Vikings edge Redwings to reach Naperville Invite quarterfinals

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By Eddie Burns

Although the turnaround was quick, Fremd coach Steve Keller expected his Vikings to come away with a win in its match against Benet Academy on Saturday afternoon.

Fremd did not disappoint its coach as the Vikings managed to make just enough plays to score a 1-0 win against the Redwings in a match in the 13th annual Naperville Invitational played at Wheaton North.

"I knew our girls would be tired and they fought through it," said Keller, whose team defeated Wheaton Warrenville South 2-0 late Friday night before returning to Wheaton to play Benet at noon on Saturday.

"We did what we had to do today. It was not our prettiest or our best game, but we got the job done, which is kind of what we expected."

The Vikings (9-1-1) were slow to start but they managed to get to the ball to one of their playmakers and she delivered. Elise Kotsakis scored the game-winner in the 27th minute.

Michelle Mottonen was credited with the assist after sliding a pass to Kotsakis, who accepted the ball at the top of the penalty box with her back to the Benet goal.

Kotsakis quickly turned and fired a shot from 18 yards out into the top left quadrant of the Benet goal that goalie Clarie Munaretto had little to no chance of saving.

"I don't think any professional goalie could have stopped that shot," said Benet coach Henry Wind, whose team fell to 7-4 on the season.

Kotsakis said she's spent extra time working in practice on executing in similar types of scoring situations.

"I was trying to turn on their players and shoot it," said Kotsakis, who now has 10 goals.

"I got the ball with my back to the goal, so I turned and shot it. Making that type of move is something I've gotten used to doing by placing shots like those on net in games and in practice."

Keller said he and Vikings' supporters have grown accustomed to Kotsakis making similar types of plays.

"Elise is one of our most dangerous players," Keller said. "She didn't have one of her best games today, but she did what she had to do at forward.

"You could tell she was dragging at the end. She had nothing left, but she made the play we needed her to make today."

The Vikings were without the services of Kristen Kupstys and Crystal Rohan, who sat out because of injuries.

Their absence allowed Keller to move Kotsakis into the forward position, which gave the Vikings another threat up top.

The injuries also allowed Keller to give playing time to some other players who don't normally see a lot of minutes.

Keller liked what he saw from Nicole Leginski and Alexis Tice in the middle as well as Rebecca Freeman on the outside.

Emily Basten received a start on defense while Jen Merlittli was moved to the midfield.

Senior Allison Norenberg made a handful of saves to earn the shutout.

"There were mistakes that we made, which were mental errors that you make when you are tired, but that is still no excuse, but overall, I'm happy with the win," Keller said.

The Vikings will continue the quest to win their first Naperville Invite in the quarterfinals against Naperville North on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Huskies and Vikings will play in Naperville.

Through their first two games in the tournament, the Vikings have yet to allow a goal.

The fun thing about this tournament is that you play the teams that you see in the paper all of the time that are ranked and now we get a chance to go up against them and find out where we are at,” Keller said.

"You get to make a case for yourself and then you go from there. This tournament also shows you what you need to work on."

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