One of the biggest fixtures on the soccer calendar will take place at 4:45 Friday afternoon at Chic Anderson Stadium when longtime rivals Fremd and Palatine meet in the 45th Kinsella Cup.

This contest is for bragging rights between the cross-town rivals. The derby began when Palatine Celtic Soccer Club founder Jimmy Kinsella wanted to highlight both his club, which he founded in 1968, as well as the two high school programs that call Palatine their home.

"I have so many great memories from-first playing in it and then later as coach," said Palatine manager Aaron Morris.

"A lot of it revolves around the atmosphere. The stands are packed. There is so much energy in the stadium and to see so many young players from the Celtic club there is really a lot of fun.”

Morris’ children currently play for the club.

"I remember playing against my club teammates who were at Fremd,” he continued. “It was great fun to compete against them.

"After Fremd having a great run of victories against us, I will forever remember last year -- my second as Palatine manager -- when we won 5-0 to bring the Kinsella Cup back home."

Prior to that result, Fremd claimed seven-consecutive Kinsella victories. The Vikings hold a 28-16 lead in the series.

"(The) Kinsella Cup is such a big game for all of us," said Pirates senior captain Jackson Post. “It’s one we look forward to when we see where it is on our schedule.”

The Pirates superb centerback, whose father Greg is a former president of the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club, has followed this game for years as a member of the Celtic Club as well as when his older brother Charlie played for the Pirates.

"It's a great night for soccer in the town of Palatine,” Jackson Post said. 

The Pirates (8-6-3, 5-3-2) need a win to take second in the West Division. They trail the Vikings by a point.

Conant (9-7-2, 7-3-1), which caught fire in the final two weeks of league play, iced the West crown with a 3-0 cross-town win over Hoffman Estates on Thursday evening.

"We had a terrific start to our season (5-1-1), then we struggled," said Post. 

The Pirates earned a much-needed victory at Barrington when Post recorded the game-winner in a 1-0 win Tuesday (Oct. 8).

"It was nice to get back on track with a solid 80 minutes of soccer against a tough Barrington club, whose keeper was just outstanding," said Morris.

"We have a good team, and we are capable of doing some great things in the playoffs," added Post, who said teammates Gabriel Carmona and Jaylon Campos have been pleasant surprises in their first year with the big club.

"We have to raise our level of work during our training sessions and go out and play smart for 80 minutes."

The Pirates finish their regular-season campaign against Lake Zurich on Saturday before beginning preparations for the regional opener against Wheeling on Oct. 22 at Glenbrook South.

At Fremd, Konrad Olech has seen it all from his spot between the sticks. The terrific keeper has watched his club finally round into form after a slow start.

The Vikings fought their way back into the West Division race with four-consecutive victories to run its record in league play to 5-4-0 before Conant dashed its title hopes with a 4-0 victory Oct. 8.

"A lot went wrong for us in that loss to Conant," began Olech.

"We didn't put any of our chances away, and we were playing as individuals and not as a team, which is something that had helped us win four-straight."

Fremd’s slow start included back-to-back losses to Elk Grove (4-2) and East Division-leading Rolling Meadows (3-1), which dropped the Vikings to 1-4-0 in league play.

"We just were not playing real good soccer at the start of the season -- not playing as a team, and just struggling to find ourselves," Olech said.

"(Since) those two losses and another to Naperville North (4-0), we've switched formations, made a few changes in our lineup and have made a better effort of playing together as a team."

In the Vikings four-back system, Olech says teammates Joey Kohl, Jacob Stankiewicz, Stefan Smolak and A.J. Song have really tightened things up along the back as witnessed by a .5 goals-against average during that four-game streak.

"Those guys in front of me have been great, as have Kyle (Grasse) and Ramon Aros."

Orech, just as the aforementioned Jackson Post, has several friends on their opponent’s roster.

"I played for the Celtic club for a few years. The fact that many of us live close to each other makes for an exciting game, and one that is just one of those big rivalry games that we all look forward to playing.

"A win tonight gives us the Cup to take home, plus it gives us some momentum and extra confidence going forward," adds Olech.

The Vikings finish their regular-season Saturday afternoon with a visit from Streamwood (9-5-1, 2-2-1 U8 West), which is coming off a match against  league power Elgin on Friday.

The Maroons currently rank fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.