MSL leader Buffalo Grove tops Prospect
Perez leads Bison with goal and pair of helpers
By Ken Keenan
BUFFALO GROVE -- Buffalo Grove maintained its spot atop the Mid-Suburban League standings with a 3-1 win over conference rival Prospect in an action-packed battle Tuesday night.
The host Bison -- ranked no. 15 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 -- improved to 7-2-1 overall with the victory, and upped their league mark to a perfect 4-0-0. Hersey (3-0-1) and Fremd (2-0-1) remain on Buffalo Grove's heels in the MSL race.
"This was a very important game and the hardest game so far this year," said Buffalo Grove senior forward Kevin Eloiza, who opened the scoring with a goal in the 6th minute. "Prospect played hard."
Bison midfielder Brian Perez earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. The stellar sophomore assisted on Eloiza's goal, set up senior forward Jon Peici for a goal in the 58th minute to break a 1-1 deadlock, and iced the win with a superb tally in the waning minutes.
"Every year, the goal is to win conference," Perez said. "Right now, 4-0-0 is nice, but we've got to stay focused the rest of the way."
Prospect fell to 3-2-2, 1-2-1 with the loss. The Knights entered the match on a 3-0-1 roll.
"Buffalo Grove is a tough team," said Knights head coach Mike Andrews. "They have skilled, intense players who are good with the ball at their feet."
The Bison are set to visit first-year head coach Darren Llewellyn's former team, Hersey, on Sept. 18, followed by a trip to Fremd two days later.
"There's still a number of huge games left," Llewellyn said. "Hersey (is) definitely sound, and Fremd -- plus Palatine (Sept. 13). There are no gimmes. We're not gonna take anyone for granted. Look at Prospect tonight. They controlled the ball, switching the field. Their movement was fantastic, and we're lethargic at times."
With the match tied at 1-1 after 40 minutes, Llewellyn said he challenged his players at halftime to find another gear.
"We said, 'Do you want to win or not?' "Llwellyn said. "And we did pick it up in the second half."
Early on, the Bison had the momentum. Eloiza's tally was a thing of beauty, with the shifty forward settling a sharp cross from Perez on the right side and cutting to his left in-close before tucking the ball past Prospect junior goalkeeper Szymon Mocarski.
Eloiza nearly made it 2-0 in the 13th minute, but his quick shot from the left side was stopped by a diving Mocarski at the left post.
"I think we started really strong, and then (the Knights) started outworking us," Eloiza said.
In the 15th minute, Prospect senior mid Joey Boduch sent a 20-yard free kick from the far right side that was tipped high and wide by senior forward Alex Predescu, and Boduch's ensuing corner try was headed wide by senior midfielder Daniel LaCost.
Five minutes later, Buffalo Grove senior defender Brian Hanus blocked a solid shot by Knights senior forward Michael Kaczowka, who then headed Boduch's follow-up corner boot wide-left.
The surging Knights knotted the score with 18:10 left in the first half. A silky passing sequence among Kaczowka, and junior defenders Marcin Czaplinski and Michael Lollino, ended with Boduch settling a pass from Kaczowka on the left side and firing low-right past Bison junior keeper Raman Kudrautsau.
"I felt like I could hold up the ball and feed the midfielders, and that led to the 1-2 with Joey (Boduch) and the goal," Kaczowka said.
Using its east-west possession game, Prospect continued attacking. A multi-touch sequence in the 29th minute resulted in a 25-yard strike by sophomore forward Declan Flanagan that Kudrautsau nabbed, followed by a stop on a low blast by Boduch less than a minute later.
Kudrautsau then made the save of the game, robbing Prospect senior forward Alex Predescu, who unleashed a 10-yard rocket with merely 15 seconds left before the break.
"Once we came back and evened things out at 1-1, we took the momentum back and it was in our favor," Andrews said.
After regrouping during the break, the Bison regained the lead with 22:27 left in the second half. After taking a pass from junior forward Alex Berk, Perez slotted the ball from the left side to senior forward Jon Peici, who took the cross in stride and delivered a quick shot from the right that scooted right through Mocarski's legs and into the back of the net.
Soon after, Mocarski made a nifty one-handed stop on a tip try by Eloiza, and the Knights keeper also had the answer for a head attempt by Buffalo Grove junior mid Ryan Kim in the 61st minute. With 10:10 showing, Mocarski made another one-handed save to to spoil a quick shot by Peici.
Prospect junior defender Colin Sand kept the Knights within a goal with a strong, sliding tackle to thwart a Peici rush in the 75th minute.
Perez then concluded the scoring, sneaking a low shot past Mocarski from 15 yards while moving to his right after grabbing a pass from Peici.
"At halftime, we knew we were getting outworked," Perez said. "When (Prospect) took over at the end of the first half, we didn't have a solution. But we figured out how to neutralize that, and we picked up our energy and got the win."
Llewellyn said, "(The Knights) were all in our face, so our goal was take away what they wanted to do. It was hard to shut down their big guy (senior forward Peyton Myers). Once we secured the target, we could bypass their pressure."
He continued: "The second goal, by Jon (Peici), that set a new tone. And then Brian (Perez), he can get open. He finds space well and has a fantastic touch. He's a unique player. The next two years, he'll be something else. His poise and composure, for a young player, is outstanding."
Prospect's best chances down the stretch came on a 25-yard free kick by Boduch that LaCost tipped wide with 8 minutes left, and on a throw-in by Flanagan that deflected off a crowd in front and over the crossbar with 6:40 to go.
"The 3-1 result doesn't show how we played," Boduch said. "Our energy didn't go down. We kept fighting."
Added Kaczowka: "We still kept moving the ball .. still got some shots off."
All in all, Andrews had no problem with his team's effort against the current kings of the MSL.
"We had plenty of chances, but we need to put some serious shots on goal," said the Knights skipper. "Other than that, we were moving the ball, creating opportunities. I can't fault our defense, either -- or the intensity of our players. Sometimes you do a lot of things right, and it doesn't work in your favor."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Szymon Mocarski
D: Jacob Keil
D: Bryan Morrison
D: Edmund Conroy
D: Jonny Keane
M: Joey Boduch
M: Tengis Tulga
M: Daniel LaCost
F: Declan Flanagan
F: Patrick Limanowka
F: Peyton Myers
Buffalo Grove
G: Raman Kudrautsau
D: Brian Hanus
D: Marcin Czaplinski
D: Christian Kozaczka
D: Jack Coughlin
M: Shane Adams
M: Brian Perez
M: Ryan Kim
F: Jon Peici
F: Kevin Eloiza
F: Alex Berk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brian Perez, sr., M, Buffalo Grove
Officials: Christopher Weiland, Brian Norwood, Adrian Werbicki
Scoring summary
First half
Buffalo Grove: Kevin Eloiza (Brian Perez), 6th minute
Prospect: Joey Boduch (Michael Kaczowka), 22nd minute
Second half
Buffalo Grove: Jon Peici (Perez), 58th minute
Buffalo Grove: Perez (Peici), 77th minute
Perez leads Bison with goal and pair of helpers
By Ken Keenan
BUFFALO GROVE -- Buffalo Grove maintained its spot atop the Mid-Suburban League standings with a 3-1 win over conference rival Prospect in an action-packed battle Tuesday night.
The host Bison -- ranked no. 15 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 -- improved to 7-2-1 overall with the victory, and upped their league mark to a perfect 4-0-0. Hersey (3-0-1) and Fremd (2-0-1) remain on Buffalo Grove's heels in the MSL race.
"This was a very important game and the hardest game so far this year," said Buffalo Grove senior forward Kevin Eloiza, who opened the scoring with a goal in the 6th minute. "Prospect played hard."
Bison midfielder Brian Perez earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. The stellar sophomore assisted on Eloiza's goal, set up senior forward Jon Peici for a goal in the 58th minute to break a 1-1 deadlock, and iced the win with a superb tally in the waning minutes.
"Every year, the goal is to win conference," Perez said. "Right now, 4-0-0 is nice, but we've got to stay focused the rest of the way."
Prospect fell to 3-2-2, 1-2-1 with the loss. The Knights entered the match on a 3-0-1 roll.
"Buffalo Grove is a tough team," said Knights head coach Mike Andrews. "They have skilled, intense players who are good with the ball at their feet."
The Bison are set to visit first-year head coach Darren Llewellyn's former team, Hersey, on Sept. 18, followed by a trip to Fremd two days later.
"There's still a number of huge games left," Llewellyn said. "Hersey (is) definitely sound, and Fremd -- plus Palatine (Sept. 13). There are no gimmes. We're not gonna take anyone for granted. Look at Prospect tonight. They controlled the ball, switching the field. Their movement was fantastic, and we're lethargic at times."
With the match tied at 1-1 after 40 minutes, Llewellyn said he challenged his players at halftime to find another gear.
"We said, 'Do you want to win or not?' "Llwellyn said. "And we did pick it up in the second half."
Early on, the Bison had the momentum. Eloiza's tally was a thing of beauty, with the shifty forward settling a sharp cross from Perez on the right side and cutting to his left in-close before tucking the ball past Prospect junior goalkeeper Szymon Mocarski.
Eloiza nearly made it 2-0 in the 13th minute, but his quick shot from the left side was stopped by a diving Mocarski at the left post.
"I think we started really strong, and then (the Knights) started outworking us," Eloiza said.
In the 15th minute, Prospect senior mid Joey Boduch sent a 20-yard free kick from the far right side that was tipped high and wide by senior forward Alex Predescu, and Boduch's ensuing corner try was headed wide by senior midfielder Daniel LaCost.
Five minutes later, Buffalo Grove senior defender Brian Hanus blocked a solid shot by Knights senior forward Michael Kaczowka, who then headed Boduch's follow-up corner boot wide-left.
The surging Knights knotted the score with 18:10 left in the first half. A silky passing sequence among Kaczowka, and junior defenders Marcin Czaplinski and Michael Lollino, ended with Boduch settling a pass from Kaczowka on the left side and firing low-right past Bison junior keeper Raman Kudrautsau.
"I felt like I could hold up the ball and feed the midfielders, and that led to the 1-2 with Joey (Boduch) and the goal," Kaczowka said.
Using its east-west possession game, Prospect continued attacking. A multi-touch sequence in the 29th minute resulted in a 25-yard strike by sophomore forward Declan Flanagan that Kudrautsau nabbed, followed by a stop on a low blast by Boduch less than a minute later.
Kudrautsau then made the save of the game, robbing Prospect senior forward Alex Predescu, who unleashed a 10-yard rocket with merely 15 seconds left before the break.
"Once we came back and evened things out at 1-1, we took the momentum back and it was in our favor," Andrews said.
After regrouping during the break, the Bison regained the lead with 22:27 left in the second half. After taking a pass from junior forward Alex Berk, Perez slotted the ball from the left side to senior forward Jon Peici, who took the cross in stride and delivered a quick shot from the right that scooted right through Mocarski's legs and into the back of the net.
Soon after, Mocarski made a nifty one-handed stop on a tip try by Eloiza, and the Knights keeper also had the answer for a head attempt by Buffalo Grove junior mid Ryan Kim in the 61st minute. With 10:10 showing, Mocarski made another one-handed save to to spoil a quick shot by Peici.
Prospect junior defender Colin Sand kept the Knights within a goal with a strong, sliding tackle to thwart a Peici rush in the 75th minute.
Perez then concluded the scoring, sneaking a low shot past Mocarski from 15 yards while moving to his right after grabbing a pass from Peici.
"At halftime, we knew we were getting outworked," Perez said. "When (Prospect) took over at the end of the first half, we didn't have a solution. But we figured out how to neutralize that, and we picked up our energy and got the win."
Llewellyn said, "(The Knights) were all in our face, so our goal was take away what they wanted to do. It was hard to shut down their big guy (senior forward Peyton Myers). Once we secured the target, we could bypass their pressure."
He continued: "The second goal, by Jon (Peici), that set a new tone. And then Brian (Perez), he can get open. He finds space well and has a fantastic touch. He's a unique player. The next two years, he'll be something else. His poise and composure, for a young player, is outstanding."
Prospect's best chances down the stretch came on a 25-yard free kick by Boduch that LaCost tipped wide with 8 minutes left, and on a throw-in by Flanagan that deflected off a crowd in front and over the crossbar with 6:40 to go.
"The 3-1 result doesn't show how we played," Boduch said. "Our energy didn't go down. We kept fighting."
Added Kaczowka: "We still kept moving the ball .. still got some shots off."
All in all, Andrews had no problem with his team's effort against the current kings of the MSL.
"We had plenty of chances, but we need to put some serious shots on goal," said the Knights skipper. "Other than that, we were moving the ball, creating opportunities. I can't fault our defense, either -- or the intensity of our players. Sometimes you do a lot of things right, and it doesn't work in your favor."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Szymon Mocarski
D: Jacob Keil
D: Bryan Morrison
D: Edmund Conroy
D: Jonny Keane
M: Joey Boduch
M: Tengis Tulga
M: Daniel LaCost
F: Declan Flanagan
F: Patrick Limanowka
F: Peyton Myers
Buffalo Grove
G: Raman Kudrautsau
D: Brian Hanus
D: Marcin Czaplinski
D: Christian Kozaczka
D: Jack Coughlin
M: Shane Adams
M: Brian Perez
M: Ryan Kim
F: Jon Peici
F: Kevin Eloiza
F: Alex Berk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brian Perez, sr., M, Buffalo Grove
Officials: Christopher Weiland, Brian Norwood, Adrian Werbicki
Scoring summary
First half
Buffalo Grove: Kevin Eloiza (Brian Perez), 6th minute
Prospect: Joey Boduch (Michael Kaczowka), 22nd minute
Second half
Buffalo Grove: Jon Peici (Perez), 58th minute
Buffalo Grove: Perez (Peici), 77th minute