Benet-Fremd match
forerunner to more déjà vu?
By Steve Nemeth
Benet coach Sean Wesley considers the Best of the West tournament to be one of the defining moments of the Redwings' season.
“It’s simply one of ‘the’ in-season tournaments. You can expect a tough week, which is why we sign up,” Wesley said. “We want to play well in the Best of the West, do well in conference, and then aim for a long postseason.”
For the second-straight year, Benet and Fremd square off in the eight-team, week-long event. The Redwings (1-1) and Vikings (1-2) meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Naperville North after the Group 2-host Huskies face Neuqua Valley. Pool games continue Thursday and Saturday. The group winners meet for the championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Naperville Central.
Would 17th-year Fremd boss Steve Keller welcome some déjà vu this season? Yes and no. The veteran coach has a team entering the tournament with a 1-2 record -- same as 2014. He would not be thrilled with winning one and losing two for another 2-4 season start.
But after the slow start last season, the Vikings caught fire and captured the Notre Dame (Peoria) Tournament trophy along with regional, sectional and supersectional plaques and a third place Class 3A state trophy. Fremd lost a hard-fought 2-1 state semifinal to eventual champion Hinsdale Central, but went out a winner with a 4-0 score over Streamwood to finish with a 20-6-1 mark. Certainly Keller would welcome more some IHSA post-season déjà vu.
Benet went on from its 1-0 win over Fremd in the 2014 edition of Best of the West to fall short in a 1-0 championship showdown with Naperville Central. That setback kept the Redwings from becoming the first school to successfully defend a Best of the West crown. Central won in 2012 preceded by Naperville North in 2011 and Fremd in 2010.
Fremd may have turned things around with an impressive 2-0 win over Downers Grove South on Saturday after a 2-1 loss to Niles North in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge and a 5-1 setback to New Trier – the program the Vikings beat 1-0 to reach the Final Four.
“We’ve got to find our identity, and we’ve obviously got to fix some things," Keller said after the game before pointing to his heart. “But we also have to have it here as well.”
Both teams are missing individuals who were at center stage with their 2014 units. Fremd graduated IHSSCA All-State defender Tomas Peleckas while the Redwings lost All-State forward Kyle Kenagy. Other key graduates for the Vikings included All-Sectional picks in forward Zach Schoffstall and goalie Will LeFevre. However, 11-of Fremd’s-20-man state roster were underclassmen, and Benet has 15 returnees from a 15-5-2 unit.
Each program was ranked among the top 12 teams in Chicagoland Soccer's opening poll, but Wesley doesn't give early prognostications much stock.
“Those preseason rankings are mainly a compliment to the programs. High school soccer has improved so much it’s so hard to tell from year to year,” Wesley said.
The Benet boss hopes the more representative measure of his team came in its second game of the season.
The Redwings thumped Hinsdale South 7-0 after a 2-1 opening defeat at Downers Grove North.
With three goals from those matches, junior Connor Mote is Benet’s leading scorer, however, honorable mention all-sectional pick Daniel Morefield is clearly the senior leader on a squad that includes a veteran goalie in Konrad Bayer.
“Richie (Michalik) is a third-year varsity player who endured a tough junior year,” Wesley noted. “He did all the off-season work needed to be physically different and mentally ready to be a true anchor for our defense.
“Bennett (Curtis) has stepped up his game so much that he allows us to experiment with some lineups and formations. He may be too unselfish at times. Nicholas (Trakszelis) is fun to watch, and he scored over 20 goals at the JV level.
"Plus a newcomer to us who played with the Fire Academy, Jacob Graiber, is someone we need to find the right place. He’s big, smooth, makes great decisions, and can become a difference-maker.”
How much of a difference? That’s something that obviously remains to be seen, just like where Benet and Fremd’s 2015 seasons will go after their Tuesday meeting in the Best of the West.
forerunner to more déjà vu?
By Steve Nemeth
Benet coach Sean Wesley considers the Best of the West tournament to be one of the defining moments of the Redwings' season.
“It’s simply one of ‘the’ in-season tournaments. You can expect a tough week, which is why we sign up,” Wesley said. “We want to play well in the Best of the West, do well in conference, and then aim for a long postseason.”
For the second-straight year, Benet and Fremd square off in the eight-team, week-long event. The Redwings (1-1) and Vikings (1-2) meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Naperville North after the Group 2-host Huskies face Neuqua Valley. Pool games continue Thursday and Saturday. The group winners meet for the championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Naperville Central.
Would 17th-year Fremd boss Steve Keller welcome some déjà vu this season? Yes and no. The veteran coach has a team entering the tournament with a 1-2 record -- same as 2014. He would not be thrilled with winning one and losing two for another 2-4 season start.
But after the slow start last season, the Vikings caught fire and captured the Notre Dame (Peoria) Tournament trophy along with regional, sectional and supersectional plaques and a third place Class 3A state trophy. Fremd lost a hard-fought 2-1 state semifinal to eventual champion Hinsdale Central, but went out a winner with a 4-0 score over Streamwood to finish with a 20-6-1 mark. Certainly Keller would welcome more some IHSA post-season déjà vu.
Benet went on from its 1-0 win over Fremd in the 2014 edition of Best of the West to fall short in a 1-0 championship showdown with Naperville Central. That setback kept the Redwings from becoming the first school to successfully defend a Best of the West crown. Central won in 2012 preceded by Naperville North in 2011 and Fremd in 2010.
Fremd may have turned things around with an impressive 2-0 win over Downers Grove South on Saturday after a 2-1 loss to Niles North in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge and a 5-1 setback to New Trier – the program the Vikings beat 1-0 to reach the Final Four.
“We’ve got to find our identity, and we’ve obviously got to fix some things," Keller said after the game before pointing to his heart. “But we also have to have it here as well.”
Both teams are missing individuals who were at center stage with their 2014 units. Fremd graduated IHSSCA All-State defender Tomas Peleckas while the Redwings lost All-State forward Kyle Kenagy. Other key graduates for the Vikings included All-Sectional picks in forward Zach Schoffstall and goalie Will LeFevre. However, 11-of Fremd’s-20-man state roster were underclassmen, and Benet has 15 returnees from a 15-5-2 unit.
Each program was ranked among the top 12 teams in Chicagoland Soccer's opening poll, but Wesley doesn't give early prognostications much stock.
“Those preseason rankings are mainly a compliment to the programs. High school soccer has improved so much it’s so hard to tell from year to year,” Wesley said.
The Benet boss hopes the more representative measure of his team came in its second game of the season.
The Redwings thumped Hinsdale South 7-0 after a 2-1 opening defeat at Downers Grove North.
With three goals from those matches, junior Connor Mote is Benet’s leading scorer, however, honorable mention all-sectional pick Daniel Morefield is clearly the senior leader on a squad that includes a veteran goalie in Konrad Bayer.
“Richie (Michalik) is a third-year varsity player who endured a tough junior year,” Wesley noted. “He did all the off-season work needed to be physically different and mentally ready to be a true anchor for our defense.
“Bennett (Curtis) has stepped up his game so much that he allows us to experiment with some lineups and formations. He may be too unselfish at times. Nicholas (Trakszelis) is fun to watch, and he scored over 20 goals at the JV level.
"Plus a newcomer to us who played with the Fire Academy, Jacob Graiber, is someone we need to find the right place. He’s big, smooth, makes great decisions, and can become a difference-maker.”
How much of a difference? That’s something that obviously remains to be seen, just like where Benet and Fremd’s 2015 seasons will go after their Tuesday meeting in the Best of the West.