Fremd takes third at Naperville Invite

Updated: April 29, 2011 10:25PM

It’s always a good thing to escape a sluggish soccer game with a win, especially on another team’s home field.

Fremd won 3-1 over Naperville North on Friday in a Naperville Invitational consolation game, leaving Vikings coach Steve Keller both happy and less than satisfied.

“We did some nice things but it wasn’t pretty,” Keller said. “Our back four did a solid job and (Ashley) McConnell in the middle was her normal, steady self. But it wasn’t pretty.”

Fremd goalkeeper Shannon Norris and defenders Bri Frys, Jennifer Freeman, Emily Basten, and Kristin Abruscato have only given up 10 goals in 14 games this year.

Fremd (12-2) struck first mid-way through the first half when Kristin Abruscato belted a free kick on frame from 38 yards out. Teammate Alexis Tice crashed net and buried the deflection to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

Abruscato is dangerous every time she lines up a free kick on an opponent’s half of midfield. “I just kind of hope they go on frame,” she said. “I know I’ve got the distance. It’s the accuracy that’s kind of the question mark.”

The Vikings struck twice in a two-minute span in the second half, on a pair of shots from distance off the feet of Elise Kotsakis and Jessa Rizzo. Kotsakis scored from 25 yards out and Rizzo’s left-footed blast from the left side slapped the far post and went in.

“Those were two good finishes,” Naperville North coach Brent Terada said. “But I think they were a by-product of us not pressuring the midfield like we need to.”

Naperville North (9-4-1) scored to make it 3-1 in the second half on a goal by Angela Widlacki, when she volleyed a ball sent into the penalty area by Cora Climo. Terada pointed to Climo’s feed and Widlacki’s finish as the lone bright moment in a rough game for the Huskies, who gave up more than two goals in a game for only the second time this season.

North sat several starters due to injury but Terada wasn’t having it.

“We just played with no energy,” he said. “There’s no excuse for us not to bring our best effort. I don’t mind getting beat by a better team, if we compete. We’re not the most talented team but there aren’t many teams out there who will out-work us, but I think we forget that sometimes.”

There was one player Terada wanted to single out for her play on Friday. “I thought Meghan Lee, one of our jayvee kids, stepped in and did a great job for us. She brought a lot of energy and she’s making it very hard for us to send her back.”

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