said. “Him and Robby played very well.”
A relative lull followed until an eventful final 10:35 began with a corner kick by Fremd’s Mesic that produced a Rodino back-post header and Griffin save.
Then it was Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Remian who was back in the spotlight.
First with 7:45 to go, he joined the crowd in front of his net to punch away a 44-yard Mundelein free kick.
“I just know I have to get above everyone else,” Remian said of his approach to winning balls in the box. “As long as I get above and time it right, I'll get something on it. And I know any contact they make against me is a foul against them. So I just use that and I try to go up with as much confidence as I can. As long as I get the ball I'm happy.”
Remian had to be doubly happy with 5:05 left, when he made two huge stops in a sequence to spark the game’s final momentum turn.
First, Remian got a hand on Jimenez’s right-side shot to deflect the ball left of the net. Then on the ensuing 50/50 battle, Mundelein’s Oscar Hernandez found Ivan Villegas in the middle for a 15-yard blast that Remian dove toward the left post to make an airborne two-handed swat aside.
That last flying stop earned a chorus of “Robby! Robby!” chants from the Fremd crowd, and some high accolades from teammates.
“Robby was terrific,” Alex said. “He kept us in the game. Props to him. I'd say he’s Man of the Match.”
The magnitude of the lead-saving sequence grew just 40 seconds later, when Akashi won a ball inside midfield, made a 30-yard dribble drive up left wing and angled a low 10-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net to make the score 3-1 with 4:24 on the clock.
“We scored a couple more goals towards the end,” Remian said, “but for most of the game I knew it was going to come down to the wire, and that I had to come through for my team.”
More Fremd breathing room came with 3:56 to play, when Mayer took a long send and was tripped on his 1-v-1 run into the box. Mayer powered the ensuing penalty kick home lower left corner, and the Vikings were finally home free with a 4-1 lead.
“You're pushing, you're pressing and they break you down,” Falinski said of the two late Fremd goals as his team moved players upfield in a bid to tie. “But it was a fun battle.
“Our boys worked hard. I'm proud of them for their efforts. They battled. That's all we can ask for."
The PK play also produced a red card against Mundelein for a tackle from behind, leaving the Mustangs one man down in the final minutes.
Bennett Ash entered at goalkeeper for Fremd with 2:48 left, and clears by Boghossian (of a Mundelein corner kick) and Mark Ariagno in the final 1:20 sealed the Fremd win.
“It's a good foundation for our run,” Alex said of the win. “Hopefully we can build off of it and come out strong these next couple weeks.”
Keller knows that stronger performances will be essential. Last year Fremd entered the postseason ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. This week the Vikings entered the group at no. 18 from the honorable mention list.
“If we want to advance further, we have to shore our defense up big time,” Keller said. “And we created opportunities but we aren't finishing enough of them. Even though the score was 4-1, two goals came late.
“The fight was there, which I'm pleased about. But we gave up too many chances. That's not the recipe to go far.
“But adversity is going to hopefully build some character,” Keller added, “and a win is a win. We'll take it.”
And with a top goalkeeper like Remian, postseason hopes are legit.
“He was huge,” Keller said. But we don't want that to be the situation.”
After their high-profile run last season, Fremd had a 4-4-2 record through 10 games this fall before surging.
“It definitely was hard,” Remian said of the post-trophy run pressure, “especially early in the season when we were getting to know each other. It's hard for us, because we had all these teams we beat last year, and they're upset we beat them and went on to state.
“They're trying to use that energy to come at us. I feel like once we really got together as a team and played more, I feel like that didn't really matter as much. Once we put aside the run (to state): it happened last year, let's focus on this year. I felt like we were confident in ourselves that we could play better.”
The late two-goal outburst Tuesday changed a usual script for Fremd, which had six wins by one goal during its regular-season ending 7-1-0 streak.
“It's a game we seem to find ourselves in a lot lately,” Keller said. “A one-goal game, end-to-end action.”
The Vikings expect their momentum and confidence to carry on to the regional final Saturday. The circumstance of the match is rare – Fremd's reputation looms large but the team enters the game as a seeded underdog to visitor Zion-Benton.
“We're known as the guys to beat,” Alex said. “Usually we have a lot of defense (eight goals allowed heading into the regional final last year, 29 goals allowed in 21 games this season), and lot of teams try to prevent goals rather than score goals on us. They like to take us to penalties and overtime, since we had that kind of powerhouse team from last year.”
And surviving a tough test from a quality Mundelein side should add to the Vikings battle readiness.
“Our seeding gave us some good competition I would say,” Alex said, “so we can come out with that moving forward and see who we have to beat next.”
Starting lineups
Mundelein:
GK: Wyatt Griffin
D: Adrian Rosiles
D: Cade McGlothlin
D: Andrew Hampsey
D: Angel Gomez Santiago
M: Matthew Daniel
M: Omar Mangato
M: Ivan Villegas
M: Joel Sanchez
F: Frankie Jimenez
F: Diego Sanchez
Fremd
GK: Robby Remian
D: Michael Leonczuk
D: Kyle Grasse
D: Joey Rodino
D: Genki Wakayama
M: Ronan Allord
M: Kenan Mesic
M: Owen Winegar
M: Will Mayer
F: Leo Akashi
F: Kosta Alex
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Robby Remian, sr., GK, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
M- Diego Sanchez (rebound), 13’
F- Kosta Alex, 38’
Second half
F- Leo Akashi (Alex assist), 46’
F- Akashi, 75’
F- Will Mayer (PK), 76’
3 2nd half goals do the trick in 4-1 regional semi win
By Dave Owen
PALATINE – Fremd’s 2021 Class 3A state runnerup trophy came with an accessory: a target.
Teams have not overlooked the Vikings after their long run last fall, and that factor certainly kicked in quickly in Tuesday’s regional semifinal match vs. Mundelein.
The visiting and 12th-seeded Mustangs (9-6-7) grabbed a 1-0 lead 13 minutes in, and nearly doubled their lead midway through the half when a shot hit the right post.
But fifth-seeded Fremd (14-5-2) regrouped to tie the game 1:42 before halftime on a Kosta Alex goal, and used two second half goals by Leo Akashi and a penalty kick put-away by Will Mayer to pull away to a hard-fought 4-1 win.
The final two Vikings goals came in the final 4:24 of the match and came on the heels of an array of huge saves by Fremd goalkeeper Robby Remian, a 2021 Chicagoland Soccer all-stater who kept his team in front.
“It feels great,” Remian said of the win, “especially after the first goal happened. After we got scored on, I feel we had the momentum, and even after this match I feel the momentum we had might stay with us.
“Hopefully we can use this energy and keep going like this for the rest of the season. I'm really hoping to make another run like last year.”
The next step is Saturday’s regional final vs. no. 4-seed Zion-Benton. But the first stride toward another state run wasn’t easy.
The teams exchanged corner kicks in the first four minutes, but Mundelein then continued to press with an excellent chance in the 11th minute when a corner kick send to the box required a Ronan Allord blocked shot and Joey Rodino clear to deny the Mustangs.
Then 27:15 before halftime, a Mundelein send from just inside midfield to the box resulted in a race to the ball, controversy and a goal.
Remian came off his line to block Omar Mangato’s initial shot. Mangato’s rebound try was deflected toward Diego Sanchez behind any defender at the left post. He made the score 1-0, despite prolonged Fremd pleas and an officials’ discussion about a possible offsides call that didn’t come.
“We all thought he was on our goal line,” Remian said, “and that there was no one behind him to put him on-side.
“But I guess we just turned that frustration and kind of anger we had with the call that was made, and we put that toward putting a goal in the back of the net. I think that's what really motivated us for the rest of the half.”
Alex provided the tying goal, and he tried to keep the offsides controversy in perspective.
“It is what it is,” Alex said of the ruling. “There's nothing we can do about it. So, we just had to continue to play.
“At first we were a little bit jittery I'd say, especially when they scored that first goal on us. Then we had the momentum going forward because everyone got a little riled up. We decided we needed to step up and take the ‘W.’”
Fremd’s response began just 35 seconds after the goal, Mayer made a nice spin move to create space left of the net and chipped a shot onto the top of the net.
But Mundelein was hardly letting up. With 18:15 before halftime, Sanchez burst in on the right side and rocketed a low, hard shot from 10 yards off the right post.
“We knew this was not going to be easy, and it showed,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “They came out all over us. We weathered the storm for about eight minutes (midway through the half), and then things started to settle down a little bit.”
The shot off the post could have made the lead 2-0, and was followed just over a minute later by a free kick that Remian grabbed at the top of the six just ahead of Mundelein’s Frankie Jimenez charge.
“I thought we had some good chances in the first half that could have gone slightly different,” Mundelein coach Sebastian Falinski said. “And if we finished those, maybe it's a different game.
“In the first 20 minutes I thought we had the run of play. We were knocking it around and creating chances, but we just didn't capitalize. Then when things settled down, both teams had their chances in front.
“I thought they outworked us at times,” Falinski added, “but they have a good group, and well-coached.”
Fremd upped the heat late in the half, when Akashi won a loose ball in the 29th minute and lined an 18-yard shot just over the crossbar.
Genki Wakayama (high lofting 30-yarder grabbed at the post by Mundelein goalkeeper Wyatt Griffin) and Kenan Mesic (33-yard free kick headed away) followed with chances in the next two minutes.
Then 4:30 before halftime, a great one-handed reach back deflection by Griffin denied Akashi’s left-side 20-yard drive that seemed bound for the twine.
Finally just 1:42 before the half, Fremd’s persistent, late push paid off with an Alex left-side dribble drive and 10-yard shot. Griffin again got a hand on the shot, but it caromed inside the right post to tie the game 1-1.
“I want to say Leo (Akashi) played it down the side on the right,” Alex said. “I beat my defender, went around him, took the shot through and just found the net.”
Said Keller: “I thought we responded well (to being down 1-0). It was a big play by Kosta to get that goal.”
The importance of Alex’s goal as a momentum-turning moment was huge.
“Once we had that goal, I think we really had them on their heels,” Ramian said. “That was the turning point in the match I think.”
Fremd drove home that point by grabbing a 2-1 lead not even six minutes into the second half.
This time Alex was the initiator. He chipped a pass from the left edge of the box to Akashi, who dribbled toward the center of the field and lined a low 15-yarder inside the right post.
“Usually, Leo and I have a pretty good connection,” Alex said, “so we knew where each other are pretty much in the box. And we usually come out with success, especially in tight games like this.”
The magnitude of the moment made the finish even sweeter for Akashi.
“It's regionals, so I really wanted to score in this game and win this game,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game. I had to work hard, and I'm so happy to score and help us win the game.”
Fremd hardly rested on its 2-1 lead. Just 50 seconds later, Mayer’s right-side attack and 10-yard shot were denied on another Griffin one-handed block. Then one minute after that, Bennett Boghossian started a nice counterattack that ended with another Mayer quality shot and a diving one-handed deflection wide at the right post by Griffin.
But if Griffin’s extra-effort heroics loomed large on those chances, Fremd star goalkeeper Remian had his own huge moments to keep his team in front.
The first came with 27:45 left with Remian’s grab of a hard 25-yard Adrian Rosiles liner.
Remian had to really hang tough with 23:50 to go, when he came off his line and endured contact from a Mundelein player to grab a nice send to the box.
Then on a Mustangs corner kick with 21:40 left, Remian made a huge block wide at the right post on a Jimenez shot to keep the Vikings up 2-1.
An old hand at pressure postseason situations after the 2021 run, Remian hung tough Tuesday.
“It happens some games, that an offense is so good that they're going to break through no matter what,” he said. “Once I made the first couple saves it’s kind of like that sets the tone, at least personally for me for the rest of the match.”
Mundelein kept coming with three chances in the next three minutes. Nice clears by Rodino and Ronan Allord denied the first two, then the Mustangs’ 21-yard free kick with 18:30 left was blocked by a wall of Fremd defenders.
“I thought Ronan Allard was phenomenal tonight,” Keller said. “Him and Robby played very well.”
A relative lull followed until an eventful final 10:35 began with a corner kick by Fremd’s Mesic that produced a Rodino back-post header and Griffin save.
Then it was Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Remian who was back in the spotlight.
First with 7:45 to go, he joined the crowd in front of his net to punch away a 44-yard Mundelein free kick.
“I just know I have to get above everyone else,” Remian said of his approach to winning balls in the box. “As long as I get above and time it right, I'll get something on it. And I know any contact they make against me is a foul against them. So I just use that and I try to go up with as much confidence as I can. As long as I get the ball I'm happy.”
Remian had to be doubly happy with 5:05 left, when he made two huge stops in a sequence to spark the game’s final momentum turn.
First, Remian got a hand on Jimenez’s right-side shot to deflect the ball left of the net. Then on the ensuing 50/50 battle, Mundelein’s Oscar Hernandez found Ivan Villegas in the middle for a 15-yard blast that Remian dove toward the left post to make an airborne two-handed swat aside.
That last flying stop earned a chorus of “Robby! Robby!” chants from the Fremd crowd, and some high accolades from teammates.
“Robby was terrific,” Alex said. “He kept us in the game. Props to him. I'd say he’s Man of the Match.”
The magnitude of the lead-saving sequence grew just 40 seconds later, when Akashi won a ball inside midfield, made a 30-yard dribble drive up left wing and angled a low 10-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net to make the score 3-1 with 4:24 on the clock.
“We scored a couple more goals towards the end,” Remian said, “but for most of the game I knew it was going to come down to the wire, and that I had to come through for my team.”
More Fremd breathing room came with 3:56 to play, when Mayer took a long send and was tripped on his 1-v-1 run into the box. Mayer powered the ensuing penalty kick home lower left corner, and the Vikings were finally home free with a 4-1 lead.
“You're pushing, you're pressing and they break you down,” Falinski said of the two late Fremd goals as his team moved players upfield in a bid to tie. “But it was a fun battle.
“Our boys worked hard. I'm proud of them for their efforts. They battled. That's all we can ask for."
The PK play also produced a red card against Mundelein for a tackle from behind, leaving the Mustangs one man down in the final minutes.
Bennett Ash entered at goalkeeper for Fremd with 2:48 left, and clears by Boghossian (of a Mundelein corner kick) and Mark Ariagno in the final 1:20 sealed the Fremd win.
“It's a good foundation for our run,” Alex said of the win. “Hopefully we can build off of it and come out strong these next couple weeks.”
Keller knows that stronger performances will be essential. Last year Fremd entered the postseason ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. This week the Vikings entered the group at no. 18 from the honorable mention list.
“If we want to advance further, we have to shore our defense up big time,” Keller said. “And we created opportunities but we aren't finishing enough of them. Even though the score was 4-1, two goals came late.
“The fight was there, which I'm pleased about. But we gave up too many chances. That's not the recipe to go far.
“But adversity is going to hopefully build some character,” Keller added, “and a win is a win. We'll take it.”
And with a top goalkeeper like Remian, postseason hopes are legit.
“He was huge,” Keller said. But we don't want that to be the situation.”
After their high-profile run last season, Fremd had a 4-4-2 record through 10 games this fall before surging.
“It definitely was hard,” Remian said of the post-trophy run pressure, “especially early in the season when we were getting to know each other. It's hard for us, because we had all these teams we beat last year, and they're upset we beat them and went on to state.
“They're trying to use that energy to come at us. I feel like once we really got together as a team and played more, I feel like that didn't really matter as much. Once we put aside the run (to state): it happened last year, let's focus on this year. I felt like we were confident in ourselves that we could play better.”
The late two-goal outburst Tuesday changed a usual script for Fremd, which had six wins by one goal during its regular-season ending 7-1-0 streak.
“It's a game we seem to find ourselves in a lot lately,” Keller said. “A one-goal game, end-to-end action.”
The Vikings expect their momentum and confidence to carry on to the regional final Saturday. The circumstance of the match is rare – Fremd's reputation looms large but the team enters the game as a seeded underdog to visitor Zion-Benton.
“We're known as the guys to beat,” Alex said. “Usually we have a lot of defense (eight goals allowed heading into the regional final last year, 29 goals allowed in 21 games this season), and lot of teams try to prevent goals rather than score goals on us. They like to take us to penalties and overtime, since we had that kind of powerhouse team from last year.”
And surviving a tough test from a quality Mundelein side should add to the Vikings battle readiness.
“Our seeding gave us some good competition I would say,” Alex said, “so we can come out with that moving forward and see who we have to beat next.”
Starting lineups
Mundelein:
GK: Wyatt Griffin
D: Adrian Rosiles
D: Cade McGlothlin
D: Andrew Hampsey
D: Angel Gomez Santiago
M: Matthew Daniel
M: Omar Mangato
M: Ivan Villegas
M: Joel Sanchez
F: Frankie Jimenez
F: Diego Sanchez
Fremd
GK: Robby Remian
D: Michael Leonczuk
D: Kyle Grasse
D: Joey Rodino
D: Genki Wakayama
M: Ronan Allord
M: Kenan Mesic
M: Owen Winegar
M: Will Mayer
F: Leo Akashi
F: Kosta Alex
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Robby Remian, sr., GK, Fremd
Scoring summary
First half
M- Diego Sanchez (rebound), 13’
F- Kosta Alex, 38’
Second half
F- Leo Akashi (Alex assist), 46’
F- Akashi, 75’
F- Will Mayer (PK), 76’