Elk Grove gets the bounce, beats Prospect
2nd-half breakaway goal the difference in 1-0 win
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- One tough-luck bounce -- that was the difference in a
hard-fought, Mid-Suburban League battle between Elk Grove
and Prospect on Wednesday night. The host Grenadiers held off the
charging Knights 1-0 on a breakaway goal midway through the second
half.
Prospect controlled the ball for most of the match which resulted in
a slew of opportunities. That made it seem like the visitors would be the
first team to find the back of the net.
Time and time again, Knights freshman defender Natalie Marfilius settled the ball, surveyed
the field, and delivered smart passes -- or pushed the pace herself -- to spring an attack.
But on one occasion, she lost the handle for a split-second, and Elk
Grove junior midfielder Liz McDaniel took advantage. Racing past
Marfilius on a breakaway, McDaniel buried a hard shot into the upper
left corner with exactly 27 minutes remaining in regulation.
"I picked up my speed when I got the ball, and then I had a 1-v.-1
with the goalkeeper, so I said to myself, 'I can't miss this,'"
McDaniel said.
"Liz was very composed on the finish," said Grenadiers coach Dan
Klaus, who saw his team improve to 2-7-1 in conference action and
3-11-1 overall.
The Knights turned up the heat from there, and nearly tied the match
in the waning seconds. With just 22 ticks left on the clock, a deep
throw-in by sophomore midfielder Amy Novak resulted in a wild scramble
in front of Grenadiers junior goalkeeper Cassie Slattery. Prospect
senior middie Marika Maggos found the loose ball and fired a quick
shot that sailed inches above the crossbar as Slattery reached for the
sky.
"It's really disappointing that we can get so many shots off, and they
get one lucky bounce to score," said Novak, who was strong on the ball all night and helped her teammates
create scoring chances.
"In soccer, possession doesn't win you the game, so tonight it's about
missed opportunities," said Knights coach Tom Froats, whose squad fell
to 1-9-0 in league play and 5-13-0 overall. "In the second half,
especially, we had so many opportunities. We showed a lot of
resiliency coming back. Tip your hat to Elk Grove -- they finished
their opportunity. But we had our chances."
In the ninth minute, Prospect sophomore forward Aly Kobler took a pass
from junior forward Kathryn Szukalla and sent a bending shot from 25
yards out over the crossbar. Four minutes later, a sharp passing
sequence between Marfilius, junior forward Martina Kowalczuk, and
sophomore defender Grace Taldone led to a wide-angle shot by senior
midfielder Lauren Rendino that was stopped by Slattery.
With 11 minutes to go before intermission, a nice cross from Kowalczuk
deflected into the waiting arms of Slattery, and a 25-yard attempt by
sophomore defender Grace Johannesen was stopped by the Grenadiers
keeper with 6:50 left in period one. A turnaround blast by Kobler was
hauled in by Slattery in the 36th minute, and a sneaky cross by
Kowalczuk from the left side nearly found a streaking Kobler at the
far post.
Prior to McDaniel's heroics, Slattery stretched out to foil a chance
by Kowalczuk (in the 48th minute), and two minutes later Kobler
concluded some fancy dribbling with a short shot that Slattery nabbed.
"Cassie made some big saves," Klaus said. "She's really good at the
high stuff. She's also a very intense competitor, and she's learning
how to channel that energy."
Elk Grove's keeper was not alone in keeping the Knights off the
scoreboard. The defensive foursome of freshman Emma Simmons
(Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match), junior Ally Czyzewski, senior
Alexis Olague and freshman Emma Slattery took turns heading balls out
of danger, clearing the ball upfield and marking the 1-2 punch of
Kowalczuk and Kobler.
"(Simmons) is very smart at reading the game," Klaus said. "All four
defenders -- that last line of defense -- did a nice job. Prospect had
a lot of the ball, but we didn't give them a lot of free kicks and
corners -- and we kept them out of super-dangerous spots on the field.
"Prospect has been going better of late, and they had some close
chances (Wednesday night). But I have confidence in our girls to
execute, and we able to hold (the Knights) off."
Simmons acknowledged that it was no easy task to keep the Knights at
bay after her team grabbed the 1-0 lead.
"We had to work really hard on defense to not let anything through,"
she said. "It was really nerve-wracking. You don't want to make any
mistakes so they tie it."
Cassie Slattery added, "I was getting a little worried. I kept telling
myself, 'Watch the ball. Don't let them get one in.' But the defense
was extremely helpful."
Prospect was looking to build on two-straight wins, both of which came
on Saturday en route to a runner-up finish at the Glenwood Invite.
"I feel we've definitely improved throughout the season ... gotten a
lot better being a team that can possess more and dominate more,"
Novak said. "You can tell everyone wants to win. We have problems
scoring sometimes, but everyone has no problem going full out."
Added Marfilius: "We definitely put the pieces of the puzzle together,
and after the goal we kept our energy and confidence up. But that one
lucky bounce for (Elk Grove), and then I thought we had one at the
end. We need to work on finishing -- and scoring -- otherwise I'm
confident with how we're playing."
The victory left the Grenadiers feeling much the same. The win marked
Elk Grove's first win since posting a 2-0 shutout over Wheeling on
April 10.
"This will help keep us sharper and more focused," Simmons said.
"It's something we all needed," McDaniel added. "It said, 'We can do
this.' I'm really hoping this is what will get us over that bridge on
our way to the postseason."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Natalie Tuczak
D: Natalie Marfilius
D: Jenny Leet
D: Grace Taldone
M: Maggie Sullivan
M: Amy Novak
M: Lauren Rendino
M: Michelle Haaning
F: Kathryn Szukalla
F: Aly Kobler
F: Martina Kowalczuk
Elk Grove
G: Cassie Slattery
D: Emma Slattery
D: Emma Simmons
D: Ally Czyzewski
D: Alexis Olague
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Kelly Walter
M: Zoe Blomquist
M: Bailey Smola
F: Bailey Murphy
F: Kathryn Riopel
MVP of the Match: Emma Simmons, D, Elk Grove
Officials: Steve Stavropoulos, Roman Wojtan, Dimitrios Katsimimgos
2nd-half breakaway goal the difference in 1-0 win
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- One tough-luck bounce -- that was the difference in a
hard-fought, Mid-Suburban League battle between Elk Grove
and Prospect on Wednesday night. The host Grenadiers held off the
charging Knights 1-0 on a breakaway goal midway through the second
half.
Prospect controlled the ball for most of the match which resulted in
a slew of opportunities. That made it seem like the visitors would be the
first team to find the back of the net.
Time and time again, Knights freshman defender Natalie Marfilius settled the ball, surveyed
the field, and delivered smart passes -- or pushed the pace herself -- to spring an attack.
But on one occasion, she lost the handle for a split-second, and Elk
Grove junior midfielder Liz McDaniel took advantage. Racing past
Marfilius on a breakaway, McDaniel buried a hard shot into the upper
left corner with exactly 27 minutes remaining in regulation.
"I picked up my speed when I got the ball, and then I had a 1-v.-1
with the goalkeeper, so I said to myself, 'I can't miss this,'"
McDaniel said.
"Liz was very composed on the finish," said Grenadiers coach Dan
Klaus, who saw his team improve to 2-7-1 in conference action and
3-11-1 overall.
The Knights turned up the heat from there, and nearly tied the match
in the waning seconds. With just 22 ticks left on the clock, a deep
throw-in by sophomore midfielder Amy Novak resulted in a wild scramble
in front of Grenadiers junior goalkeeper Cassie Slattery. Prospect
senior middie Marika Maggos found the loose ball and fired a quick
shot that sailed inches above the crossbar as Slattery reached for the
sky.
"It's really disappointing that we can get so many shots off, and they
get one lucky bounce to score," said Novak, who was strong on the ball all night and helped her teammates
create scoring chances.
"In soccer, possession doesn't win you the game, so tonight it's about
missed opportunities," said Knights coach Tom Froats, whose squad fell
to 1-9-0 in league play and 5-13-0 overall. "In the second half,
especially, we had so many opportunities. We showed a lot of
resiliency coming back. Tip your hat to Elk Grove -- they finished
their opportunity. But we had our chances."
In the ninth minute, Prospect sophomore forward Aly Kobler took a pass
from junior forward Kathryn Szukalla and sent a bending shot from 25
yards out over the crossbar. Four minutes later, a sharp passing
sequence between Marfilius, junior forward Martina Kowalczuk, and
sophomore defender Grace Taldone led to a wide-angle shot by senior
midfielder Lauren Rendino that was stopped by Slattery.
With 11 minutes to go before intermission, a nice cross from Kowalczuk
deflected into the waiting arms of Slattery, and a 25-yard attempt by
sophomore defender Grace Johannesen was stopped by the Grenadiers
keeper with 6:50 left in period one. A turnaround blast by Kobler was
hauled in by Slattery in the 36th minute, and a sneaky cross by
Kowalczuk from the left side nearly found a streaking Kobler at the
far post.
Prior to McDaniel's heroics, Slattery stretched out to foil a chance
by Kowalczuk (in the 48th minute), and two minutes later Kobler
concluded some fancy dribbling with a short shot that Slattery nabbed.
"Cassie made some big saves," Klaus said. "She's really good at the
high stuff. She's also a very intense competitor, and she's learning
how to channel that energy."
Elk Grove's keeper was not alone in keeping the Knights off the
scoreboard. The defensive foursome of freshman Emma Simmons
(Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match), junior Ally Czyzewski, senior
Alexis Olague and freshman Emma Slattery took turns heading balls out
of danger, clearing the ball upfield and marking the 1-2 punch of
Kowalczuk and Kobler.
"(Simmons) is very smart at reading the game," Klaus said. "All four
defenders -- that last line of defense -- did a nice job. Prospect had
a lot of the ball, but we didn't give them a lot of free kicks and
corners -- and we kept them out of super-dangerous spots on the field.
"Prospect has been going better of late, and they had some close
chances (Wednesday night). But I have confidence in our girls to
execute, and we able to hold (the Knights) off."
Simmons acknowledged that it was no easy task to keep the Knights at
bay after her team grabbed the 1-0 lead.
"We had to work really hard on defense to not let anything through,"
she said. "It was really nerve-wracking. You don't want to make any
mistakes so they tie it."
Cassie Slattery added, "I was getting a little worried. I kept telling
myself, 'Watch the ball. Don't let them get one in.' But the defense
was extremely helpful."
Prospect was looking to build on two-straight wins, both of which came
on Saturday en route to a runner-up finish at the Glenwood Invite.
"I feel we've definitely improved throughout the season ... gotten a
lot better being a team that can possess more and dominate more,"
Novak said. "You can tell everyone wants to win. We have problems
scoring sometimes, but everyone has no problem going full out."
Added Marfilius: "We definitely put the pieces of the puzzle together,
and after the goal we kept our energy and confidence up. But that one
lucky bounce for (Elk Grove), and then I thought we had one at the
end. We need to work on finishing -- and scoring -- otherwise I'm
confident with how we're playing."
The victory left the Grenadiers feeling much the same. The win marked
Elk Grove's first win since posting a 2-0 shutout over Wheeling on
April 10.
"This will help keep us sharper and more focused," Simmons said.
"It's something we all needed," McDaniel added. "It said, 'We can do
this.' I'm really hoping this is what will get us over that bridge on
our way to the postseason."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Natalie Tuczak
D: Natalie Marfilius
D: Jenny Leet
D: Grace Taldone
M: Maggie Sullivan
M: Amy Novak
M: Lauren Rendino
M: Michelle Haaning
F: Kathryn Szukalla
F: Aly Kobler
F: Martina Kowalczuk
Elk Grove
G: Cassie Slattery
D: Emma Slattery
D: Emma Simmons
D: Ally Czyzewski
D: Alexis Olague
M: Liz McDaniel
M: Kelly Walter
M: Zoe Blomquist
M: Bailey Smola
F: Bailey Murphy
F: Kathryn Riopel
MVP of the Match: Emma Simmons, D, Elk Grove
Officials: Steve Stavropoulos, Roman Wojtan, Dimitrios Katsimimgos