Fremd, Elk Grove seek more than MSL win
By Steve Nemeth
On paper it’s true that both Fremd and Elk Grove Village are aiming for their first Mid-Suburban League victory for 2017.
But in reality, there’s so much more at stake than just getting rid of the zero in the win column. Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. meeting in Elk Grove involves two sides committed to validating their work ethic, skills, camaraderie, plus passion for the game, teammates and their school.
Those aspects remain even when a season hasn’t gone as planned. In Fremd’s case, the Vikings are 2-6-1 overall and 0-3-0 in the league. The host Grenadiers are 1-4-2 and sit above Fremd in the MSL standings by a point at 0-3-1.
“Getting a first conference win is now a bigger deal because any win should help when we’re coming off four tough losses,” admitted Ben Cuthbert, one of a senior trio – with Dalton Rodgers and Max Clark -- whose work rate Fremd coach Steve Keller would love to see emulated by the entire team.
“That’s not to say they haven’t ever made mistakes, but their desire and effort is what we need from everyone,” Keller said. “It doesn’t matter right now who the opponent is, the worry is about getting a win. They fight hard but not always smart, so you come up short on the scoreboard and their confidence gets shaken. They can be a little down on themselves, and it seems hard to find positives at the moment. That’s why we need a reward.”
Taking that honest assessment a step further, both programs are facing transition seasons.
The Grenadiers’ graduation losses not only numbered in double figures, but included All-MSL types like Markos Christoforou and Joey Weber, plus 2016 Chicagoland Soccer Special Mention list members Ronald Olague and Bryan Alvarado. Coach Alex Stavropoulos is in his first year at the top after three years of serving as an assistant.
Fremd's twin-digit graduation losses included four All-MSL honorees: keeper John Kassar, James Lefevre, Shintaro Hidaka and Michael LaBarge. As a veteran in his 20th campaign at Fremd, Keller is too humble to be concerned over whether his 250th career win gets delayed to next year.
And that same coaching wisdom is why Keller doesn’t believe 2016 results offer any guarantee factor in 2017. The Vikings did win the regular-season meeting 1-0 and then added a 3-1 victory over Elk Grove in the MSL Crossover finale.
That was then, this is now.
Keller said: “There’s three things we’re not doing well enough: oOne is avoiding giving up a soft goal; two is sustaining the work rate on defense; three is finishing chances on attack.”
Senior Matt Austin tops the Viking goal count with four followed by Cuthbert and Jake Schoffstall with two apiece.
Of course Fremd’s schedule features opposition found in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 with losses to currently ranked no. 4 Naperville North and no. 13 Barrington and honorable mention teams Glenbrook South, Hinsdale Central and Wheeling. And that doesn't include dates with no. 6 New Trier and honorable mention and Kinsella Cup rival Palatine down the road.
“Our strength of schedule is among the best, but that’s not an excuse,” Rogers said. “Despite the talent, we can’t seem to score. I know we’ve got some very good sophomores, and we have the talent as a team and a high passion to win. We do believe in one another. So it’s a question of doing that extra thing, whatever it may be, that puts us ahead.
“We should beat Elk Grove not because both teams have yet to win a league game, but because we believe we can and should win every game,” Rogers added. “The reality is we haven’t played to our potential, and there are a lot more losses to this point because of silly mistakes that we haven’t been able to crawl back from.”
Cuthbert, a member of Chicagoland Soccer's All-State Watch List along with Rogers, echoed those sentiments.
“Our record doesn’t show how we really play. Even despite final scores,” Cuthbert said in noting one of four single-goal setbacks, “we feel as if we’ve been in every game and outcomes hinge on mental mistakes made on our part.
“Naperville North is the defending state champ, and they got by us off one long shot. Then we came back against Barrington, last year’s runner-up, but fell short by one goal. Unfortunately those still don’t reflect the work we’ve put in.”
At Elk Grove, Stavropoulos has logged as much time with off the field aspects as the Grens have clocked on the pitch.
“In the past the roster included the most talented, but this is a top-down change in our approach. We want a combination of talent, commitment and character,” Stavropoulos explained. “We’re a very young team with more sophomores than seniors. But thankfully our seniors are class acts. They’re helping with this rebuild by helping the younger guys keep their heads up.
“They’ve bought in when it comes to team-building from beach conditioning, foot golf, and other activities aimed at unifying plus building for the future.
“Misa (Contreras) and Oscar (Gonzalez) are the two most experienced starters back, and two-of-four seniors (with Nazar Peron and Alex Martinez). But we’ve been improving, and I’m confident we’ll get better results.”
Elk Grove also hasn’t had as much scoring as desired. Contreras owns 80 percent of the team scoring; the other goal belongs to Peron.
“Although we’ve struggled, we’ve also played a tough schedule, and every game we’re getting better,” Contreras said. “No matter who our opponent is, what record they have, we’ll fight to win. Our younger players are overcoming their nerves and getting better.”
Stavropoulos notes the emergence of sophomores Gerardo Perez and Eliseo Palacios in midfield. Contreras confirms their progress and welcomes their help.
“Right now I’m being man-marked more and more, but I’m willing to do whatever I can to help the team. So that includes the opportunity to play the ball to open teammates,” Contreras said.
Another intangible for Thursday’s game is a shared reality for the seniors on both rosters.
“As a senior it hit me, ‘Wow, I’ve got almost one month left in my high school career’,” Rogers said. “All the more reason to hope this is the time to turn it around -- come up with a strong second half of the year and follow with a good postseason.”
By Steve Nemeth
On paper it’s true that both Fremd and Elk Grove Village are aiming for their first Mid-Suburban League victory for 2017.
But in reality, there’s so much more at stake than just getting rid of the zero in the win column. Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. meeting in Elk Grove involves two sides committed to validating their work ethic, skills, camaraderie, plus passion for the game, teammates and their school.
Those aspects remain even when a season hasn’t gone as planned. In Fremd’s case, the Vikings are 2-6-1 overall and 0-3-0 in the league. The host Grenadiers are 1-4-2 and sit above Fremd in the MSL standings by a point at 0-3-1.
“Getting a first conference win is now a bigger deal because any win should help when we’re coming off four tough losses,” admitted Ben Cuthbert, one of a senior trio – with Dalton Rodgers and Max Clark -- whose work rate Fremd coach Steve Keller would love to see emulated by the entire team.
“That’s not to say they haven’t ever made mistakes, but their desire and effort is what we need from everyone,” Keller said. “It doesn’t matter right now who the opponent is, the worry is about getting a win. They fight hard but not always smart, so you come up short on the scoreboard and their confidence gets shaken. They can be a little down on themselves, and it seems hard to find positives at the moment. That’s why we need a reward.”
Taking that honest assessment a step further, both programs are facing transition seasons.
The Grenadiers’ graduation losses not only numbered in double figures, but included All-MSL types like Markos Christoforou and Joey Weber, plus 2016 Chicagoland Soccer Special Mention list members Ronald Olague and Bryan Alvarado. Coach Alex Stavropoulos is in his first year at the top after three years of serving as an assistant.
Fremd's twin-digit graduation losses included four All-MSL honorees: keeper John Kassar, James Lefevre, Shintaro Hidaka and Michael LaBarge. As a veteran in his 20th campaign at Fremd, Keller is too humble to be concerned over whether his 250th career win gets delayed to next year.
And that same coaching wisdom is why Keller doesn’t believe 2016 results offer any guarantee factor in 2017. The Vikings did win the regular-season meeting 1-0 and then added a 3-1 victory over Elk Grove in the MSL Crossover finale.
That was then, this is now.
Keller said: “There’s three things we’re not doing well enough: oOne is avoiding giving up a soft goal; two is sustaining the work rate on defense; three is finishing chances on attack.”
Senior Matt Austin tops the Viking goal count with four followed by Cuthbert and Jake Schoffstall with two apiece.
Of course Fremd’s schedule features opposition found in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 with losses to currently ranked no. 4 Naperville North and no. 13 Barrington and honorable mention teams Glenbrook South, Hinsdale Central and Wheeling. And that doesn't include dates with no. 6 New Trier and honorable mention and Kinsella Cup rival Palatine down the road.
“Our strength of schedule is among the best, but that’s not an excuse,” Rogers said. “Despite the talent, we can’t seem to score. I know we’ve got some very good sophomores, and we have the talent as a team and a high passion to win. We do believe in one another. So it’s a question of doing that extra thing, whatever it may be, that puts us ahead.
“We should beat Elk Grove not because both teams have yet to win a league game, but because we believe we can and should win every game,” Rogers added. “The reality is we haven’t played to our potential, and there are a lot more losses to this point because of silly mistakes that we haven’t been able to crawl back from.”
Cuthbert, a member of Chicagoland Soccer's All-State Watch List along with Rogers, echoed those sentiments.
“Our record doesn’t show how we really play. Even despite final scores,” Cuthbert said in noting one of four single-goal setbacks, “we feel as if we’ve been in every game and outcomes hinge on mental mistakes made on our part.
“Naperville North is the defending state champ, and they got by us off one long shot. Then we came back against Barrington, last year’s runner-up, but fell short by one goal. Unfortunately those still don’t reflect the work we’ve put in.”
At Elk Grove, Stavropoulos has logged as much time with off the field aspects as the Grens have clocked on the pitch.
“In the past the roster included the most talented, but this is a top-down change in our approach. We want a combination of talent, commitment and character,” Stavropoulos explained. “We’re a very young team with more sophomores than seniors. But thankfully our seniors are class acts. They’re helping with this rebuild by helping the younger guys keep their heads up.
“They’ve bought in when it comes to team-building from beach conditioning, foot golf, and other activities aimed at unifying plus building for the future.
“Misa (Contreras) and Oscar (Gonzalez) are the two most experienced starters back, and two-of-four seniors (with Nazar Peron and Alex Martinez). But we’ve been improving, and I’m confident we’ll get better results.”
Elk Grove also hasn’t had as much scoring as desired. Contreras owns 80 percent of the team scoring; the other goal belongs to Peron.
“Although we’ve struggled, we’ve also played a tough schedule, and every game we’re getting better,” Contreras said. “No matter who our opponent is, what record they have, we’ll fight to win. Our younger players are overcoming their nerves and getting better.”
Stavropoulos notes the emergence of sophomores Gerardo Perez and Eliseo Palacios in midfield. Contreras confirms their progress and welcomes their help.
“Right now I’m being man-marked more and more, but I’m willing to do whatever I can to help the team. So that includes the opportunity to play the ball to open teammates,” Contreras said.
Another intangible for Thursday’s game is a shared reality for the seniors on both rosters.
“As a senior it hit me, ‘Wow, I’ve got almost one month left in my high school career’,” Rogers said. “All the more reason to hope this is the time to turn it around -- come up with a strong second half of the year and follow with a good postseason.”