Palatine wants to break
Fremd's hold on Kinsella Cup
By Mike Garofola
Fremd's green half of the Village of Palatine has enjoyed the best of the Kinsella Cup results of late, most recently with a 2-0 victory a year ago.
The last time the red half triumphed in the rivalry was 2015, a fact not lost on new Palatine manager Aaron Morris or his captain Zach Sondergaard.
The competition is named after Palatine Celtic Soccer Club founder and Glasgow, Scotland-native Jimmy Kinsella. The organization, which formed in 1968, has seen thousands of boys and girls play soccer under its banner. Kinsella passed away in 2005 at the age of 83.
"I have so many great memories from first playing in this game, and later as a coach in the program," began Morris. He played under longtime manager Willie Filian, who retired after the 2021-2022 school year and turned the team over to his one-time star player and former assistant.
"The atmosphere is always electric; the stands are packed with families, students and tons of players from the Celtic Soccer Club. You feel the energy in the stadium, and I vividly remember how the level of play and intensity rises after that opening whistle blew."
Fremd senior Will Mayer is ready to defend the Cup.
"It's a game we all look forward to -- obviously a big rivalry, high-energy game,” he said.
The versatile player for Vikings manager Steve Keller can play wide, attack in the midfield or defend as necessary. He exudes passion for the game and shows his enthusiasm with box-to-box energy.
"Both sides really come out and play hard,” he said. “With us having the Cup for so long, they're going to come out with a real chip on their shoulders."
Sondergaard, just as Mayer, is a three-year varsity veteran. He has played for Celtic since he was six years old and currently is a club teammate of Fremd senior Owen Winegar.
"The Kinsella Cup is a game everyone knows about,” he said. “There's so much history and tradition associated with it. We all look forward to it.
"Fremd has been so good since I came here to Palatine, especially last year. So for us, this is an important game. We want to end the Cup losing streak, and get ourselves three points to stay in the division race.
"I feel very fortunate to have played my first two years on varsity for coach Filian, and now coach (Morris) who has continued with the same values and feeling of family instilled in us to help us build great chemistry. "
Fremd (7-5-2, 5-2-0) enters the contest at Chic Anderson Stadium with four-consecutive Mid-Suburban League victories to drew them to within three points of West Division-leading Conant.
Palatine (8-6-1, 3-4-1), which sat atop the division just a week ago, is 0-2-1 in its last three games and fell to third place with 10 points.
"There's a couple of results that have not gone our way of late, so we have put ourselves in a position that we need to win," said Morris. “I have complete confidence in our team heading into these final two weeks of the regular-season."
"As an alum of Palatine, community member and former Celtic player, this game means so much to me. That trophy has been with Fremd far too long. But we know it will be quite a challenge; they have a lot of quality and a great coach with Steve."
Fremd's hold on Kinsella Cup
By Mike Garofola
Fremd's green half of the Village of Palatine has enjoyed the best of the Kinsella Cup results of late, most recently with a 2-0 victory a year ago.
The last time the red half triumphed in the rivalry was 2015, a fact not lost on new Palatine manager Aaron Morris or his captain Zach Sondergaard.
The competition is named after Palatine Celtic Soccer Club founder and Glasgow, Scotland-native Jimmy Kinsella. The organization, which formed in 1968, has seen thousands of boys and girls play soccer under its banner. Kinsella passed away in 2005 at the age of 83.
"I have so many great memories from first playing in this game, and later as a coach in the program," began Morris. He played under longtime manager Willie Filian, who retired after the 2021-2022 school year and turned the team over to his one-time star player and former assistant.
"The atmosphere is always electric; the stands are packed with families, students and tons of players from the Celtic Soccer Club. You feel the energy in the stadium, and I vividly remember how the level of play and intensity rises after that opening whistle blew."
Fremd senior Will Mayer is ready to defend the Cup.
"It's a game we all look forward to -- obviously a big rivalry, high-energy game,” he said.
The versatile player for Vikings manager Steve Keller can play wide, attack in the midfield or defend as necessary. He exudes passion for the game and shows his enthusiasm with box-to-box energy.
"Both sides really come out and play hard,” he said. “With us having the Cup for so long, they're going to come out with a real chip on their shoulders."
Sondergaard, just as Mayer, is a three-year varsity veteran. He has played for Celtic since he was six years old and currently is a club teammate of Fremd senior Owen Winegar.
"The Kinsella Cup is a game everyone knows about,” he said. “There's so much history and tradition associated with it. We all look forward to it.
"Fremd has been so good since I came here to Palatine, especially last year. So for us, this is an important game. We want to end the Cup losing streak, and get ourselves three points to stay in the division race.
"I feel very fortunate to have played my first two years on varsity for coach Filian, and now coach (Morris) who has continued with the same values and feeling of family instilled in us to help us build great chemistry. "
Fremd (7-5-2, 5-2-0) enters the contest at Chic Anderson Stadium with four-consecutive Mid-Suburban League victories to drew them to within three points of West Division-leading Conant.
Palatine (8-6-1, 3-4-1), which sat atop the division just a week ago, is 0-2-1 in its last three games and fell to third place with 10 points.
"There's a couple of results that have not gone our way of late, so we have put ourselves in a position that we need to win," said Morris. “I have complete confidence in our team heading into these final two weeks of the regular-season."
"As an alum of Palatine, community member and former Celtic player, this game means so much to me. That trophy has been with Fremd far too long. But we know it will be quite a challenge; they have a lot of quality and a great coach with Steve."