Fremd's roll ends against Hoffman Estates

By Mike Garofola

Hoffman Estates picked a great time to come out of its recent bout of bad luck, at the expense of an upstart Fremd side which has been nearly perfect of late.

The Hawks (5-9-2, 2-7-2) cancelled out a 1-goal deficit and roared back to score the next 4 goals to defeat Fremd 4-1 Thursday night in an MSL West soccer match in Palatine.

Quiet throughout the match, the Hawks 1-2 scoring punch of Brad Powszok and Sishuh Zerihun put the dagger in the hopes of Fremd (5-9-2, 3-6-1), combining to strike for 2 late goals against the run of play with the Vikings pushing forward in search of the equalizer.

“To finally get a win in a close match, and to do (it) against Fremd, which has been playing so well of late, is really big for us and might be just the thing we need with the state tournament beginning next week," said Powszok, who has combined with Zerihun to score 18 goals on the season.

"We didn't look sharp anywhere in the second half tonight," admitted Fremd head coach Steve Keller, who has watched his lads go 3-0-1 in its last 4 matches, including a 2-2 draw with defending state champ New Trier and a 2-0 win over reigning MSL champion Hersey.

"One of the things we've been doing well (of late) has been winning 50-50 balls, and finishing chances when the opportunities have been there for us,” Keller said.

"Tonight we did a poor job of both, and it's those types of things that helped decide the match for us."

In the early stages, and up until a Spencer Filosa goal at the half hour mark, the Vikings dictated the pace with crisp and thoughtful passing out of the back and through the middle of the park, which allowed front-runners Lorenzo Savino and Nick Makowiecki to pressure the Hoffman backline.

With Filosa, and fellow midfield mates Brian Hindle, Michael Heika and Andrew Freeman playing strong on both sides of the ball, it seemed it would be all too soon that the Vikings would find the back of the net, and add to the recent woes of Hawks head coach Matt Sriver.

"We've had a lot of tough luck lately losing 2 of our last 3 matches in OT, but I never sensed the guys were getting down on themselves and each other, even after Fremd scored first tonight."

A badly-played ball along the Hawks backline made it easy for Filosa to collect, and then fire a low bruising shot off of keeper Michael Gordon and into the net. The Fremd lead did not last long, however, with the Hawks getting back on even terms 4 minutes later.

After a period of sustained pressure, Fernando Reyes somehow found the far right corner from 35 yards out.

The Reyes goal seemed to ignite both clubs in the final 8 minutes before intermission with Fremd keeper Jeff Pearson stopping Powszok twice, while his counterpart (Gordon) did the same near the spot against Heika on a Fremd corner.

In between, the Hawks took the lead for good when Josh Pearson thumped a short shot past Jeff Pearson after a superb save on a guided missile in close off the boot of Reyes.

"Getting those 2 goals late in the half was huge for us," offered Zerihun of the Hawks.

Savino, the Vikings leading scorer with 10 goals, had a pair of glorious opportunities to add to his overall stats, but was unable to do so, going wide at 50 minutes. Savino went wide once again after getting Gordon all to himself, after his mate Freeman sent him through with a superb heel flick.

Keller would move Heika up top along with Savino and Makowiecki to give his club a trio of strikers, while urging his boys to push forward as they searched for the equalizer in the final 18 minutes.

"There was no sense of urgency out there tonight," said Keller. "We seemed to be confident coming in, but maybe it was a bit of overconfidence instead."

With its numbers up, the Hawks would exploit the opportunity on the counter with Powszok slotting under Jeff Pearson at 75 minutes, and then again in the 79th minute when both he and Zerihun broke through easily and past the Vikings backline.

Next up for the Vikings will be its MSL season finale on Saturday night (6:30) when they welcome its division rival Barrington, before an MSL crossover match on Wednesday, October 14 at 4:30 against a yet-to-be determined MSL East opponent.

After that, the club will begin preparation for its play-in match against regional host Mundelein next Saturday.

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Fremd starters vs. Hoffman Estates