Culli goal drives Prospect over Conant
First half strike holds up for 1-0 win, Ninness posts shutout
By Mike Garofola
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Prospect got its Mid-Suburban League campaign underway with a victory over visiting Conant at George Gattas Memorial Stadium.
Senior Madison Culli's brilliant one-timer at 29 minutes -- her third goal in as many games – was enough for the Lady Knights to claim success in their league opener Saturday afternoon.
"Jason (Franco, Conant manager) always has a talented, well-coached side, so to come back from our loss to New Trier earlier in the week, and get ourselves three points today is something the girls should be very happy with," said Tom Froats, manager of the Lady Knights.
"We came in knowing we had to step up our play today: (win) the 50/50 balls; defend well as a team; and play with more intensity. I feel like we did all of that and more," offered junior Hannah Mekky, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her wonderful performance on this sunny and mild day at the Lady Knights home park.
"(Conant) has a great player (no. 22 Maddie Celarek) so we had to keep an eye on her all throughout the game, but our backline was really sharp today. They defended well, and so did we as a team to limit their chances, especially to their no. 22," added Mekky.
The Lady Knights (1-1-1, 1-0-0) came out in a 3-5-2 formation with Kaela Salehzadeh, Claire Beattie and Jackie Keane deployed along the back. It was this trio that kept the Cougars (1-2-0, 0-1-0) at bay from keeper Annie Ninness who enjoyed another solid day for her club between the sticks.
"Annie provides that cool, calm presence for us back there, and along with Kaela, who was strong in the air and communicated really well -- helped keep us organized and strong along the back all day long," said Froats
The visitors threatened early with their best chance of the first half coming through Claire Liberio whose 16-yard blast forced Ninness into a terrific save.
Celarek's half-chance was taken in with ease by Ninness moments later. The visitors had most of the play thanks in large part to Celarek and Emma Simpson, who together formed a creative partnership in the middle of the park for the Cougars.
Ninness elevated to pull down a fourth-straight corner from the Cougars in the 16th minute, but it was after this sequence that the Lady Knights got into the game for good.
"We knew Prospect would be physical and for our part I thought we battled them in that regard" said Celarek, who will play next fall at Northern Iowa, where she will major in digital media production. “We needed to possess and connect our passes; they were better than we were today.”
The Lady Knights first serious foray into the Cougars end came from nothing. A well-played counter between Lauren Harrell, Abby Knott and Kayley Bouzas began deep and ended with Bouzas focing Cougars keeper Olivia Messerges into action.
Moments later, Knott and Harrell were at it again. This resulted into a corner from Mekky, who delivered several well-struck corners during the contest.
Ninness corralled a 35-yard free kick off the right foot of Hannah Husnick, then smothered a long throw by Gabby Guerrieri at her near post in advance of the Culli goal at 29 minutes.
Knott set up the eventual game-winner when the sophomore broke free of her mark at the far touch line then played a superb ball across to the unmarked Culli, who is a Wisconsin-Stevens Point recruit.
The Prospect forward was technically savvy on her opportunity. She turned, squared her body up in proper position and delivered a brilliant left-footed one-timer from 20 yards.
"That was a great goal, wasn't it?" beamed Knott. "I saw (Madison) working her up near the box, and all I thought was to get her the ball, because she has been terrific in scoring goals for us so far."
Culli went wide of the near post with a 20-yard free kick just before the intermission.
Conant moved Celarek from the middle to the top of the formation in hopes of getting its best player more opportunities and potentially 1-v-1 situations to take advantage of her wonderful ball-handling skills. B the midfield of the Lady Knights dominated play in the center of the park. Plus high-pressure applied from Prospect’s two strikers forced the Cougars to drop Celarek back into the middle.
"Prospect must have won 75 percent of the first and second balls in the second half with nos. 7 and 3 (Mekky and Knott respectively) winning most of those chances. The pressure put on us kept us from getting out of our own end for most of the half," said Franco, who was impressed with the backline of Prospect as well.
Harrell had a chance after collecting an early ball out of the back, but she effort went wide in the 46th minute. Grace Martin had her attempt saved by Sydney Litney, who came on for Messerges after the break.
Litney, a sophomore, came to the rescue for her teammates on two occasions, taking sure goals away from the Lady Knights who were in search of an insurance goal.
Another Mekky corner found its way into the six-yard box, where one of her teammates redirected the serve on frame. Litney cleared the shot a punch, but in doing so saw the ball spill free.
The Cougars keeper responded bravely by falling on the ball which sat precariously on the end line.
This quality chance in the 65th minute was topped five minutes from time when Culli put Harrell through. Litney extended far to her left to take the Harrell attempt out of the back of the net.
"This was a great way to start our MSL season," said a thrilled Mekky.
"It was a good overall effort from us on both sides of the ball, so we look forward to continuing this kind of play next time out."
The Lady Knights travel to Fremd on Wednesday evening.
"I really liked the way that we possessed, and connected with each other," Knott said. “I thought the best thing we did today was to defend as a team. We tracked really well, and our backline was amazing."
"Before our first goal, I could tell our confidence was building," began Froats. “To see us get that goal, then come back and respond with energy and a high work rate is gratifying.
"I was very proud of the quality of play we gave today. We have some very good depth on this team, so we ask players to go out and give 10-12 minutes of their best, at a high level, and I think that's what you saw out there today.
"Conant played very hard and were dangerous at times, especially with their long throws.
"As I said, Jason does a great job. They're always organized defensively which makes it difficult for us in the attack, but the girls turned in a very nice all-around effort to help us get three points today."
Starting lineups
Conant (4-4-2)
G- Olivia Messerges
D- Maria Ahmad
D- Jessica States
D- Gracia Rodriguez
D- Sophia Bertani
M- Hannah Husnick
M- Maddie Celarek
M- Sophie Dobrincu
M- Claire Liberio
F- Emma Simpson
F- Campbell Hoye
Prospect (3-5-2)
G- Annie Ninness
D- Kaela Salehzadeh
D- Claire Beattie
D- Jackie Keane
M- Abby Knott
M- Hannah Mekky
M- Caroline Ayala
M- Kaylee Naughton
M- Maggie Rosenberg
F- Lauren Harrell
F- Madison Culli
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Hannah Mekky, jr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Bill Niemeyer
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Prospect: Culli (Knott), 29'
First half strike holds up for 1-0 win, Ninness posts shutout
By Mike Garofola
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Prospect got its Mid-Suburban League campaign underway with a victory over visiting Conant at George Gattas Memorial Stadium.
Senior Madison Culli's brilliant one-timer at 29 minutes -- her third goal in as many games – was enough for the Lady Knights to claim success in their league opener Saturday afternoon.
"Jason (Franco, Conant manager) always has a talented, well-coached side, so to come back from our loss to New Trier earlier in the week, and get ourselves three points today is something the girls should be very happy with," said Tom Froats, manager of the Lady Knights.
"We came in knowing we had to step up our play today: (win) the 50/50 balls; defend well as a team; and play with more intensity. I feel like we did all of that and more," offered junior Hannah Mekky, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match for her wonderful performance on this sunny and mild day at the Lady Knights home park.
"(Conant) has a great player (no. 22 Maddie Celarek) so we had to keep an eye on her all throughout the game, but our backline was really sharp today. They defended well, and so did we as a team to limit their chances, especially to their no. 22," added Mekky.
The Lady Knights (1-1-1, 1-0-0) came out in a 3-5-2 formation with Kaela Salehzadeh, Claire Beattie and Jackie Keane deployed along the back. It was this trio that kept the Cougars (1-2-0, 0-1-0) at bay from keeper Annie Ninness who enjoyed another solid day for her club between the sticks.
"Annie provides that cool, calm presence for us back there, and along with Kaela, who was strong in the air and communicated really well -- helped keep us organized and strong along the back all day long," said Froats
The visitors threatened early with their best chance of the first half coming through Claire Liberio whose 16-yard blast forced Ninness into a terrific save.
Celarek's half-chance was taken in with ease by Ninness moments later. The visitors had most of the play thanks in large part to Celarek and Emma Simpson, who together formed a creative partnership in the middle of the park for the Cougars.
Ninness elevated to pull down a fourth-straight corner from the Cougars in the 16th minute, but it was after this sequence that the Lady Knights got into the game for good.
"We knew Prospect would be physical and for our part I thought we battled them in that regard" said Celarek, who will play next fall at Northern Iowa, where she will major in digital media production. “We needed to possess and connect our passes; they were better than we were today.”
The Lady Knights first serious foray into the Cougars end came from nothing. A well-played counter between Lauren Harrell, Abby Knott and Kayley Bouzas began deep and ended with Bouzas focing Cougars keeper Olivia Messerges into action.
Moments later, Knott and Harrell were at it again. This resulted into a corner from Mekky, who delivered several well-struck corners during the contest.
Ninness corralled a 35-yard free kick off the right foot of Hannah Husnick, then smothered a long throw by Gabby Guerrieri at her near post in advance of the Culli goal at 29 minutes.
Knott set up the eventual game-winner when the sophomore broke free of her mark at the far touch line then played a superb ball across to the unmarked Culli, who is a Wisconsin-Stevens Point recruit.
The Prospect forward was technically savvy on her opportunity. She turned, squared her body up in proper position and delivered a brilliant left-footed one-timer from 20 yards.
"That was a great goal, wasn't it?" beamed Knott. "I saw (Madison) working her up near the box, and all I thought was to get her the ball, because she has been terrific in scoring goals for us so far."
Culli went wide of the near post with a 20-yard free kick just before the intermission.
Conant moved Celarek from the middle to the top of the formation in hopes of getting its best player more opportunities and potentially 1-v-1 situations to take advantage of her wonderful ball-handling skills. B the midfield of the Lady Knights dominated play in the center of the park. Plus high-pressure applied from Prospect’s two strikers forced the Cougars to drop Celarek back into the middle.
"Prospect must have won 75 percent of the first and second balls in the second half with nos. 7 and 3 (Mekky and Knott respectively) winning most of those chances. The pressure put on us kept us from getting out of our own end for most of the half," said Franco, who was impressed with the backline of Prospect as well.
Harrell had a chance after collecting an early ball out of the back, but she effort went wide in the 46th minute. Grace Martin had her attempt saved by Sydney Litney, who came on for Messerges after the break.
Litney, a sophomore, came to the rescue for her teammates on two occasions, taking sure goals away from the Lady Knights who were in search of an insurance goal.
Another Mekky corner found its way into the six-yard box, where one of her teammates redirected the serve on frame. Litney cleared the shot a punch, but in doing so saw the ball spill free.
The Cougars keeper responded bravely by falling on the ball which sat precariously on the end line.
This quality chance in the 65th minute was topped five minutes from time when Culli put Harrell through. Litney extended far to her left to take the Harrell attempt out of the back of the net.
"This was a great way to start our MSL season," said a thrilled Mekky.
"It was a good overall effort from us on both sides of the ball, so we look forward to continuing this kind of play next time out."
The Lady Knights travel to Fremd on Wednesday evening.
"I really liked the way that we possessed, and connected with each other," Knott said. “I thought the best thing we did today was to defend as a team. We tracked really well, and our backline was amazing."
"Before our first goal, I could tell our confidence was building," began Froats. “To see us get that goal, then come back and respond with energy and a high work rate is gratifying.
"I was very proud of the quality of play we gave today. We have some very good depth on this team, so we ask players to go out and give 10-12 minutes of their best, at a high level, and I think that's what you saw out there today.
"Conant played very hard and were dangerous at times, especially with their long throws.
"As I said, Jason does a great job. They're always organized defensively which makes it difficult for us in the attack, but the girls turned in a very nice all-around effort to help us get three points today."
Starting lineups
Conant (4-4-2)
G- Olivia Messerges
D- Maria Ahmad
D- Jessica States
D- Gracia Rodriguez
D- Sophia Bertani
M- Hannah Husnick
M- Maddie Celarek
M- Sophie Dobrincu
M- Claire Liberio
F- Emma Simpson
F- Campbell Hoye
Prospect (3-5-2)
G- Annie Ninness
D- Kaela Salehzadeh
D- Claire Beattie
D- Jackie Keane
M- Abby Knott
M- Hannah Mekky
M- Caroline Ayala
M- Kaylee Naughton
M- Maggie Rosenberg
F- Lauren Harrell
F- Madison Culli
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Hannah Mekky, jr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Bill Niemeyer
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Prospect: Culli (Knott), 29'