Prospect breaks the ice against Wheeling
Knights post 1st win of season
By Dave Owen
MT. PROSPECT- After a month of frustration, Prospect was hungry for a win.
The Knights (1-7) certainly feasted in a dominating effort Monday, looking nothing like a team that had been held to one goal all year coming in.
Prospect scored quick back-to-back goals in each half and amassed a 21-0 shots on goal advantage en route to a 4-0 win over Wheeling (1-6).
“I think tonight we had the opportunity to get a few goals on the board, get some confidence and do a few things we haven’t done so far this year,” Prospect coach Tom Froats said. “Getting our first victory, a shutout and multiple goals are all good signs for us going forward.
“I liked the way we moved the ball around side to side and were attack minded.”
Martina Kowalczuk, Ally Kobler, Maggie Sullivan and Andi Marfilius scored goals in a balanced Prospect attack. Three Knights had assists (Kobler, Amy Novak and Kowalczuk).
“It was really good to control the field,” Sullivan said. “We were able to settle down, pass the ball to feet and control the game. It’s nice to play our game and not their game.”
The Knights were going full throttle from the start, as Lauren Rendino and Marika Maggos each produced shots in the first 45 seconds.
Kowalczuk produced two great chances in succession in the fourth minute, a low 10-yarder stopped by Wheeling goalkeeper Sonia Valencia and a solidly hit 15-yard shot caught by Valencia.
Her third try would be the charm.
After a Jenny Leet steal and long dribble up the right side set up an offensive zone throw-in for Prospect, Novak’s 15-yard initial shot off a Lauren Rendino pass was stopped. But Kowalczuk corraled the clearing attempt, tipped the ball to open space and lined a 12-yard shot into the net for a 1-0 lead 28:11 before halftime.
“I saw the moment to take it and thought, ‘I can do this,’” said Kowalczuk, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
“That was really exciting after all the missed opportunities I had at the beginning. It was a team I thought we could handle and finally get the win. I stayed calm and composed and just took my opportunities when I had them.”
Two minutes later, Kowalczuk chipped a 15-yard shot just wide. Then 25:01 before halftime, the Knights struck again.
A Novak pass sprung fellow sophomore Kobler in on right wing. Kobler did the rest, lining a 10-yard shot just inside the left post for 2-0 lead.
In three minutes, the Knights had exceeded their goal total for the entire season. And they were far from done.
The second half began with a flurry. A Wheeling foul set up a 25-yard direct kick with 38:24 left to play. Sullivan sent a high ball off the reaching Valencia’s hands and into the net.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Sullivan said. “I was going to cross it, then I thought I’ll aim for the goal. I heard my dad in the stands saying ‘shoot the ball,’ so I just shot the ball, and I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t believe it went in.”
Sullivan takes corner kicks and many free kicks for the Knights, which is a small part of her contributions.
“Maggie Sullivan is kind of the leader of the group in the back,” Froats said, “and she’s doing a nice job ever since we moved her back there (from midfielder earlier this season).
“We felt with her skill set and leadership that moving her to the back line would offer us a little more support back there, and so far that’s paid dividends.”
The dividend Monday was a very quiet day for goalkeeper Natalie Tuczak. She touched the ball once in the game, that with 50 seconds left in the first half.
“They dominated the game without a doubt,” Wheeling coach Dwayne Cruz said. “We talked to our kids about stopping their change of the point of attack and tried to get them to do that, but we didn’t.”
Prospect midfielder Andi Marfilius was the star of the second half, contributing to five solid scoring chances. Her first chance paid off with 37:25 left to play with help from Kowalczuk’s unselfishness.
After Marfiulius’ first shot was knocked down by Valencia, Kowalczuk dropped a pass back to Marfilius in open space. She lofted a 28-yard shot over Valencia and into the back of the net to complete the scoring.
“Andi worked really hard to get the balls, and she wanted it,” Kowalczuk said. “Just getting the ball to my teammates felt really good.”
Froats noted three standouts among many in Prospect’s strongest game of the season.
“Martina was dangerous for us early,” he said. “She generated a lot of good crosses we could have gotten on the end of.
“Andi was attacking hard for us and doing a nice job commanding the middle. And Marika Maggos did well. She was winning several balls out of the air, which is something we talk often about, and she did a great job of that.”
A Kowalczuk header on goal, two shots each by Maggos and Kathryn Szukalla and quality chances for Leet, freshman Natalie Marfilius, Mallory Brask and Sammy Minasian (off a Grace Johannesen cross) were all part of the second half waves of offense from the Knights.
“We were able to move the ball in possession,” Froats said. “We had done that pretty well this year against some of the teams we’ve faced, and we were doing that in the final third tonight with multiple opportunities.
“I think we need to become more efficient, because we might not see as many opportunities against other opponents. We want to make sure when we create those opportunities that we finish them.”
Already without usual starter Emma Fister (concussion), Wheeling became further shorthanded when starters Kourtney Schuetz and Emily Peterson missed the second half.
“With those three gone it hurts,” Cruz said. “Our starting 11 has to play every minute of every game. If they don’t, we’re hurting.”
Even down just one starter in the first half, Wheeling couldn’t match a Prospect squad determined to reverse their early season adversity.
The Knights produced a quality turnaround.
“It was pretty frustrating because even though the scores don’t reflect it, we really did play to their level (of opponents),” Kowalczuk said. “We’d just back down for a few minutes (in other games), and they’d come at us. It was nice and uplifting to get the win we deserve.
“I think once we started to really focus on the game and started to play our game,” she added, “we were getting more opportunities and finishing them, which we weren’t in other games before. We were calming down a lot more and getting those opportunities.”
With one win in the books, the Knights expect more to come.
“I definitely think it’ll give us a lot more confidence going forward that we need against Hersey (on Wednesday) and the future teams we play,” Sullivan said. “It shows other teams we can compete and that we’re ready to play.”
Said Kowalczuk: “I really hope this is an uplifting game for us to get our spirits up, because we haven’t been playing badly. We just haven’t taken the opportunities like we did tonight. Hopefully against Hersey it’ll be a positive feeling, that we can take down any team that comes after us.”
Mid-Suburban League East Division leader Hersey will be a challenge, but the Knights have something to build on.
“Wednesday’s a new day,” Froats said, “but this one we can at least enjoy and celebrate a victory. That’s great for us.”
Starting lineups
Wheeling
GK: Sonia Valencia
D: Yessenia Acosta
D: Maggie Hernandez
D: Daisy Guerrero
M: Haide Torres
M: Kourtney Schuetz
M: Emily Peterson
M: Noemi Ayala
M: Nataly Morales
F: Kelli Pietrowski
F: Marie Zdzienicki
Prospect
GK: Natalie Tuczak
D: Maggie Sullivan
D: Jenny Leet
D: Grace Johannesen
D: Jenna Leane
M: Natalie Marfilius
M: Amy Novak
M: Lauren Rendino
M: Marika Maggos
F: Martina Kowalczuk
F: Ally Kobler
MVP of Match: Martina Kowalczuk, F, Prospect
Knights post 1st win of season
By Dave Owen
MT. PROSPECT- After a month of frustration, Prospect was hungry for a win.
The Knights (1-7) certainly feasted in a dominating effort Monday, looking nothing like a team that had been held to one goal all year coming in.
Prospect scored quick back-to-back goals in each half and amassed a 21-0 shots on goal advantage en route to a 4-0 win over Wheeling (1-6).
“I think tonight we had the opportunity to get a few goals on the board, get some confidence and do a few things we haven’t done so far this year,” Prospect coach Tom Froats said. “Getting our first victory, a shutout and multiple goals are all good signs for us going forward.
“I liked the way we moved the ball around side to side and were attack minded.”
Martina Kowalczuk, Ally Kobler, Maggie Sullivan and Andi Marfilius scored goals in a balanced Prospect attack. Three Knights had assists (Kobler, Amy Novak and Kowalczuk).
“It was really good to control the field,” Sullivan said. “We were able to settle down, pass the ball to feet and control the game. It’s nice to play our game and not their game.”
The Knights were going full throttle from the start, as Lauren Rendino and Marika Maggos each produced shots in the first 45 seconds.
Kowalczuk produced two great chances in succession in the fourth minute, a low 10-yarder stopped by Wheeling goalkeeper Sonia Valencia and a solidly hit 15-yard shot caught by Valencia.
Her third try would be the charm.
After a Jenny Leet steal and long dribble up the right side set up an offensive zone throw-in for Prospect, Novak’s 15-yard initial shot off a Lauren Rendino pass was stopped. But Kowalczuk corraled the clearing attempt, tipped the ball to open space and lined a 12-yard shot into the net for a 1-0 lead 28:11 before halftime.
“I saw the moment to take it and thought, ‘I can do this,’” said Kowalczuk, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match.
“That was really exciting after all the missed opportunities I had at the beginning. It was a team I thought we could handle and finally get the win. I stayed calm and composed and just took my opportunities when I had them.”
Two minutes later, Kowalczuk chipped a 15-yard shot just wide. Then 25:01 before halftime, the Knights struck again.
A Novak pass sprung fellow sophomore Kobler in on right wing. Kobler did the rest, lining a 10-yard shot just inside the left post for 2-0 lead.
In three minutes, the Knights had exceeded their goal total for the entire season. And they were far from done.
The second half began with a flurry. A Wheeling foul set up a 25-yard direct kick with 38:24 left to play. Sullivan sent a high ball off the reaching Valencia’s hands and into the net.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Sullivan said. “I was going to cross it, then I thought I’ll aim for the goal. I heard my dad in the stands saying ‘shoot the ball,’ so I just shot the ball, and I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t believe it went in.”
Sullivan takes corner kicks and many free kicks for the Knights, which is a small part of her contributions.
“Maggie Sullivan is kind of the leader of the group in the back,” Froats said, “and she’s doing a nice job ever since we moved her back there (from midfielder earlier this season).
“We felt with her skill set and leadership that moving her to the back line would offer us a little more support back there, and so far that’s paid dividends.”
The dividend Monday was a very quiet day for goalkeeper Natalie Tuczak. She touched the ball once in the game, that with 50 seconds left in the first half.
“They dominated the game without a doubt,” Wheeling coach Dwayne Cruz said. “We talked to our kids about stopping their change of the point of attack and tried to get them to do that, but we didn’t.”
Prospect midfielder Andi Marfilius was the star of the second half, contributing to five solid scoring chances. Her first chance paid off with 37:25 left to play with help from Kowalczuk’s unselfishness.
After Marfiulius’ first shot was knocked down by Valencia, Kowalczuk dropped a pass back to Marfilius in open space. She lofted a 28-yard shot over Valencia and into the back of the net to complete the scoring.
“Andi worked really hard to get the balls, and she wanted it,” Kowalczuk said. “Just getting the ball to my teammates felt really good.”
Froats noted three standouts among many in Prospect’s strongest game of the season.
“Martina was dangerous for us early,” he said. “She generated a lot of good crosses we could have gotten on the end of.
“Andi was attacking hard for us and doing a nice job commanding the middle. And Marika Maggos did well. She was winning several balls out of the air, which is something we talk often about, and she did a great job of that.”
A Kowalczuk header on goal, two shots each by Maggos and Kathryn Szukalla and quality chances for Leet, freshman Natalie Marfilius, Mallory Brask and Sammy Minasian (off a Grace Johannesen cross) were all part of the second half waves of offense from the Knights.
“We were able to move the ball in possession,” Froats said. “We had done that pretty well this year against some of the teams we’ve faced, and we were doing that in the final third tonight with multiple opportunities.
“I think we need to become more efficient, because we might not see as many opportunities against other opponents. We want to make sure when we create those opportunities that we finish them.”
Already without usual starter Emma Fister (concussion), Wheeling became further shorthanded when starters Kourtney Schuetz and Emily Peterson missed the second half.
“With those three gone it hurts,” Cruz said. “Our starting 11 has to play every minute of every game. If they don’t, we’re hurting.”
Even down just one starter in the first half, Wheeling couldn’t match a Prospect squad determined to reverse their early season adversity.
The Knights produced a quality turnaround.
“It was pretty frustrating because even though the scores don’t reflect it, we really did play to their level (of opponents),” Kowalczuk said. “We’d just back down for a few minutes (in other games), and they’d come at us. It was nice and uplifting to get the win we deserve.
“I think once we started to really focus on the game and started to play our game,” she added, “we were getting more opportunities and finishing them, which we weren’t in other games before. We were calming down a lot more and getting those opportunities.”
With one win in the books, the Knights expect more to come.
“I definitely think it’ll give us a lot more confidence going forward that we need against Hersey (on Wednesday) and the future teams we play,” Sullivan said. “It shows other teams we can compete and that we’re ready to play.”
Said Kowalczuk: “I really hope this is an uplifting game for us to get our spirits up, because we haven’t been playing badly. We just haven’t taken the opportunities like we did tonight. Hopefully against Hersey it’ll be a positive feeling, that we can take down any team that comes after us.”
Mid-Suburban League East Division leader Hersey will be a challenge, but the Knights have something to build on.
“Wednesday’s a new day,” Froats said, “but this one we can at least enjoy and celebrate a victory. That’s great for us.”
Starting lineups
Wheeling
GK: Sonia Valencia
D: Yessenia Acosta
D: Maggie Hernandez
D: Daisy Guerrero
M: Haide Torres
M: Kourtney Schuetz
M: Emily Peterson
M: Noemi Ayala
M: Nataly Morales
F: Kelli Pietrowski
F: Marie Zdzienicki
Prospect
GK: Natalie Tuczak
D: Maggie Sullivan
D: Jenny Leet
D: Grace Johannesen
D: Jenna Leane
M: Natalie Marfilius
M: Amy Novak
M: Lauren Rendino
M: Marika Maggos
F: Martina Kowalczuk
F: Ally Kobler
MVP of Match: Martina Kowalczuk, F, Prospect