BUFFALO GROVE — Fremd left nothing to chance when it faced off against Mid Suburban Conference West Division foe Conant for the Buffalo Grove Regional championship Friday evening.

The Vikings scored 50 seconds in, went ahead 2-0 about 11 minutes later and kept Conant bottled up in its own zone throughout the match en route to a 3-0 victory that delivered Fremd’s third-straight regional crown.

“It’s great,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller. “It’s always nice to collect some hardware. The girls are hopefully focused on the next task at hand, one game at a time. We know what we have to do, take care of business and hopefully they can earn more.”

The Vikings (13-4-4), who are seeded second in the Hersey Sectional, will take on no. 3-seed Glenbrook North (15-3-2) in the sectional semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It promises to be an intriguing matchup.

Like Fremd, Glenbrook North didn’t allow a goal in either of its two regional victories. The Spartans blanked Hersey 3-0 to win their regional Friday. Glenbrook North has won seven in a row. Fremd, which won its semifinal 2-0 over Buffalo Grove, is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 contests.

Both clubs also are ranked in the top 20 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Spartans polled 17th and the Vikings 19th.

“I have not seen Glenbrook North,” said Keller, whose team advanced to the Glenbrook North Sectional championship game last spring. “We’ve got our hands full. What I keep telling them is we’ve got to focus on what we can do and do what we do well.

“(We need to) put 80 minutes together, a complete game. We always talk about defense wins championships. Obviously, we’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net, but we’ve got to play sound defense; everyone on the field all together.”

Senior centerback Gemma Gillespie hopes the Vikings can get back to the sectional championship this time around.

“We’re definitely going to have to pull it together and play a good game,” Gillespie said, “but we’re confident ourselves and can’t wait to move on (to play Glenbrook North).”

Gillespie, a Butler University recruit and a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater last season, helped shore up the Vikings’ backline Friday. Senior Bella Scesniak remained out of the lineup with a concussion, and junior starter Lia Digirolamo had to be helped off the field in the 67th minute with an apparent injury to her right knee.

“Not sure what happened; we don’t know what it is” Keller said with regard to Digiorlamo’s injury. However, Keller said Scesniak, who’s been out since May 10, is expected to return for Tuesday’s game.

“We’re a little banged up in the back right now so we’ve got to figure that out,” he said.

Sophomore sensation Gwen Zimmerman, a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater herself in 2023, helped take pressure off the Vikings’ backline in a big way to start the game.

She gained possession of the ball just off to the right of the goal, turned around and fired a shot that Conant freshman goalkeeper Annabel Danso stopped, but the ball trickled in behind her for a 1-0 lead.

“I was pleased with the way we came out and got that goal really quick,” Keller said. “That kind of put them on their heels a little bit, which was good for us.”

Another star sophomore, Sami Serpico, was the beneficiary of some nice ball movement by the Vikings in the 12th minute. Serpico took a pass from senior mid Ava Catherall and scored to make it 2-0.

Fremd essentially put the game away in the 41st minute. Zimmerman and Serpico teamed up on a give-and-go, with Serpico taking the return pass and scoring her second goal of the game.

“The second one, me and Gwen had been working on wall passes for the past two practices,” said Serpico, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “One-twos, because we struggled with it last game. We just ended up doing it today. It worked out, and I got a good shot off.”

“They’ve both got a lot of pace,” said Keller, referring to Zimmerman and Serpico. “They’re smart, and that third goal is what we’ve been asking them to do all year.”

Conant, who defeated Elk Grove in a shootout Tuesday (1-1, 4-2 PKs) to advance to the regional title game, simply could not generate any offensive opportunities against the Vikings. They had one shot on goal — a free kick from junior defender Reese Staniak -- in the 54th minute.

“They were relentless,” said Conant coach Jeff Melone. “Part of our game plan was to hold them off as long as possible. We give up a goal 50 seconds in, and it’s tough to stick to that game plan.

“They’re a really good team. Gwen and Gemma and Sami, even the role players, are talented soccer players. They read the game well; they’re fast; and they’re athletic. They’re a good team.”

Senior Sophie Dobrincu, an all-Mid Suburban League West Division pick this season, played for the Cougars on Friday, but limped off the field at one point in the second half.

She suffered a torn meniscus in her right knee early last season, played that entire season with the injury, had surgery on the knee in October, but ended up tearing it again earlier this year.

“I’m probably going to be getting surgery soon,” she said. “I was just trying to finish up the season as best as I could.

“We haven’t had her healthy all year,” Melone said. “She was still trying to power through, and she’s a trooper for that. We’re the 10-seed and they’re the 2-seed, and that’s how these games go sometimes, so hat’s off to them.”

Melone praised his freshman goalie Danso, who made a handful of noteworthy saves — including stopping Zimmerman on a header in front of the goal in the 52nd minute.

“We’re excited about her,” Melone said. “We need to kind of polish some of the fine-tuning stuff, but the reaction save where you don’t have to think about it, she’s very good at that kind of stuff. It’s just can we get the simple plays down pat?”

Despite their season coming to an end Friday, the Cougars finished with a winning record for the 2024 campaign (9-7-1). In addition to Dobrincu, Staniak, freshman mid Gabby Coyne and senior mid Megan Ferengul were named all-conference players.

“I’m really glad we were able to come together at the end,” Ferengul said. “We were able to beat Elk Grove. I wish that we had a stronger start to our season, and we were winning more games, because the losses brought us down a little. 

“I wish we won some more, but I think we finished off as best as we could.” 

Starting lineups

Fremd
GK – Emily Gordon
D – Lia Digirolamo
D – Maddie McMillan
D – Cami Tofilon
MF – Gemma Gillespie
MF – Ava Catherall
MF – Sophia Kennedy
MF – Natalia Wala
F – Lily Mayer
F – Gwen Zimmerman
F – Sami Serpico

Conant
GK – Annabel Danso
D – Amani Urban
D – Reese Staniak
D – Gianna Richter
MF – Megan Ferengul
MF – Gabby Coyne
MF – Avery Connelly
F – Vivian Brand
F – Olivia Hagler
F – Brianna Serna
F – Sophie Dobrincu

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sami Serpico, so., MF, Fremd

Scoring summary

First half
Fremd – Gwen Zimmerman (Lily Mayer), 1’
Fremd – Sami Serpico (Ava Catherall), 12’

Second half
Fremd – Sami Serpico (Gwen Zimmerman), 41’