Vikings relinquish Kinsella Cup to Palatine
By Mike Garofola

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Only the soccer clubs from Fremd and Palatine can appreciate the importance of what it means to own the Kinsella Cup - a symbol of soccer excellence in the town of Palatine that each side competes for each and every season.

On its way to its third-place finish in the state last year, Fremd earned the right to hold the coveted cup following a 2-0 victory last September.

But on Wednesday night, Palatine gained control of the cup back from its crosstown rival, and in doing so earned another three points to stay atop the MSL table, four points clear of Barrington in the race for a berth in the MSL Cup in mid-October.

However, the Pirates’ (9-0-2, 6-0-1-13 points) impressive 3-1 victory at Chic Anderson Stadium lost some of its shine when in the closing moments of the match, Fremd’s Kamil Grudzien collided with Pirates keeper Kyle Leber inside the box, sending Grudzien to the ground. Players from both sides immediately called for help, as they all feared for the safety of their fallen friend.

The Pirates’ training staff reacted quickly and only minutes after the accident, Palatine fire department personnel and paramedics where on the scene after a short drive from their home base less than two miles from the school.

Players, officials and the big crowd stood in silence, obviously shaken from the uncertainty of the situation, as Grudzien was cared for and stabilized. The senior appeared to have movement in his legs and arms and was aware of everything around him.

Grudzien was transported to nearby Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, and Fremd coach Steve Keller reported early Thursday morning that Grudzien was doing fine and that he would likely be released from the hospital sometime today.

"Something like that really puts things in perspective," said a concerned Willie Filian, the Pirates’ manager.

"Even though there's a great rivalry between these two teams and schools, there's also a lot of respect for each other as well. Most of these guys have known, and or played with and against each for a very long time, so when this type of thing happens it becomes all about family, not the opposition."

The match was officially called with just over 70 seconds remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for the Vikings, it was anything but a close match -- not only in the final score but also in the intensity level, which normally is about as sky-high as one could imagine when the two sides meet each year.

"On the soccer side of things, it was all Palatine," said a subdued Keller. "We were listless from the beginning, outworked, beaten to nearly every 50-50 and second ball, and they were so much more physical that we were.

"It's disappointing to say the least, especially with how far we've come in the last three or four games, and the strides that we've taken during that time. We'll just have to regroup after all that transpired tonight, and get back at it tomorrow."

Josh Lee had a lot to do with sending the Vikings (3-7-2, 3-3-0) into their funk. Two minutes into the match, the hard-working senior striker slipped freely into the Fremd box to collect a loose ball before sending it past keeper Nathan Duffield, who along with his backline mates, who were troubled over whose ball it was.

"It looked like there was some miscommunication in the back, so I was lucky enough to be there to get the ball and put it into the back of the net," Lee said. Lee and fellow senior Cesar Valdez had too much pace and energy for Fremd in the opening period, and a ferocious wind kept the Vikings pinned in their own end for most of the first 40 minutes.

"The wind was a big advantage," continued Lee, "but all of us did what we've done all season, and that was to work and run hard, which seems to be one of the reasons for our success so far."

The strong wind also gave some extra giddyup and pace to Jeremy Velinski's long throws. The big defensive mid is easily the top thrower in the league this season.

During the opening session, Velinski created several dangerous situations to help put the Vikings under pressure. Many of his throws led to corners or worse, including a sitter near the spot that the Vikings managed to clear, followed by another heat-seeking toss that forced Duffield to elevate and turn up and over the woodwork.

The ensuing corner would see Palatine’s Marco Arreola fire wide of the bar.

Leber and the Pirates’ backline trio of Kyle Clancy, Matt Fleischhauer and Ulises Alcaraz would have an easy time of things in the first half, but the quartet had to know their time for trouble would be approaching soon, after the two clubs switched sides following intermission.

"It was great for us to score first, and so quickly as well, especially with the conditions, but for us to get two more into the wind in the second half was really big," offered Lee.

Just before the break, Fremd’s Nathan Dolan would get forward to unleash a low drive on frame, forcing Leber into a save in what would be the best and only chance for the visitors during the first half.

During an extended half-time break, players from the Palatine Celtic Club took the pitch to play several small-sides games, which has become an annual treat for these young players, and a terrific way for the long-time club, now 1500 strong, to promote and encourage the sport it has supported for 30-plus years.

The Vikings’ faithful, hopeful its heroes would awaken from its first-half snooze, were rewarded almost immediately when Brock VonHolt unloaded a wind-aided 40-yard smash just wide of the post, signaling the arrival of a Fremd attack that had been missing for 40 minutes.

With Jeremy Kosacz and Jon Magnusson zooming in and around the Pirates’ area, and the midfield trio of Lucas Cholewa, Clayton Schmidt and Michael Eschbach coming aboard in the attack, the Pirates were suddenly defending one-way traffic coming their way.

Another VonHolt drive, then a shot from Spencer Janes were both stopped by Leber, and with their new-found confidence, the Vikings began to win many of the game’s 50-50 balls.

But when it appeared the run of play had swung far to the Vikings favor, the home side stunned its closest rival.

From his stance at the far touchline, Velinski would heave another well-aimed toss to where an ever-opportunistic Dave Clark would be lurking at the tail end of his run into the box.

The senior would keep the ball in the mix long enough for Cesar Valdez to collect, turn, and then fire into the back of the net from close range, doubling the Pirates’ lead in the 52nd minute.

Moments later, Leber -- a human highlight film throughout the second half -- ventured forward to stop a wicked cracker from Magnusson, stopping the senior stone cold and helping keep the home side advantage at two goals.

"It was an amazing save, and I shudder to think if that went in, what type of pressure Fremd would come at us with," said Filian.

Keller went to a 3-4-3 formation with the hope that the change would inspire the Vikings’ attack, and with defender John Smith getting forward on the right side, give the visitors additional numbers. Fremd’s new front line of Kosacz, Zach Stoffstall and Cholewa upped their game in the hopes of finally solving Leber and the Palatine defense.

But up stepped Velinski once again. Palatine’s Matt Ryan-Darrah made a near-post run led and redirected a Velinski throw just inside the post in the 71st minute, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

With some extra effort and pace provided up top from Sergio Hernandez and Saul Gutierrez up top, and Gavin Falotico in the middle of the park, the Pirates simply did too many little things well for the Vikings to handle them.

Grudzien would score a consolation goal in the 77th minute, before his unfortunate injury with 1:18 left on the clock.

"This was a big game for us, against our biggest rival, but it's kind of hard to feel too good about things after what happened at the end," said Leber, who was consoled by Keller after the ordeal, but still visibly upset during his post-game interview.

After the game was called and both teams huddled for a moment, the two clubs went through the customary post-game handshake, only this time with a hug in a show of compassion and support for the injured Grudzien.


Keller also addressed the injury with his squad.

"Coach brought us all together and was said some very positive things to all of us, telling us this sort of thing happens sometimes during the competition, and that nobody on our team was responsible for the injury, and I really think it helped all of us to hear that," said Lee.