The long awaited public v private game went down on Friday, April 26 at Hoerster Field.
The girls varsity soccer team started off its season roughly, but are having a great turn around with a record of 9-6-1 going into the game against the Vikings. Similarly, the Fremd Vikings have had a steady season with a record of 8-4-1. This matchup made for a good game.
Going into this game knowing that sophomore Gwen Zimmerman, the top scorer, and senior Bella Scesniack, their middle back, would be playing for the Vikings, the Ramblers needed a strong counter.
The Ramblers went into the game with a steady plan of attack. “Part of our strategy was to try to manage the load on some of the players who have been playing heavy minutes or battling injuries,” Coach Shannon Hartinger said.
Unfortunately, with the Ramblers missing captain senior Sadie Merriott, who suffered an ACL injury at the start of the season, things were not looking great. The Ramblers had to shift around their defensive structure in order to be able to play without Merriott. However, she continues to support her team.
“It takes every single person on and off the field to keep pushing each other through the game,” Merriott said.
In the first half, the Ramblers played strongly, getting the ball swiftly into the Vikings’ box and going for any and all rebounds off the goalie. The Ramblers had solid crosses towards the net, but couldn’t get one through the goalkeeper’s hands. By the halftime buzzer, the score was 0-0.
Hartinger noted that the Vikings, “played a more direct style of play,” which meant the Ramblers had to prepare to get the ball out of the air, and away quickly. This was very different from the Ramblers’ style of playing the ball to feet and down the line.
When the Ramblers played defense, captains and seniors Maria Nikas, and Ellie Vehovsky strongly held off the forwards and forced the ball out of the back. Any shots taken on net were quickly stopped by junior starting goalie Chloe Zipperich.
The second half looked the same as the first, only with more shots on net for the Vikings. A notable moment from the second half was a bicycle kick shot by Zimmerman, but she couldn’t manage a goal with Zipperich in net.
Although this was only a regular season game, the Ramblers held the Vikings off strongly and managed to secure a tie. “We played really well,” captain Maria Nikas said. “Fremd is a ranked team. It was the expectation that they were going to come in and destroy us, and instead we held them off.”
The Ramblers placed first in their Conference League, and are now preparing for State playoffs. “We have a solid group of girls and when our energy is good we play better, and go into games stronger,” Nikas said. “Playoffs is definitely going to have good games, and strong competition.”
Go see the Ramblers in their first playoff game vs. Addison Trail High School on May 14 at York High School.
