Girls soccer: Fremd rebounds from semifinal loss to take third at 3A state tournament

Fremd turned a disappointing state semifinal loss on Friday into a sensational finish Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over Edwardsville in the Class 3A third-place game at North Central College in Naperville.

A three-goal second half explosion helped the Vikings (17-5-4) claim their first state trophy since 2011.

Sami Serpico, Gemma Gillespie and Natalie Wala each netted in the second half during a game played in constant rain from start-to-finish. In the end, that rain would not dampen the spirits of Vikings captains Ava Catherall, Bella Scesniak and Gillespie.

"We were all feeling down after giving up that early goal last night in our 1-0 loss to St. Charles North to end our dream(s) of playing for a state title, but we came back today to play a great game to get the third place trophy," said an elated Gillespie, who will play in the fall at Butler University.

Gillespie fired in the opener on a free kick in the 10th minute to give the Vikings the early lead. Tigers all-state junior Ellie Neath erased that lead with her equalizer 10 minutes into the second half.

Sophomore Sami Serpico bagged the eventual game-winner in the 56th minute with the help of Sophia Kennedy before Gillespie ran onto an inch perfect corner from Cami Tofilon to thump her close range header into the back of the net.

The Tigers (17-5-1) would pull one back minutes later, but Wala finished the scoring two minutes from time.

"It's a bittersweet ending to a memorable four-year career, and one that I'll never forget," said Scesniak, who will play at Loras College in the fall.

"This team has always had a very close relationship. So it's great to out with a win and the third place trophy," added Catherall, who will continue playing collegiate soccer at Denison University.

Seniors Riley Goettsche and Emily Gordon would share time between the sticks for coach Fremd Steve Keller, who with this victory now has 321 in his long and storied career.