Vikings upset Wildcats to win Best of the West title

By Curt Herron

At halftime of Saturday's Best of the West Tournament championship, Fremd coach Steve Keller realized that he definitely had to make some changes.

With Neuqua Valley's Patrick Doody causing plenty of grief for his Vikings by distributing the ball while adding threatening shots, Keller needed a remedy.

And he found it by moving Spencer Filosa from the midfield to defense to try to limit the havoc that Doody was creating while leading the Wildcat attack.

The positive for Keller and the Vikings at the break was that things were still scoreless, thanks in large part to the efforts of keeper Scott Sutarik.

Fremd's goalie had his hands full during the initial 40 minutes but managed to halt all of the dangerous attempts that Neuqua sent his direction.

Keller's shuffle paid off quickly as Filosa began to limit Doody's threat and the Vikings gained confidence as Neuqua's attack became less dangerous.

Although the Vikings didn't get many chances to challenge Wildcat keeper Hunter Hollingshead, they made the most from their limited opportunities.

With 19 minutes remaining in the match, Brian Hindle lined up for a seemingly-innocent free kick from about 25 yards out.

Much to his surprise, and to the dismay of the Wildcats, the wall that he was facing suddenly had an opening through it.

Hindle capitalized by sending a shot into the gap which bounced past Neuqua's keeper for the lone score in Fremd's 1-0 upset win at Naperville Central.

Click to hear coach Spencer Filosa interview

The unlikely scenario capped the Vikings' initial championship in what has long been regarded as the state's top tournament.

It also completed a 4-0 run through the rugged competition which improved Keller's squad to 5-0-2 on the young season.

After edging Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley by 1-0 scores in their first two matches, the Vikings beat Carl Sandburg 3-1 earlier on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Neuqua (4-1-1) posted shutout wins over Naperville North, Benet Academy and Lincoln-Way Central and looked like it was headed toward a repeat title.

There was little during the opening 40 minutes to suggest that Neuqua wouldn't prevail, but not scoring while it had all sorts of chances proved to be costly.

Alex Prelipceanu, Alex Bochat, Michael Eschbach, Eric Leonard and Hindle were other players who joined Filosa and Sutarik to help register the shutout.

Click to hear coach Steve Keller interview

Will Butler directed the first of the many salvos that Sutarik would have to contend with about three minutes into the match.

About 10 minutes later, Jacob Brindle got into the act when sent a shot toward the net that was cleared away by Prelipceanu.

A few minutes later, Doody fired off a liner that was hauled in by Sutarik, who didn't realize yet that there was worse to come.

Shortly after Doody sent another liner over the net, Riota Wada provided a brief hope for the Vikings with a try that went wide.

But it was all Neuqua during the final 12 minutes of the opening half as the Viking keeper faced his biggest challenge of the night.

Doody kicked things off by sending an attempt just wide following a pass from Brindle and then Nick Smith lined a shot to Sutarik.

A couple of minutes later, Butler sent a header to Doody, who fired another line drive that was hauled in by Fremd's goalie.

With just under six minutes left in the half, Sutarik punched away a cross by Butler and Brindle headed the ball over the net.

Click to hear Scott Sutarik interview

Following the break, the Wildcats' attack proved to be much less threatening, to the obvious delight of Sutarik and his defenders.

While Fremd still wasn't generating much offense, neither was Neuqua, and the second half was past its midpoint before either side threatened.

When a team did challenge again, it was the Vikings, whose threat was one of the least dangerous, but turned out to be the most productive.

Hindle's free kick looked rather ordinary for that spot on the field but it took on a different complexion when the hole in the wall appeared.

Click to hear Brian Hindle interview

But Neuqua still had plenty of time left and its comeback efforts began with less than 13 minutes to go when Brindle was denied on a free kick.

Fremd produced another of its limited scoring chances with just over seven minutes left when Yusuke Kanada lined an attempt to Hollingshead.

A short time later, Brindle was stopped following a pass from Butler and then Sutarik hauled in another line drive about a minute after that.

The Vikings held off Neuqua during the final five minutes and then their players charged onto the field to celebrate their unexpected win.

Following its busy start to the season, Fremd only plays in one match this week, which will be Tuesday evening when it travels to Conant.