Fremd takes Best of the West

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:20PM

Brian Hindle scored an improbable goal on a free kick with 19 minutes remaining to lift Fremd to a stunning 1-0 victory over Neuqua Valley in the Best of the West tournament championship game Saturday night at Naperville Central.

The result gave the Vikings (5-0-2) its first Best of the West title and snapped Neuqua's regular season unbeaten streak at 35 matches.

"This is very new to all of us," Hindle said. "We set a team goal to win this. It feels wonderful."

Hindle's goal, his second of the year, came on a 25-yard free kick that somehow went through a five-man wall and in between the left post and the fingers of diving Wildcats goalie Hunter Hollingshead.

"It was a pretty lucky shot," Hindle said. "We practice it a lot but, no, I didn't really expect [to score]. I was shocked. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I scored on Neuqua Valley."

The Wildcats outshot Fremd 10-4 overall and were dominant in the first half. Neuqua star Patrick Doody just missed several dangerous chances, prompting Fremd coach Steve Keller to have midfielder Spencer Filosa mark him in the second half. Doody went 37 minutes without getting a shot off.

"The big thing at halftime was, Doody was going off," Keller said. "I thought Spencer did a real nice job. We were giving them too much time and space. I think we did a better job of that in the second half and it really limited their attack."

Fremd goalie Scott Sutarik made six saves, including three diving stops on point-blank volleys or headers in the final 10 minutes.

"It feels great," said Sutarik, who had three shutouts in the tournament. "It's something I work on all the time. I have a goalie coach and that's what we do – we work on the unusual, because those aren't normal saves. Most of the time you've just got to react, make the save and hope not to give up a rebound."

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