Pirates loosen grip on the Celtic Cup
Fremd's overtime goal hands Palatine a 2-1 loss

By Mike Garofola

When the ball got rolling Thursday night in front of a packed house, it became quite clear this was no ordinary weekly match in the MSL.

It was the annual match for bragging rights in Palatine for the prestigious Celtic Cup, between cross-town rivals Fremd and the host Pirates.

And after Lorenzo Savino drove home the first goal of the evening for the visiting Vikings (10-2-2, 6-2-0-18 pts) all of the energy from the hundreds of young players, families and students exploded in a wonderful show of enthusiasm, giving all on hand some terrific value for their entertainment dollar.

The MSL West co-leading Vikings sent the noisy crowd home asking for more, when Matt Burkhardt struck the game-winner 5 minutes into overtime. Burkhardt’s strike helped his club earn a 2-1 victory that gave the Celtic Cup back to the Vikings.

Just as importantly, Burkhardt’s goal brought Fremd even with both Barrington and Conant in the race for a division title with just a week to go in the regular season.

"This was a pretty exciting match to be a part of, and a very important one for us in the MSL, and an important one in our long-time rivalry with Palatine," said Burkhardt, who obviously was enjoying the moment.

Burkhardt enjoyed both his heroics and thrilled to be a part of the Celtic Cup, and what the rivalry means to both programs.

"So many of us have known each other since we were little, and we've played together and against each other during that time, so yeah, this was a big match for us on all levels, and it meant a lot to all of us to win it," added Savino, the fiery spark-plug striker, who leads the Vikings in scoring with 9 goals. 

The duo of Savino and Burkhardt would give the Vikings' an extra edge during the first 10 minutes of the match, but after the initial push from the visitors, things settled in with plenty of bone-chilling tackles on 50-50 balls, with play going way over the speed limit for the rest of the half.

"I wish we could have knocked the ball around more and played with more possession because when we do, we're able to control the pace and the run of play," began Fremd head coach Steve Keller.

"But that's what Palatine does so well - they make you play their game with a lot of pressure on the ball, and by defending and tackling for 80 minutes. We kind of got caught up in that and the entire atmosphere out here tonight, and we found ourselves in a real battle all night long."

The Pirates (8-6-1, 4-2-1-13 pts) would level at 24 minutes when Kosta Risteski rebounded his own PK attempt off keeper Scott Sutarik, who made the initial save but unfortunately gave the Pirates senior another chance to finish.

After the Risteski goal, both sides appeared to tighten up and play more cautious when going forward, looking to counter or play over the top. If it wasn’t the most appealing soccer to watch, it was still filled with enough thrills and spills to keep the big crowd on the edge, ready to cheer at any moment.

Pirates’ keeper Evan Held made brave back-to-back stops inside the 6-yard box, on pinpoint serves from both Alex Bochat and Spencer Filosa , just before intermission. Risteski went over the bar just after the Vikings' duo challenged Held in the air.

The extra-long break featured small-sided games for a pair of teams from the Celtic club, as well as the Park District, and after an exciting time on the big pitch for these youngsters, play resumed brightly. Some promising early moments came undone 10 minutes in the second-half, when play began to slowly unravel for the home-side, according to Palatine coach Willie Filian.

"I don't know if it was because of the fitness of Fremd, or just their energy and pace, but I really thought they kind of took over for the last 20 minutes of regulation,” he said. “We struggled to get anything going in our attack, and it seemed like they were in our end constantly during that time."

The Pirates’ most dangerous effort in the final quarter hour came when Jon Clark provided a marvelous pass to Jack Reynolds on the right side, only to see Fremd’s Eric Leonard thwart the danger. Sutarik pushed a neatly served ball from Jeremy Velinski over the woodwork at 80 minutes.

The Fremd trio of Savino, Burkhardt, and Jake Nedza kept the Pirates under pressure, disallowing their opponents the opportunity to get a shot on frame.

Alex Prelipceanu would thump a header off a corner at the onset of the first 10-minute OT period, but shortly thereafter Burkhardt provided the game-winner.

"I caught the eye of Filosa, and he gave me a great ball. I just kept running and got enough of to put it into the back of the net," said Burkhardt, who helped end the Pirates 3-year stranglehold of the Celtic Cup.

"The kids were really fired up for this match tonight, and at times, we played without any composure or patience, but it really was a big victory for us because a loss or tie would have might have been too much to overcome here at the end," said a relieved Keller.