Kotsakis carries Fremd into supersectional

Updated: May 28, 2011 12:30AM

Air superiority — and the presence of Elise Kotsakis — carried Fremd a long way on Friday night.

Kotsakis bagged her 34th and 35th goals of the season to spark the Vikings to a 3-1 victory over Lake Forest in an Class 3A Glenbrook South Sectional final.

“She’s the best forward I’ve seen,” Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said.

It took Kotsakis only six minutes to strike. She stole a pass deep in the Scout backfield and quickly lifted a 15-yard shot over the hands of Scout goalkeeper Liz Clark.

“We knew they (Scouts) were good at passing it around on defense,” Kotsakis said. “I knew I had to pressure their defense. I got the ball and took a quick shot at the goal.”

Lake Forest tied the game when Katie Murphy hit a centering pass to Catherine Traut. She made a quick turn and ripped a 15-yard shot inside the near post in the 18th minute.

But Fremd recaptured the lead two minutes later.

A corner kick by Michele Mottonen snuck through everyone and sailed into the net.

About 16 minutes later, Kotsakis provided some insurance off a pass from Jessa Rizzo.

“They (Vikings) were good in the air,” said Stuckslager, whose team finished 17-5-4. “Their defense was active and physical.”

Stuckslager believes his young club will learn from this experience.

“The girls now understand the intensity and speed of the game,” he said. “We were physical at times, but we’re still not at that level (of physicality). Our team also understands what it’s like to be in a pressure game like this.”

One of the defensive stars for Fremd was Emily Basten. The Viking junior shadowed Lake Forest forward Morgan McConachie for much of the night.

Fremd (17-3-3) advances to the Barrington Super-sectional.

The Vikings will play Barrington at 7 p.m. on Tuesday with a berth in the state semifinals going to the winner of the match.

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