Bison stay unbeaten with 1-0 win at Fremd
By Bill Hupp

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It’s been said that the mere anticipation of a potential goal is the most exciting thing about soccer.

If that’s true, Buffalo Grove and Fremd put on quite a show on Tuesday night.

There were plenty of chances but very few results as Buffalo Grove stayed perfect on the season with a hard-fought 1-0 conference road win over Fremd on a muggy, still night at Hale Hildebrandt Stadium.

“I thought we played well,” Buffalo Grove Coach Rick Carlson said. “We did a nice job of getting a lead, putting pressure on them and then we defended that lead well at the end. I thought our fitness was excellent.”  

On Tuesday night, the Bison (6-0) were a step quicker than Fremd, possessing the ball, dribbling in and out of danger, getting the ball out wide and lacing dangerous crosses across the face of goal to create great scoring opportunities. They looked more dangerous on the attack and their offensive movement was more fluid and direct.

Bison senior midfielders Irving Balboa, Alberto Eloyza and sophomore Zach Masciopinto controlled the midfield, dribbling through Viking defenders and playing nice short passing combinations to keep possession.

“[The kids] enjoy playing with one another, they trust one another,” Coach Carlson said of his senior-laden squad. “They know that if they make a good run, they’re going to get the ball. Or if they make a run and someone else gets the ball, they’re fine with that. They play like a team.”

The stampede of Bison scoring opportunities began with about 15 minutes to go before halftime and continued well into the second half. Quick counter-attacks and creative runs by Buffalo Grove led to crosses that just needed a touch and blasts into the side netting of the Fremd goal.

With the score tied 0-0 at half, Coach Carlson preached patience to his team and assured them that their efforts would eventually yield positive results.

“We knew that [a goal] was going to come,” Coach Carlson said. “So we just wanted to be patient and stay up and be positive. We had to stay relentless, continue to chase the ball, track back on defense and good things were going to happen.”

About 10 minutes into the second half, senior forward Demo Drakoulis got inside his defender and ran onto a beautifully played ball from senior midfielder Irving Eloiza. He beat a hard-charging Vikings goalie Steven Soltykiewicz to the ball a split second sooner and nodded a header in the net for a well-deserved 1-0 lead.

“Irving [Eloiza] saw me and played a great ball,” the Bison’s senior co-captain said. “I just went up and put my head on it. We play club soccer together too, so we have pretty good chemistry.”

The lead might have been larger at half were it not for the inspired play of Fremd’s Jeremy Kosacz. The Vikings’ senior center fullback was a constant presence, using his speed and smart play to cut out passes and clear away danger from the Fremd box.

“[Buffalo Grove] is obviously a very technically sound and tactically smart team,” Fremd Coach Steve Keller said. “We did everything we could to keep up with them. They’re a very tough team to play against, their kids are smart … they know the game of soccer and how it should be played. If you’re undisciplined against them, you’re going to get burnt.”

Keepers Anthony Pawlicki (first half) and Dillion Eaton (second half) split time in the net to earn the shutout for the Bison.

Fremd picked the offensive intensity once they went down 1-0 in the second half, and almost found the equalizer a few times. Late in the second half, Keller urged his team to push higher up the field and put more pressure on the ball when the Vikings were pressing for the tie.

“That’s been our problem,” Coach Keller said. “We come out without that energy to play and compete, we kind of just go through the motions. That has to change. But we were in the game, had opportunities to tie it up. We’ll try to take some positives from it and move on.”

Still, Fremd had a few chances to go in front early in the game. Their best one came when a free kick from just outside the box had to be saved, then cleared off the line before offsides was called.

Keller praised Soltykiewicz, Kosacz and senior forward Michael Eschbach as three contributors whose efforts really stood out on Tuesday night. With the loss, the Vikings remained winless on the season, falling to 0-4-1. As usual, the Vikings have played a very rigorous non-conference schedule this season and each loss has come by just one goal.

“We have to get guys forward a little more to generate more offense, not be afraid to go forward to complete the final pass and the finish,” Coach Keller said. “We’ve been in every game [this season], but we’ve come up on the short end of the stick. We’re not finding ways to win.”

The Bison, for their part, were pleased with their play and very happy to survive an early-season road test in the always-difficult Mid-Suburban League (MSL).

“This has been our best test so far,” Coach Carlson said. “Nothing’s going to be easy in the MSL.”