Fremd, Prospect get nada after 100 minutes
Teams tie 0-0 in Mid-Suburban League battle of contenders
By Mike Garofola
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Prospect maintained its unbeaten start to the season in a thrilling goal-less draw with Fremd at George Gattas Memorial Stadium on Thursday night.
In a game littered with terrific play through the middle of the park, stout defending, few-but-quality scoring chances, neither side could carve out a victory and deliver an early psychological blow to the contenders in their respective divisions.
"It was a well-played game from both sides," said Fremd manager Steve Keller afterwards. "Each of us took turns having the run of the play. In the end, it was probably a fair result."
"You're never happy with a draw, but we played well enough to win," offered senior defender Christy Murauskis, who shined throughout her 100-minute performance to share Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor with Prospect's Ashley Welk. "I think for our first game coming out of spring break, it was a good effort all the way around.
"We knew Prospect was going to be a tough opponent tonight. They've been playing really well, had a 1-1 draw with New Trier, and haven't given up hardly any goals in their games so far," continued Murauskis, who returned to the Vikings after honing her skills with Sockers FC during the past two seasons.
"I had a great experience playing here as a freshman with my older sister (Katie). It's great to be back and a part of this program."
The Vikings outside back will play next fall at Southern Illinois.
The early exchanges featured plenty of chatter from both sides, which came out knowing the communication between each other was important in a contest such as this.
"With Fremd, you always know they will be organized, tough defensively, tactically sharp and always willing to go into tackles hard in order to win first and second balls," said Prospect manager Tom Froats.
"You're always worried about playing (them). I thought we matched them in every category I mentioned, and defended really well as a team, particularly along the back with Helen (Siavelis), Ashley (Erickson) and Madalyn Ladd doing their part whenever Fremd was putting us under pressure."
For most of the evening, there were several half-chances on frame. Some which began with a look of danger, others turned into nothing when play entered the area.
What was most impressive was how well the midfield play from both clubs went box-to-box to make the game a joy to watch.
Some combination work from Welk, Lauryn Schneider, Abbey Danciu and freshman Hannah Mekky showed purpose as the group knocked the ball around for the Lady Knights (4-0-3, 0-0-1), who built many ranging sequences.
The work at the quarter hour was matched by the Vikings quartet of Emma Smotak, Mackenzie Stein, Caeleigh Stone and Ashley Scesniak, who were creative in their runs and quick to find each other with precision passes.
"Ashley had a strong night for us," said Keller. "We might have found a good spot for her and us in our formation
Scesniak went over the bar in the 21st minute. Moments before the Fremd faithful held their breath when a short clearing effort saw Prospect's Welk and Danciu in control just outside the area.
Murauskis ended the hopes of the Lady Knights with a strong tackle to stop a potential 1-v.-1 opportunity against her keeper Jennifer Norris.
Scesniak found Emma Katovich with a lovely ball, but senior Tina Suto stepped into the play to stop what could have been the best chance on sophomore Prospect keeper sophomore Annie Ninness up to that point.
"One of our goals tonight was to limit the chances of Fremd," said Suto, who did just that and more by delivering quality balls up-top, or out of the back in addition to joining the Lady Knights attack when she was able to do so. "My role, as our holding-mid was to keep us organized, defend the area in front of our backline and try to win as many through-balls as I could."
Near the end of the first half the homeside managed to create four-consecutive deep throws. Just one, a wicked Welk 22-yard snap-shot at Norris ending up on frame.
Fremd's Layla Dib, Maya Poyraz and Zhara Trott, who gave the Vikings good minutes when brought on by Keller, combined up the left side to get to the endline only to have Siavelis slide over from near the spot to clear the area of any danger.
"It was a well-played first half," said Froats. "The play was fast, and I thought we matched their pace and intensity. Both sides did just about everything but score."
There was a little bit of a lull during the opening 10 minutes after the intermission, but play came to life after Ella Marzolf, Danziu and Welk took advantage of a little space to put the Vikings under pressure.
Fremd responded moments later when Scesniak had a go from 22 yards, which was followed by a nicely executed counter in which Spotak earned a corner for the visitors.
The constant ebb and flow of half-chances, possession and good use of the width of the Lady Knights' home park during the next 20 minutes kept the fans engaged but never really required either keeper to come to the rescue.
"We sometimes want our shots to be put on a silver platter," said Froats, who promised to spend extra time in his next training session to make this point clear to his club. "We have to take some chances on frame, because maybe a deflection leads to a corner or a better chance for one of our players, something."
Fremd dominated during a 5-6 minute stretch beginning in the 70th minute. Scesniak, Katovich, Spotak, Stein and Stone all had a hand in most of it, only to have the homeside defend with confidence.
After 80 minutes were unable to settle the MSL contest, the first of two 10-minute extra sessions began with the Vikings making a clear statement of their intentions.
Scesniak went wide right after a nice turn from Stone sent her through. An angled attempt from Stone followed but also sailed wide of the post.
"I liked the way we came out after regulation and had most of the play but have trouble with our finishing, which is something we'll continue to work on from here on out," said Keller.
Prospect's Ashley Adams ran onto a perfectly weighted ball up the left side from Danciu in the 92nd minute. That led to a sequence of three-straight deep throws from the Lady Knights.
But Murauskis, and her backline mates, Liz and Allie Prigge, defended with composure to insure none ended with a chance on Norris.
"I thought we played really well in our last game against Naperville North, so to play as well, if not better tonight in our conference opener is a good sign for all of us," said Murauskis.
Added Keller: "We got a little lucky on two occasions when we coughed up the ball deep in our own end. We have to clean things like that up, but the overall effort and play is something we can build from."
The Vikings will host longtime rival Palatine on Friday in the 25th renewal of the Kinsella Cup, which annually decides bragging rights in the town of Palatine.
Prospect travels to Elk Grove on the same night looking to earn a victory.
"This was big for us tonight. (We) know how important it is to keep adding points to stay close to, or at the top of the table in the MSL," said Froats. "To come away with one point with the draw against such a terrific opponent means a lot in the overall picture.
"There's so much more ahead of us but to come out of this week with potentially four points is something all of us want to do."
Starting lineups
Fremd (3-5-2)
G- Jennifer Norris
D- Allie Prigge
D- Liz Prigge
D- Christy Muraukskis
M- Claire Stewart
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Kayla Tanner
M- Emma Katovich
M- Ashley Scesniak
F- Emma Spotak
F- Caeleigh Stone
Prospect (3-5-2)
G- Annie Ninness
D- Madalyn Ladd
D- Helen Siavelis
D- Ashley Erickson
M- Tina Suto
M- Ella Marzolf
M- Ashley Welk
M- Kristin Schneider
M- Lauryn Schneider
F- Hannah Melky
F- Abbey Danciu
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Christy Murauskis, sr., D, Fremd
Ashley Welk, sr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Adrian Wajtiok
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Teams tie 0-0 in Mid-Suburban League battle of contenders
By Mike Garofola
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Prospect maintained its unbeaten start to the season in a thrilling goal-less draw with Fremd at George Gattas Memorial Stadium on Thursday night.
In a game littered with terrific play through the middle of the park, stout defending, few-but-quality scoring chances, neither side could carve out a victory and deliver an early psychological blow to the contenders in their respective divisions.
"It was a well-played game from both sides," said Fremd manager Steve Keller afterwards. "Each of us took turns having the run of the play. In the end, it was probably a fair result."
"You're never happy with a draw, but we played well enough to win," offered senior defender Christy Murauskis, who shined throughout her 100-minute performance to share Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor with Prospect's Ashley Welk. "I think for our first game coming out of spring break, it was a good effort all the way around.
"We knew Prospect was going to be a tough opponent tonight. They've been playing really well, had a 1-1 draw with New Trier, and haven't given up hardly any goals in their games so far," continued Murauskis, who returned to the Vikings after honing her skills with Sockers FC during the past two seasons.
"I had a great experience playing here as a freshman with my older sister (Katie). It's great to be back and a part of this program."
The Vikings outside back will play next fall at Southern Illinois.
The early exchanges featured plenty of chatter from both sides, which came out knowing the communication between each other was important in a contest such as this.
"With Fremd, you always know they will be organized, tough defensively, tactically sharp and always willing to go into tackles hard in order to win first and second balls," said Prospect manager Tom Froats.
"You're always worried about playing (them). I thought we matched them in every category I mentioned, and defended really well as a team, particularly along the back with Helen (Siavelis), Ashley (Erickson) and Madalyn Ladd doing their part whenever Fremd was putting us under pressure."
For most of the evening, there were several half-chances on frame. Some which began with a look of danger, others turned into nothing when play entered the area.
What was most impressive was how well the midfield play from both clubs went box-to-box to make the game a joy to watch.
Some combination work from Welk, Lauryn Schneider, Abbey Danciu and freshman Hannah Mekky showed purpose as the group knocked the ball around for the Lady Knights (4-0-3, 0-0-1), who built many ranging sequences.
The work at the quarter hour was matched by the Vikings quartet of Emma Smotak, Mackenzie Stein, Caeleigh Stone and Ashley Scesniak, who were creative in their runs and quick to find each other with precision passes.
"Ashley had a strong night for us," said Keller. "We might have found a good spot for her and us in our formation
Scesniak went over the bar in the 21st minute. Moments before the Fremd faithful held their breath when a short clearing effort saw Prospect's Welk and Danciu in control just outside the area.
Murauskis ended the hopes of the Lady Knights with a strong tackle to stop a potential 1-v.-1 opportunity against her keeper Jennifer Norris.
Scesniak found Emma Katovich with a lovely ball, but senior Tina Suto stepped into the play to stop what could have been the best chance on sophomore Prospect keeper sophomore Annie Ninness up to that point.
"One of our goals tonight was to limit the chances of Fremd," said Suto, who did just that and more by delivering quality balls up-top, or out of the back in addition to joining the Lady Knights attack when she was able to do so. "My role, as our holding-mid was to keep us organized, defend the area in front of our backline and try to win as many through-balls as I could."
Near the end of the first half the homeside managed to create four-consecutive deep throws. Just one, a wicked Welk 22-yard snap-shot at Norris ending up on frame.
Fremd's Layla Dib, Maya Poyraz and Zhara Trott, who gave the Vikings good minutes when brought on by Keller, combined up the left side to get to the endline only to have Siavelis slide over from near the spot to clear the area of any danger.
"It was a well-played first half," said Froats. "The play was fast, and I thought we matched their pace and intensity. Both sides did just about everything but score."
There was a little bit of a lull during the opening 10 minutes after the intermission, but play came to life after Ella Marzolf, Danziu and Welk took advantage of a little space to put the Vikings under pressure.
Fremd responded moments later when Scesniak had a go from 22 yards, which was followed by a nicely executed counter in which Spotak earned a corner for the visitors.
The constant ebb and flow of half-chances, possession and good use of the width of the Lady Knights' home park during the next 20 minutes kept the fans engaged but never really required either keeper to come to the rescue.
"We sometimes want our shots to be put on a silver platter," said Froats, who promised to spend extra time in his next training session to make this point clear to his club. "We have to take some chances on frame, because maybe a deflection leads to a corner or a better chance for one of our players, something."
Fremd dominated during a 5-6 minute stretch beginning in the 70th minute. Scesniak, Katovich, Spotak, Stein and Stone all had a hand in most of it, only to have the homeside defend with confidence.
After 80 minutes were unable to settle the MSL contest, the first of two 10-minute extra sessions began with the Vikings making a clear statement of their intentions.
Scesniak went wide right after a nice turn from Stone sent her through. An angled attempt from Stone followed but also sailed wide of the post.
"I liked the way we came out after regulation and had most of the play but have trouble with our finishing, which is something we'll continue to work on from here on out," said Keller.
Prospect's Ashley Adams ran onto a perfectly weighted ball up the left side from Danciu in the 92nd minute. That led to a sequence of three-straight deep throws from the Lady Knights.
But Murauskis, and her backline mates, Liz and Allie Prigge, defended with composure to insure none ended with a chance on Norris.
"I thought we played really well in our last game against Naperville North, so to play as well, if not better tonight in our conference opener is a good sign for all of us," said Murauskis.
Added Keller: "We got a little lucky on two occasions when we coughed up the ball deep in our own end. We have to clean things like that up, but the overall effort and play is something we can build from."
The Vikings will host longtime rival Palatine on Friday in the 25th renewal of the Kinsella Cup, which annually decides bragging rights in the town of Palatine.
Prospect travels to Elk Grove on the same night looking to earn a victory.
"This was big for us tonight. (We) know how important it is to keep adding points to stay close to, or at the top of the table in the MSL," said Froats. "To come away with one point with the draw against such a terrific opponent means a lot in the overall picture.
"There's so much more ahead of us but to come out of this week with potentially four points is something all of us want to do."
Starting lineups
Fremd (3-5-2)
G- Jennifer Norris
D- Allie Prigge
D- Liz Prigge
D- Christy Muraukskis
M- Claire Stewart
M- Mackenzie Stein
M- Kayla Tanner
M- Emma Katovich
M- Ashley Scesniak
F- Emma Spotak
F- Caeleigh Stone
Prospect (3-5-2)
G- Annie Ninness
D- Madalyn Ladd
D- Helen Siavelis
D- Ashley Erickson
M- Tina Suto
M- Ella Marzolf
M- Ashley Welk
M- Kristin Schneider
M- Lauryn Schneider
F- Hannah Melky
F- Abbey Danciu
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Christy Murauskis, sr., D, Fremd
Ashley Welk, sr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Adrian Wajtiok
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring