2nd half awakening puts Fremd in final
Host Vikings net 2 in shutout win over Waukegan
By Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- No. 5-seed Fremd, which easily could have been a top four seed in the Barrington sectional, and 12th-seeded Waukegan, which was fitted with a seed far too low to match its talented roster, met on Tuesday night in a regional semifinal at Hildebrant Field on the Fremd campus in Palatine.
What occured during this wide-open, 80-minute affair was terrific attacking soccer, plenty of quality chances, stout defending when called upon and two sensational goals by the Vikings (12-5-1), who ended the dramatic contest 2-0 in favor of the regional hosts.
Jake Scesniak and Dorian Lesiuk set up a grandstand finish before a chilled and raucous crowd by superb finishing touches seven minutes apart in the second half to send the Vikings into the final at noon Saturday against Mid-Suburban League rival Wheeling, which defeated Carmel 3-2 in the first game on this near freezing night at Fremd's home park.
"No way that Waukegan is anywhere near the no. 12 seed in our sectional," were the first words spoken by Fremd manager Steve Keller, who admitted the result could have gone the other way if not for some terrific work by his keeper Artur Cholewa, in addtion to his backline, and an attack that was rewarded for its second half work rate by the two goals from Scesniak and Lesiuk.
"Scesniak had a great night for us. He was the Man of the Match as far as I'm concerned," said Keller, whose powers of observation were proven to be dead on when the senior was chosen for the Chicagoland Soccer recognition.
"We had to play our best soccer tonight, because we knew that Waukegan (9-12-2) was far better than its overall record, and if we all wanted our season to continue," said Scesniak.
A strategic change allowed the starting defender to put his stamp on the game.
"Jake started the night in the back on the outside, but the real key for us, and his terrific second half was when (we) moved him up," Keller said."That's where he did almost all of his damage for us and to Waukegan."
Ther performance spoiled a strong performance from the visitors.
"We came so far from the very beginning of the season when we lost two players to the academy, and another to a transfer," began Waukegan manager Peter Valdez. "The growth in these young men has gone far beyond their ability as soccer players
"We played a great team even for nearly the entire night, which I am very proud of.
"Those two goals they scored were just great -- each of them deserved -- and we just didn't come back. That's how the soccer goes sometime."
The Bulldogs relied on and played through the effervescent trio of Adrian Moreno, Eric Morales and Jose Ochoa, who found their mates found as often as possible. In the back the team counted heavily on Juan Gutierrez, the junior center back who kept his club organized and sorted without missing a beat.
Keller raved about a key goal-saving stop from Cholewa on Moreno's angled smash in the 11th minute. He watched his club struggle to hold onto the ball in possession while the Bulldogs double- and triple-teamed in tight spaces to force turnovers or balls to be played into pressure.
"Waukegan was very quick to the ball, and we didn't adjust well to that in the first 20-25 minutes," said Keller.
"We got some much needed energy when we brought some fresh legs on from our second unit, and that seemed to help others get themselves going for the last half of the first period."
Keller brought on junior John Kading, sophomore Nick Austin and Eli Schoffstall, the Vikings lone freshmen on the roster, at 17 minutes. The new additions created a free kick for Jake Schoffstall shortly thereafter.
The junior sent his 22-yard blast wide, then hit another in the same spot after Kaelan Conway and Scesniak orchestrated a 20-yard attempt for their mate.
The two clubs continued to threaten the other in the final 10 minutes before the break. Each showed creativity, speed on the ball, and variety in the attack to keep fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation of a possible scoring breakthrough.
Two sublime and measured left-footed crosses by Scesniak turned into corners for the Vikings. On the other side of the park, Charlie Rodriguez and Moreno combined to earn a corner for the Bulldogs off the counter.
Scesniak latched onto a quick restart from Conway and played another deadly ball to the spot, but it led to a timely clearing effort by Juan Gutierrez before a Vikings player could collect.
"We finally began to find our form towards the end of the half," offered Lesiuk. "It continued into the second half when we took advantage of the Waukegan wing backs, who were pushing forward a little bit more than they did at the start of the game.
The second half began as bright as the first ended, and it didn't take long for the first chance of the new half came. The ball fell to Waukegan's Lopez, whose low blast hit a pair of players before an alert Cholewa grabbed control of.
Fremd's Tambellini and Joe Beaupre pieced togther a nice one-two that appeared to slice open the Bulldogs defense, but Gutierrez was inside the box to make a sharp interception.
A deep throw from Beaupre sailed towards the back post before the junior tested Waukegan keeper Charly Trujillo after Lesiuk put his teammate through.
The Vikings continued to look dangerous and played with much more confidence with every touch. That increased work rate would be rewarded at 59 minutes.
That's when Conway's inch-perfect crossfield serve to the back post was met by Scesniak on the tail-end of an enterprising run towards Trujillo.
Scesniak's unstoppable one-timer sent the Vikings faithful into orbit.
"Kaelan gave me an amazing ball to the back post," said Scesniak.
With their fans urging them on for more, the Vikings pressed for another, but not after Cholewa's second key save of the night kept the Bulldogs from equalizing.
Eric Rosales set up Moreno for a nifty side half-volley sent toward Cholewa with technical expertise and pace from 16 yards. The stop let the Fremd faithful breath easy.
Lesiuk bought the home side a little more breathing room with his 13th of the season. After a superb turn to get free, Scesniak sent his teammate through on the right side.
Lesiuk fired home from the edge of the box, and into the far corner of the net. Trujillo had no chance when he came out to cut off the angle of his charging opponent.
"We knew if we kept working (the) goals would come, and getting those two so close together finally took the wind out of them," said Lesiuk.
The Vikings kept to the attack and nearly took advantage of a now-reeling Bulldogs' side. Lesiuk and Scesniak teamed up to give Nick Austin a chance, but a swift and direct challenge off the line from Trujillo ended a potential 1-v.-1 opportunity.
Jake Schoffstall, Cole Jackson and Conway took the air out of the Bulldogs attack during the last few minutes to end any serious threats on frame.
"Our second half ws so much better tonight, but we'll have to shore some things up in advance of our regional final with Wheeling in order to compete at their level on Saturday," said Keller, who concluded by praising his keeper.
"Artur was strong for us tonight," he said. "He was vocal and directed our guys in the back very well, and would help keep us in the game long enough to get up and running with our attack."
Starting lineups
Waukegan (4-4-2)
G- Charly Trujillo
D- Charlie Rodriguez
D- Mario Arroyo
D- Juan Gutierrez
D- Daniel Flores
M- Eric Rosales
M- David Fuentes
M- Alberto Mendoza
M- Axel Lopez
F- Adrian Moreno
F- Jose Ochoa
Fremd (4-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Jake Scesniak
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
D- Kaelan Conway
M- C.J. Williams
M- Connor Sapiente
M- Anthony Tambellini
M- Josh Bennett
F- Dorian Lesiuk
F- Joe Beaupre
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Scesniak, sr., D/M, Fremd
Referee: Chuck Raskin
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Fremd: Scesniak (Conway) 59'
Fremd: Lesiuk (Sceniak) 66'
Host Vikings net 2 in shutout win over Waukegan
By Mike Garofola
PALATINE -- No. 5-seed Fremd, which easily could have been a top four seed in the Barrington sectional, and 12th-seeded Waukegan, which was fitted with a seed far too low to match its talented roster, met on Tuesday night in a regional semifinal at Hildebrant Field on the Fremd campus in Palatine.
What occured during this wide-open, 80-minute affair was terrific attacking soccer, plenty of quality chances, stout defending when called upon and two sensational goals by the Vikings (12-5-1), who ended the dramatic contest 2-0 in favor of the regional hosts.
Jake Scesniak and Dorian Lesiuk set up a grandstand finish before a chilled and raucous crowd by superb finishing touches seven minutes apart in the second half to send the Vikings into the final at noon Saturday against Mid-Suburban League rival Wheeling, which defeated Carmel 3-2 in the first game on this near freezing night at Fremd's home park.
"No way that Waukegan is anywhere near the no. 12 seed in our sectional," were the first words spoken by Fremd manager Steve Keller, who admitted the result could have gone the other way if not for some terrific work by his keeper Artur Cholewa, in addtion to his backline, and an attack that was rewarded for its second half work rate by the two goals from Scesniak and Lesiuk.
"Scesniak had a great night for us. He was the Man of the Match as far as I'm concerned," said Keller, whose powers of observation were proven to be dead on when the senior was chosen for the Chicagoland Soccer recognition.
"We had to play our best soccer tonight, because we knew that Waukegan (9-12-2) was far better than its overall record, and if we all wanted our season to continue," said Scesniak.
A strategic change allowed the starting defender to put his stamp on the game.
"Jake started the night in the back on the outside, but the real key for us, and his terrific second half was when (we) moved him up," Keller said."That's where he did almost all of his damage for us and to Waukegan."
Ther performance spoiled a strong performance from the visitors.
"We came so far from the very beginning of the season when we lost two players to the academy, and another to a transfer," began Waukegan manager Peter Valdez. "The growth in these young men has gone far beyond their ability as soccer players
"We played a great team even for nearly the entire night, which I am very proud of.
"Those two goals they scored were just great -- each of them deserved -- and we just didn't come back. That's how the soccer goes sometime."
The Bulldogs relied on and played through the effervescent trio of Adrian Moreno, Eric Morales and Jose Ochoa, who found their mates found as often as possible. In the back the team counted heavily on Juan Gutierrez, the junior center back who kept his club organized and sorted without missing a beat.
Keller raved about a key goal-saving stop from Cholewa on Moreno's angled smash in the 11th minute. He watched his club struggle to hold onto the ball in possession while the Bulldogs double- and triple-teamed in tight spaces to force turnovers or balls to be played into pressure.
"Waukegan was very quick to the ball, and we didn't adjust well to that in the first 20-25 minutes," said Keller.
"We got some much needed energy when we brought some fresh legs on from our second unit, and that seemed to help others get themselves going for the last half of the first period."
Keller brought on junior John Kading, sophomore Nick Austin and Eli Schoffstall, the Vikings lone freshmen on the roster, at 17 minutes. The new additions created a free kick for Jake Schoffstall shortly thereafter.
The junior sent his 22-yard blast wide, then hit another in the same spot after Kaelan Conway and Scesniak orchestrated a 20-yard attempt for their mate.
The two clubs continued to threaten the other in the final 10 minutes before the break. Each showed creativity, speed on the ball, and variety in the attack to keep fans on the edge of their seats in anticipation of a possible scoring breakthrough.
Two sublime and measured left-footed crosses by Scesniak turned into corners for the Vikings. On the other side of the park, Charlie Rodriguez and Moreno combined to earn a corner for the Bulldogs off the counter.
Scesniak latched onto a quick restart from Conway and played another deadly ball to the spot, but it led to a timely clearing effort by Juan Gutierrez before a Vikings player could collect.
"We finally began to find our form towards the end of the half," offered Lesiuk. "It continued into the second half when we took advantage of the Waukegan wing backs, who were pushing forward a little bit more than they did at the start of the game.
The second half began as bright as the first ended, and it didn't take long for the first chance of the new half came. The ball fell to Waukegan's Lopez, whose low blast hit a pair of players before an alert Cholewa grabbed control of.
Fremd's Tambellini and Joe Beaupre pieced togther a nice one-two that appeared to slice open the Bulldogs defense, but Gutierrez was inside the box to make a sharp interception.
A deep throw from Beaupre sailed towards the back post before the junior tested Waukegan keeper Charly Trujillo after Lesiuk put his teammate through.
The Vikings continued to look dangerous and played with much more confidence with every touch. That increased work rate would be rewarded at 59 minutes.
That's when Conway's inch-perfect crossfield serve to the back post was met by Scesniak on the tail-end of an enterprising run towards Trujillo.
Scesniak's unstoppable one-timer sent the Vikings faithful into orbit.
"Kaelan gave me an amazing ball to the back post," said Scesniak.
With their fans urging them on for more, the Vikings pressed for another, but not after Cholewa's second key save of the night kept the Bulldogs from equalizing.
Eric Rosales set up Moreno for a nifty side half-volley sent toward Cholewa with technical expertise and pace from 16 yards. The stop let the Fremd faithful breath easy.
Lesiuk bought the home side a little more breathing room with his 13th of the season. After a superb turn to get free, Scesniak sent his teammate through on the right side.
Lesiuk fired home from the edge of the box, and into the far corner of the net. Trujillo had no chance when he came out to cut off the angle of his charging opponent.
"We knew if we kept working (the) goals would come, and getting those two so close together finally took the wind out of them," said Lesiuk.
The Vikings kept to the attack and nearly took advantage of a now-reeling Bulldogs' side. Lesiuk and Scesniak teamed up to give Nick Austin a chance, but a swift and direct challenge off the line from Trujillo ended a potential 1-v.-1 opportunity.
Jake Schoffstall, Cole Jackson and Conway took the air out of the Bulldogs attack during the last few minutes to end any serious threats on frame.
"Our second half ws so much better tonight, but we'll have to shore some things up in advance of our regional final with Wheeling in order to compete at their level on Saturday," said Keller, who concluded by praising his keeper.
"Artur was strong for us tonight," he said. "He was vocal and directed our guys in the back very well, and would help keep us in the game long enough to get up and running with our attack."
Starting lineups
Waukegan (4-4-2)
G- Charly Trujillo
D- Charlie Rodriguez
D- Mario Arroyo
D- Juan Gutierrez
D- Daniel Flores
M- Eric Rosales
M- David Fuentes
M- Alberto Mendoza
M- Axel Lopez
F- Adrian Moreno
F- Jose Ochoa
Fremd (4-4-2)
G- Artur Cholewa
D- Jake Scesniak
D- Jake Schoffstall
D- Cole Jackson
D- Kaelan Conway
M- C.J. Williams
M- Connor Sapiente
M- Anthony Tambellini
M- Josh Bennett
F- Dorian Lesiuk
F- Joe Beaupre
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Scesniak, sr., D/M, Fremd
Referee: Chuck Raskin
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Fremd: Scesniak (Conway) 59'
Fremd: Lesiuk (Sceniak) 66'