Chicagoland Soccer

Vikings use two quick scores to beat Scouts in regional final

By Mike Garofola

Fremd forced North Suburban Conference champion Lake Forest to play from behind on Friday following spectacular early strikes from Nick Tambellini and Brian Hindle.

Those scores proved to be the difference as the Vikings went on to claim a 2-1 victory over the Scouts in the championship game of the Class 3A Fremd Regional in Palatine.

Next up for Steve Keller's club is a trip across town to Palatine High School next Tuesday for a sectional semifinal against either No. 1 Libertyville, or the host Pirates, who will be looking to upset the 2010 3A state runners-up this afternoon.

"This was a very good win," said Keller, whose tactical plan worked to near perfection, while several of his players from the bench chipped in with one strong effort after another.

That helped the Vikings (13-5-2) to defeat a Lake Forest club which just last week won its first conference championship since 1989, and as recently as 2009, made a long and successful ride through the postseason before falling to New Trier in the super-sectionals.

"We told the lads afterwards that an inch here and there and maybe (Fremd) doesn't put either of their goals in, and we put one into the back of the net instead, but in the end, you cannot be chasing a team like (them) for such a long period of time, and especially against a team which was so committed to defending and holding onto their lead," said Scouts' head coach Rob Parry.

After a frantic start, with most of the play going box-to-box without much substance, the Scouts (14-5-1) looked ready to hit the panic button when Tambellini came up the left side, before striking a bending ball from 30 yards which edged its way in just inside the post.

Less than 60 seconds later, Hindle calmly stepped up and buried his 30-yard free-kick with style, around a Lake Forest wall, and past keeper Sam Franklin Audley, who appeared to prepping his wall with instructions when the Hindle blast was unloaded.

"From where I was, it looked like their keeper still wasn't settled, and Brian hit a great shot to take advantage of (their) keeper and his defense," said Keller.

"You rarely score one goal like we did with Tambo's shot, but to score a second is highly unusual."

The Scouts' response was slow to the Vikings' goal-scoring explosion, but after a few minutes, they would find some pace.

They predictably looked to get the ball on the foot of all-state candidate Michael Shipp in the middle of the park, and their trio of goal-scorers up top, and especially James Ankenman.

Although that allowed the visitors to spend more time in the Vikings' end for the next quarter hour, the best they could produce were a handful of dead-ball opportunities, which free-kick experts Kevin Grube and Ian Forlow each steered their attempts far off frame, and well over the football crossbar.

"We came into tonight with a game plan, and that was to keep our three in the back (Matt Briars, Nate Hellwarth and Eric Scott), station Eric Leonard in front of them, almost as a sweeper, and ask our central midfielders to stay tight and compact, to force (Lake Forest) to play wide - and the guys executed this idea almost to perfection," said a proud Keller.

"Our defense played really well tonight and it was probably the difference in the game for us," said Hindle, who along with Yusuke Kanada helped put plenty of high pressure on the Scouts' backline.

That was the same tactical move in which Conant supplied in Tuesday's regional semifinal for the better part of an hour to force the Scouts to play more direct, instead of through their talented midfield.

Several questonable calls forced Keller to go to his bench when both Tambellini and Kanada were booked. Later, an injury and bad cut on the back of Leonard's skull brought the superb sophomore off at 25 minutes to get some attention.

"Players like Jon Magnusson, Brock VonHolt, Tim Lehigh and Jared Niec came on to give us some terrific minutes when we really needed them to tonight, and it was their work rate and high level of energy which helped us get through those periods when those (three) guys were out, and when we also needed a fresh set of legs," offered Keller.

VonHolt in particular played a vital role in place of Leonard, as the lanky sophomore stepped into the defense midfield/sweeper position and with a pair of quality tackles and victories in the air from the young player, the eight-minute absence of one of the best players in the area was hardly felt.

With the look that only Wes Craven horror-film fans could appreciate, a heavily bandaged Leonard subbed for VonHolt, and at near full strength, the Vikings went back to protecting their lead, while looking to counter and catch the Scouts, who were pushing numbers forward with the hope of cutting the lead of the home side in half.

Just before Leonard was sidelined, keeper Colton Caesius made a brave challenge off his line on a charging Ankenman, and although the senior won the 50-50 ball - he likely suffered an upper body injury, which later forced him out of the match in favor of Steve Soltykiewicz near the hour mark.

Caesius gave up a rebound on the aforementioned play, and an alert Peter Passalino followed up with a blistering shot at the now-open net, but the ever-present Scott was there to block the fierce shot to help keep the Vikings' lead safe.

Fremd almost put the dagger into their opponent, and if not for a wonderful save from Audley, on the stretch to stop a flying side-volley bicycle from Hindle, the Vikings would have taken an insurmountable three-goal lead into the break.

"Protecting a two-goal lead is always the most dangerous to hold, so if we could have gotten that third goal, we might have finished them off," suggested Tambellini.

The Scouts were able to pull a goal back at 54 minutes when a Shipp corner stayed in the Vikings' box far too long, and as the ball bounced around the 6-yard box, it finally fell to a fortunate player, whom Parry was unable to name after the match.

To the credit of the Vikings, while they continued to work hard to manage their lead, they were able to put a good bit of pressure on their opponent to keep them honest and force them to defend in their own end for the final 10 minutes.

Kanaka had a go at Audley and Hindle nearly found Tambellini on the tail end of a long throw at 73 minutes, but Fremd's midfield, led now by Jeremy Kosacz, Michael Eschbach and Hindle, still had pace and determination in their hearts, and that would help carry the Vikings to victory and a place in the sectionals next week.

"To be honest, there were so many (strange) calls from the official against us, but I really felt it helped us, rather than hurt (us) because he took away the flow of the game, which I feel frustrated Lake Forest more than us," began Keller.

"We stayed composed all night long, and the guys in the back were organized, and kept their shape, and they were just as much the difference for us tonight than those two great early goals from Tambo and Hindle."