Vikings go from peak to valley against MSL rival Conant

By Mike Garofola

Long-time Fremd coach Steve Keller has watched his lads open the season undefeated in 7 matches, including an impressive run to the Best of the West tournament title last weekend, which included a 1-0 victory in the final over top talent Neuqua Valley, and Keller’s former MSL coaching counterpart, Tony Kees.

This streak seemed to give the Vikings the perfect running start heading into the start of play in the Mid Suburban League, where they appeared to be the favorite in the West division of the conference.

Conant (4-2-1) seemed to be headed in the other direction after a less than sparkling finish to the Lake Park Invite, compounded by a 2-1 loss to the tourney host Lancers, and an attack which finished just 10 times in 6 matches.

But on Tuesday night, with the slate wiped clean and the start of the conference season upon them, the Cougars' struck out in spectacular fashion. Conant played one of its best 80 minutes of the year in shocking the Vikings 2-1 in overtime.

Conant hero Nathan Cornell fired in the game-winner at 82 minutes to give the home side the all-important victory, which included 3 points for a win in the MSL table.

"We just haven't been playing well of late, but we knew that getting out to a good start in our conference matches, especially against Fremd (tonight) would be a really good thing for us to do," Cornell said.

Cornell showed terrific pace and energy along the right side all night long, as did his mates Thomas Kozlowski, Bobby Iatomasi, and Shivam Patel, along with junior Michael Natalino in a relief role. The quartet kept the Vikings under pressure in their own end more than they would have liked.

"It's a long, and tough season in the MSL, but we all understand the importance of getting a win over the favorite in our division, and taking the 3 points, and (obvious) head-to-head victory with you at the same time," said Cougars head coach Jason Franco, who had been less than impressed with the effort of his club during the past week of play.

"We played with little or no spirit at the (Lake Park) tournament, even in our last game where we beat Glenbard East 2-1,” he said. "But the boys came to play tonight, especially our defense, which allowed very few opportunities for Fremd (5-1-2) while helping us to gain the run of play, and keeping (them) on the defensive."

Michael Zintner, Billy Belmonte, Chad Woytus and Dan Ruzich were key figures along the Cougars backline that kept a talented strike force of Lorenzo Savino, Spencer Filosa, Matt Burkhardt, Brian Hindle and others far enough away from Conant keeper Hugo Gonzalez.

Except for a few balls in the air that the senior keeper punched away with ease, Gonzalez had a fairly easy night between the sticks thanks to his backline mates.

Kozlowski would strike first in this match, with the help of Patel, who would draw attention after getting in close on the dribble. Conant’s lead at 35 minutes was short-lived, however.

Filosa and Riota Wada combined to get the Vikings the equalizer just 4 minutes later when the sophomore Wada worked some magic on the left side before providing the helper to the back post.

The Cougars opened the second half with a glorious chance from Iatomasi, who burst through, only to have Fremd Scott Sutarik save brilliantly at point-blank range. The senior keeper gave away a rebound after his save back to Iatomasi, who was unable to get a shot on frame as he sent his drive wide of the open net.

By the hour mark, the home side was in control, staying in the Vikings’ end on a consistent basis, but unable to solve Sutarik and his hard-working backline.

"We did a lot of good things out there in the second half with quick touches and movement, and going side-to-side to keep the ball moving and Fremd defending, and although we didn't finish, it was still all good stuff," Cornell said.

The Cougars’ best chance in regulation came when Iatomasi fed Cornell at the tail end of the counter, which resulted in Sutarik saving Cornell's short-range blast to keep things at 0-0 with 6 minutes remaining.

The Vikings' faithful thought their club had stolen a victory in the 80th minute when Filosa unloaded a missile into the back of the net, but the assistant referee correctly ruled the shot had not gone over the endline when the stadium horn had gone off to signal the end of the match.

Cornell would end the first extra period in a hurry when he collected a fantastic ball out of the back from Zach Conrad before driving ha wicked one-timer the other way from the right side and past a diving Sutarik.

"The disappointing thing about tonight, is (we've) been playing very well, especially during the last 3-4 games, and to come in here tonight and to play so poorly is a tough one to figure," began Keller.

"Give Conant credit, because they outplayed us all over the field. But I think what you saw was how our immaturity came out tonight, and how the guys have to learn what (it is) to play at a high level each time out in order to be a championship team."

"Hopefully we learned that tonight."