PALATINE -- Goals from Gwen Zimmerman, Gemma Gillespie and Leah Saxe insured a Derby Day delight for Fremd on Saturday afternoon at Palatine’s Chic Anderson Stadium.

The Vikings (7-1-1, 6-0-1) defeated Palatine 3-0 to hold the treasured Kinsella Cup for the fourth-consecutive season.

This 28th-annual edition of the cross-town classic was played on a warm and windy day. It was called in the 73rd minute when the Thor Guard signaled the threat of lightning.

Palatine (6-5-0, 3-3-0) won the inaugural game of the series 1-0 in 1995 before taking the girls state championship.

"It's always a fun game to play, especially with all of us knowing so many players on Palatine from growing up, or through club soccer," said Fremd senior Hanah Rosen, who assisted the Gillespie, and Saxe goals off her marvelous corner serves.

"We didn't play our best today, but we came away with another three points to hold our lead over Barrington in the division."

With this victory, the Vikings are now six points clear (19-13) of Barrington in league play, but the Fillies have two games in hand.

A great thing to see at the Kinsella Cup each year is all the young players dressed in their Palatine Celtic green shirts, which dot the stands. They join for a giant photo opp during the intermission, joined by both clubs, and their managers and staff. Before the match, the girls from the under-8 and under-10 teams walk out with the starting 11s from both Fremd and Palatine.

A number of them serve as ball girls during the match.

Zimmerman, who scored both goals on Friday in the Vikings big 2-1 away win at Hersey, bagged the opener in the 21st minute, with Gillespie recording the helper.

On 34 minutes, Gillespie doubled the visitors advantage when she redirected a Rosen corner.

Fremd continued to press for another goal. It came on yet another dead-ball opportunity. Saxe capped the scoring when she found her way clear to head Rosen’s corner in the 57th minute.

"Ever since our 5-2 loss to Hersey after we took a 2-1 lead into the break (April 5), we've been struggling a bit with our confidence," said Pirates manager Aaron Morris, whose club has lost four of its last five matches.

“It doesn't help that we're a little banged up right now and not able to lean on our top player Paige Millstone, who runs the show for us and is a tremendous captain and leader.”

The senior and Drake recruit played less than a half due to an injury.

The loss didn’t diminish the excitement that Kinsella Cup day brings.

"This was a great day for soccer in the community, and I know I always enjoyed playing in these games when I was a student here,” said Palatine alum Morris. “Congrats to Fremd for their win today."

The Vikings, whose longest run with the Cup stretched from 1999 through 2010, won for the 22nd time.

Scoring summary

First half
Fremd: Zimmerman (Gillespie), 21’
Fremd:, Gillespie (Rosen), 34'

Second half
Saxe (Rosen), 57'