Gritty Elk Grove ends Prospect streak
Grens nip previously unbeaten Knights 2-1 in MSL battle
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE VILLAGE -- Determined to prevent a demoralizing loss in its previous game from derailing its season, Elk Grove gutted out a 2-1 win over Mid-Suburban League East rival Prospect at home Friday night.
The Grenadiers (2-5-1 overall, 1-2-0 MSL) entered the match on the heels of a mind-boggling 5-0 overtime loss to Rolling Meadows on April 3. The Mustangs scored three times in the first 10-minute overtime period and twice in the second. But rather than wallow in misery, or be intimidated by the fact that the visiting Knights (ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) came in undefeated at 4-0-3 overall, Elk Grove took the pitch with a purpose and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening 40 minutes.
Prospect battled back to cut the lead in half with a tally in the 49th minute, but the Grenadiers held off the charging Knights with a stellar defensive effort across the board to seal the victory.
"The loss to Rolling Meadows, that was rock bottom for us," said Elk Grove head coach Dean Burrier Sanchis. "For us to come out, with a quick turnaround, the effort level ... absolutely phenomenal. Right from the start -- how much we worked for each other, believing in each other -- give credit to the girls."
Though Burrier Sanchis was well aware that Prospect had yet to lose a match, he said the Grenadiers needed to look in the mirror following the OT meltdown against Rolling Meadows.
"We respect all our opponents," he said. "But regardless of who we played (Friday night), I told the girls before the game, 'Focus on us today. Play Elk Grove soccer.' So, that's what we did mentally, physically -- and to do it so well ... to not succumb to the pressure, but to match it."
Knights skipper Tom Froats, whose squad fell to 0-1-1 in league play (4-1-3 overall) with the loss, took the defeat in stride.
"Credit Elk Grove," he said. "They took advantage of the chances they created. Being successful gave them the early lead. We were chasing, and we fought back to get the first goal. We had chances to get a second one, but we didn't capitalize.
"Tip your hat to Elk Grove -- they worked hard for 80 minutes," Froats continued. "We showed a lot of character to battle back. It just wasn't meant for us tonight."
Prospect created a handful of opportunities in the early going, including a semi-breakaway by freshman forward Hannah Mekky in the 9th minute. Setting the tone on defense for the home team, Elk Grove sophomore defender Alysa Cobb raced back to pester Mekky and thwart any shot attempt before clearing the ball out of harm's way.
Similarly, the Grenadier's 'D' -- also featuring a standout performance by sophomore defender Alexa Joshi -- surrounded Knights senior forward Abbey Danciu to foil a try in-close in the 18th minute.
Two minutes later, Elk Grove broke the ice when sophomore midfielder Katie Talens -- Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match -- snared a loose ball and scooted through two defenders before connecting on a low strike from 20 yards to the right of Prospect sophomore goalkeeper Annie Ninness.
"I was looking far left corner, and I got it in," Talens said.
Added Burrier Sanchis: "It was an awesome goal. She got up to top speed on that break."
The Grenadiers increased the margin to 2-0 with 10:47 remaining in the first half. Joshi started the play, stealing a ball and taking off on a long run before dishing to Talens, who found senior mid Gabriella Mauro in front for a chip shot past Ninness.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Prospect came out flying in the second half. In the 43rd minute, senior mid Tina Suto fired a 40-yard free kick that Elk Grove senior keeper Rachel Kandefer handled. Soon after, Knights senior middie Ella Marzolf crossed a ball to fellow senior mid Lauryn Schneider in the box, but the Grenadiers' defense collectively stifled the attack.
After the EG 'D' blocked yet another shot, Prospect scored its lone goal with 31:53 to go the second session. A deep throw-in from Schneider found Ashley Erickson alone on the doorstep, and the junior defender booted the ball past Kandefer with a low, left-footed shot into the left side of the net to make it 2-1.
"The second half, we were really going hard," Schneider said. "I thought we deserved to win."
Added rock-solid Prospect senior defender Madalyn Ladd: "We were extremely frustrated (down 2-0). But I knew we had the potential to come back."
The Knights nearly completed the comeback in the 62nd minute, but Kandefer kept the Elk Grove lead intact with a sparkling save. Snaring a long ball ball from Mekky, Prospect senior mid Ashley Welk zoomed in alone on the right side and fired away. But Kandefer dove to make the stop at the near post.
Welk had another good look in the 76th minute, nabbing a loose ball for a shot from 15 yards that Kandefer stopped. With 1:40 showing, Kandefer corralled a short pop-up shot by Mekky, and the Elk Grove keeper scooped and cleared a last-ditch long ball in the final seconds as well.
"It takes so much mental toughness and mental strength to overcome a comeback," Burrier Sanchis said. "Credit to our girls for sticking with it every play."
Cobb, playing what Burrier Sanchis said was, "her greatest game" in only her second season of organized soccer, agreed with her coach that the Grenadiers' commitment to team defense was key to emerging with the win.
"With the lead down to 2-1, that made us want work even harder to keep our lead -- and keep the effort level," she said. "We stayed in it mentally and kept it. This game is what we needed to show we can take it to the end."
Joshi said, "I think the defense was terrific tonight. We were composed back there. We trusted each other. We said, 'This is our game. Let's keep it up.' The desire we had was spot-on that we were gonna raise our level and win this game."
Added Talens: "We really wanted to win this game -- for ourselves and the program. We've lost leads before, and we wanted to keep this one. Tonight, we showed hard work. It shows we're coming together."
For the Knights, the season's initial loss provided no reason to push any type of panic button.
"If things aren't going our way, we have to move past it," Ladd said. "There's a whole season to go."
Added Schneider: "We won't let this get us down. We just have to come back harder ... play our game and focus on ourselves."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Annie Ninness
D: Madalyn Ladd
D: Helen Siavelis
D: Ashley Erickson
M: Kristin Schneider
M: Lauryn Schneider
M: Ashley Welk
M: Tina Suto
M: Ashley Adams
F: Hannah Mekky
F: Abbey Danciu
Elk Grove
G: Rachel Kandefer
D: Grace Nuxoll
D: Alexa Joshi
D: Alysa Cobb
D: Marisa Mauro
D: Ava Hennig
M: Emily Head
M: Aliah Mendez
M: Katie Talens
M: Gabriella Mauro
F: Hannah Gryzik
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katie Talens, so., MF, Elk Grove
Officials: Mark Radley, Edward Sacha, Patrick Legge
Scoring summary
First half
Elk Grove: Katie Talens (unassisted) in 20th minute
Elk Grove: Gabriella Mauro (assisted by Talens) in 30th minute
Second half
Prospect: Lauryn Schneider (assisted by Ashley Erickson) in 49th minute
Grens nip previously unbeaten Knights 2-1 in MSL battle
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE VILLAGE -- Determined to prevent a demoralizing loss in its previous game from derailing its season, Elk Grove gutted out a 2-1 win over Mid-Suburban League East rival Prospect at home Friday night.
The Grenadiers (2-5-1 overall, 1-2-0 MSL) entered the match on the heels of a mind-boggling 5-0 overtime loss to Rolling Meadows on April 3. The Mustangs scored three times in the first 10-minute overtime period and twice in the second. But rather than wallow in misery, or be intimidated by the fact that the visiting Knights (ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) came in undefeated at 4-0-3 overall, Elk Grove took the pitch with a purpose and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening 40 minutes.
Prospect battled back to cut the lead in half with a tally in the 49th minute, but the Grenadiers held off the charging Knights with a stellar defensive effort across the board to seal the victory.
"The loss to Rolling Meadows, that was rock bottom for us," said Elk Grove head coach Dean Burrier Sanchis. "For us to come out, with a quick turnaround, the effort level ... absolutely phenomenal. Right from the start -- how much we worked for each other, believing in each other -- give credit to the girls."
Though Burrier Sanchis was well aware that Prospect had yet to lose a match, he said the Grenadiers needed to look in the mirror following the OT meltdown against Rolling Meadows.
"We respect all our opponents," he said. "But regardless of who we played (Friday night), I told the girls before the game, 'Focus on us today. Play Elk Grove soccer.' So, that's what we did mentally, physically -- and to do it so well ... to not succumb to the pressure, but to match it."
Knights skipper Tom Froats, whose squad fell to 0-1-1 in league play (4-1-3 overall) with the loss, took the defeat in stride.
"Credit Elk Grove," he said. "They took advantage of the chances they created. Being successful gave them the early lead. We were chasing, and we fought back to get the first goal. We had chances to get a second one, but we didn't capitalize.
"Tip your hat to Elk Grove -- they worked hard for 80 minutes," Froats continued. "We showed a lot of character to battle back. It just wasn't meant for us tonight."
Prospect created a handful of opportunities in the early going, including a semi-breakaway by freshman forward Hannah Mekky in the 9th minute. Setting the tone on defense for the home team, Elk Grove sophomore defender Alysa Cobb raced back to pester Mekky and thwart any shot attempt before clearing the ball out of harm's way.
Similarly, the Grenadier's 'D' -- also featuring a standout performance by sophomore defender Alexa Joshi -- surrounded Knights senior forward Abbey Danciu to foil a try in-close in the 18th minute.
Two minutes later, Elk Grove broke the ice when sophomore midfielder Katie Talens -- Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match -- snared a loose ball and scooted through two defenders before connecting on a low strike from 20 yards to the right of Prospect sophomore goalkeeper Annie Ninness.
"I was looking far left corner, and I got it in," Talens said.
Added Burrier Sanchis: "It was an awesome goal. She got up to top speed on that break."
The Grenadiers increased the margin to 2-0 with 10:47 remaining in the first half. Joshi started the play, stealing a ball and taking off on a long run before dishing to Talens, who found senior mid Gabriella Mauro in front for a chip shot past Ninness.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, Prospect came out flying in the second half. In the 43rd minute, senior mid Tina Suto fired a 40-yard free kick that Elk Grove senior keeper Rachel Kandefer handled. Soon after, Knights senior middie Ella Marzolf crossed a ball to fellow senior mid Lauryn Schneider in the box, but the Grenadiers' defense collectively stifled the attack.
After the EG 'D' blocked yet another shot, Prospect scored its lone goal with 31:53 to go the second session. A deep throw-in from Schneider found Ashley Erickson alone on the doorstep, and the junior defender booted the ball past Kandefer with a low, left-footed shot into the left side of the net to make it 2-1.
"The second half, we were really going hard," Schneider said. "I thought we deserved to win."
Added rock-solid Prospect senior defender Madalyn Ladd: "We were extremely frustrated (down 2-0). But I knew we had the potential to come back."
The Knights nearly completed the comeback in the 62nd minute, but Kandefer kept the Elk Grove lead intact with a sparkling save. Snaring a long ball ball from Mekky, Prospect senior mid Ashley Welk zoomed in alone on the right side and fired away. But Kandefer dove to make the stop at the near post.
Welk had another good look in the 76th minute, nabbing a loose ball for a shot from 15 yards that Kandefer stopped. With 1:40 showing, Kandefer corralled a short pop-up shot by Mekky, and the Elk Grove keeper scooped and cleared a last-ditch long ball in the final seconds as well.
"It takes so much mental toughness and mental strength to overcome a comeback," Burrier Sanchis said. "Credit to our girls for sticking with it every play."
Cobb, playing what Burrier Sanchis said was, "her greatest game" in only her second season of organized soccer, agreed with her coach that the Grenadiers' commitment to team defense was key to emerging with the win.
"With the lead down to 2-1, that made us want work even harder to keep our lead -- and keep the effort level," she said. "We stayed in it mentally and kept it. This game is what we needed to show we can take it to the end."
Joshi said, "I think the defense was terrific tonight. We were composed back there. We trusted each other. We said, 'This is our game. Let's keep it up.' The desire we had was spot-on that we were gonna raise our level and win this game."
Added Talens: "We really wanted to win this game -- for ourselves and the program. We've lost leads before, and we wanted to keep this one. Tonight, we showed hard work. It shows we're coming together."
For the Knights, the season's initial loss provided no reason to push any type of panic button.
"If things aren't going our way, we have to move past it," Ladd said. "There's a whole season to go."
Added Schneider: "We won't let this get us down. We just have to come back harder ... play our game and focus on ourselves."
Starting lineups
Prospect
G: Annie Ninness
D: Madalyn Ladd
D: Helen Siavelis
D: Ashley Erickson
M: Kristin Schneider
M: Lauryn Schneider
M: Ashley Welk
M: Tina Suto
M: Ashley Adams
F: Hannah Mekky
F: Abbey Danciu
Elk Grove
G: Rachel Kandefer
D: Grace Nuxoll
D: Alexa Joshi
D: Alysa Cobb
D: Marisa Mauro
D: Ava Hennig
M: Emily Head
M: Aliah Mendez
M: Katie Talens
M: Gabriella Mauro
F: Hannah Gryzik
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Katie Talens, so., MF, Elk Grove
Officials: Mark Radley, Edward Sacha, Patrick Legge
Scoring summary
First half
Elk Grove: Katie Talens (unassisted) in 20th minute
Elk Grove: Gabriella Mauro (assisted by Talens) in 30th minute
Second half
Prospect: Lauryn Schneider (assisted by Ashley Erickson) in 49th minute