Prospect, Rolling Meadows
give all, settle for draw
Prospect GK Rider-Leiner comes up big in 1-1 2 OT contest
By Bobby Narang
ROLLING MEADOWS — In late September, Rolling Meadows still remains among a small group of the undefeated teams left in the state.
But you couldn’t tell by their emotions following Thursday’s highly competitive 1-1 double-overtime draw against Prospect in Mid-Suburban League East Division play.
Many Mustangs were physically and emotionally exhausted following the 100-minute match, which was played before a loud and spirited crowd of nearly 500 fans. Several Mustangs had to walk behind the bench to console themselves, receiving long hugs from Rolling Meadows coach Brett Olson.
Prospect too had numerous players succumb to their emotions, with Shea Morris and Massimo Mho the first athletes to fall to the turf when the final buzzer sounded.
The Knights (8-3-1, 4-1-1) were coming off a 1-0 win over Buffalo Grove on Tuesday. In the win, Ryan Novak scored off a corner kick in the final minute of the second overtime.
Although the battle for the new Cardinal Cup, which will go annually to the top finisher in a three-team competition between Hersey, Prospect and Rolling Meadows, featured little scoring, the two teams hooked up for a clean game that thrilled the crowd.
Prospect junior Luis DeSantiago scored the first goal in the 36th minute. Rolling Meadows senior Aidan O’Brien tied the game off a header with 14:44 remaining in the second half.
The Mustangs (10-0-2, 5-0-2), ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were looking to knock off the frustration of a scoreless double-overtime draw against Barrington on Tuesday. In a matter of three days, the Mustangs played 200 minutes of soccer and scored just one goal.
Maybe that’s why several Mustangs expressed a wide range of emotions following Thursday’s draw.
“It’s really frustrating for me,” Rolling Meadows senior midfielder Gage Lockley said. “I think we’re the best team in the MSL East. I think we deserve more than what we’ve gotten in these last two games, especially with the effort we’re putting in.
“We clearly dominated, and we were more dangerous, but it came down to finishing once again.
“I think it just came down to effort in the end, so it’s really disappointing we couldn’t come out with the three points at the end. Our team outplayed them and outworked them and had more dangerous chances.
“It just came down to that finishing, which has been a bit of an issue the whole season. Once we figure that out, I think we can be unstoppable.
“The fan turnout was beautiful, very inspiring and very motivational. All the players were blessed to have this opportunity. It was a great crowd.”
Prospect avoided a late heart-breaking defeat thanks to the outstanding play of senior goalie Alejandro Rider-Leiner. The Mustangs applied plenty of pressure in the second overtime, with three excellent chances in the final four-plus minutes.
Lockley had a breakaway with just over three minutes left but was stopped on a sliding save. He added another save off a shot from Andrew Flores with 2:55 remaining, Less than 22 seconds later, Ben Gligor drilled a hard shot but Rider-Leiner made a great save. and stopped a corner kick attempt with 1:40 left.
Prospect coach Mike Andrews said it was an emotional game.
“My nerves are shot,” Andrews said. “That was obviously an incredible game for both teams. There were so many chances. Both teams had incredible chances the entire game, and it was high energy. It was a great game.
“Coming off a full overtime on Tuesday, this is a testament to the hearts of my players. Alejandro was just outstanding, especially in the final overtime when he had three enormous saves in a row. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the win, but I think it’s a pretty fair result.”
Rider-Leiner compiled 12 saves in the victory, including six in the two overtime sessions. He credited his backline with a stellar game.
“I was excited, but there was a lot of pressure,” he said. “I knew they were coming at us hard, so I had to step up and do my thing.
“Throughout the whole game, I was relaxed but I knew I had to keep our team’s energy high, so I was screaming the whole time. The energy was high from everyone. I had fun.”
Olson said the Mustangs can learn from the draw, especially since they trailed for the first time all season for an extended period of time
“We knew this was going to be a battle,” Olson said. “They’ve been scoring a ton of goals. We gave them some space on that goal, and they made us pay.
“We’ve had a hard time putting the ball in the back of the net. We've been very snake bitten. We still control things on our end in the conference, which is a nice point.
“The Prospect keeper played outstanding. The way we played in overtime and had three or four breakaways, it feels like a loss. I’m not going to complain, but the tie hurts. It feels like we should’ve had three points, but we’re still undefeated.
“But I’m happy with the way we responded. … We’ve only given up four goals. We were down to Romeoville in a tournament and Hampshire.
“When we’ve had some adversity, we’ve responded really well. That’s what I’ll take from this game. This was the first time trailing for a long time, but we didn’t panic.”
After nearly scoring two goals in a three-minute segment, the Knights finally got on the board on DeSantiago’s 31-yard shot into the far upper corner off an assist from Owen Walsh late in the first half.
“It was a pretty nice goal,” DeSantiago said. “I took a touch and shot it far left. It was a great goal, and awesome because we needed it.”
Rolling Meadows senior goalie Ramon Orozco, who had 11 saves in the game, credited DeSantiago for his well-placed shot.
“It was a banger, and I was just not able to save it,” he said. “I just looked up and saw it go in. It was a very intense game. We had our chances, got a great goal. We played great in overtime.”
O’Brien recharged the crowd with his goal following a slow first 20 minutes of the second half. He scored the equalizer on a header that led to a wild celebration in the stands and on the field.
“It was a great game, a bit disappointed we couldn’t get three points,” O’Brien said. “I thought we outplayed them in the overtime, showed a lot of heart. It was unfortunate not to get another goal. I’m proud of the guys, the fans who all came out. It was so much fun to play in that game.
“It’s just disappointing because we thought we dominated, but didn’t win and come away with the three points. Gage gave me a great ball on the goal. I found a great spot and got my head on it.”
Prospect defender Sam Heintz said it was unfortunate to allow a late goal to spoil an otherwise solid game by the backline.
“It all happened so quickly on that goal,” Heintz said. “We had unmarked people in the back, and they got a lucky header that went in. Our defense is really good and showed we can compete against the top teams after playing Barrington and Rolling Meadows.”
Lockley helped set up the tying goal with a solid hit on the corner kick.
“I saw Andrew Flores in the back post, but I had a little bit of a mishit,” he said. “I didn’t want to hit it too far, so it worked out nicely. I really don’t even know how it worked out, a lot of ping-pong and pinball machine action. Aidan had a nice header over their keeper, who had an amazing game.”
The Mustangs get some time to recuperate before their final game of the Cardinal Cup on Tuesday in a key league game against Hersey (6-2-1, 5-1-0) in Arlington Heights.
Prospect heads to Palatine to take on second-ranked Fremd (9-1-1, 6-0-0) on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Prospect
GK Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D Sam Heintz
D Ari Kemperas
D Nicholas Casaletto
D David Marshall
M Shea Morris
M Steven Lopez
M Christopher Morys
M Luis DeSantiago
F Owen Walsh
F Ryan Novak
Rolling Meadows
GK Ramon Orozco
D Luke Bieda
D Aidan O’Brien
D Ethan Kossack
D Alex Puciaty
M Joe Salemi
M Andrew Flores
M Gage Lockley
M Brian Diaz
F Ben Gligor
F Wilson Espino
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alejandro Rider-Leiner, sr., GK, Prospect
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Luis DeSantiago (Owen Walsh), 36th minute
Second half
Rolling Meadows— Aidan O’Brien (Gage Lockley), 66th minute
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
give all, settle for draw
Prospect GK Rider-Leiner comes up big in 1-1 2 OT contest
By Bobby Narang
ROLLING MEADOWS — In late September, Rolling Meadows still remains among a small group of the undefeated teams left in the state.
But you couldn’t tell by their emotions following Thursday’s highly competitive 1-1 double-overtime draw against Prospect in Mid-Suburban League East Division play.
Many Mustangs were physically and emotionally exhausted following the 100-minute match, which was played before a loud and spirited crowd of nearly 500 fans. Several Mustangs had to walk behind the bench to console themselves, receiving long hugs from Rolling Meadows coach Brett Olson.
Prospect too had numerous players succumb to their emotions, with Shea Morris and Massimo Mho the first athletes to fall to the turf when the final buzzer sounded.
The Knights (8-3-1, 4-1-1) were coming off a 1-0 win over Buffalo Grove on Tuesday. In the win, Ryan Novak scored off a corner kick in the final minute of the second overtime.
Although the battle for the new Cardinal Cup, which will go annually to the top finisher in a three-team competition between Hersey, Prospect and Rolling Meadows, featured little scoring, the two teams hooked up for a clean game that thrilled the crowd.
Prospect junior Luis DeSantiago scored the first goal in the 36th minute. Rolling Meadows senior Aidan O’Brien tied the game off a header with 14:44 remaining in the second half.
The Mustangs (10-0-2, 5-0-2), ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were looking to knock off the frustration of a scoreless double-overtime draw against Barrington on Tuesday. In a matter of three days, the Mustangs played 200 minutes of soccer and scored just one goal.
Maybe that’s why several Mustangs expressed a wide range of emotions following Thursday’s draw.
“It’s really frustrating for me,” Rolling Meadows senior midfielder Gage Lockley said. “I think we’re the best team in the MSL East. I think we deserve more than what we’ve gotten in these last two games, especially with the effort we’re putting in.
“We clearly dominated, and we were more dangerous, but it came down to finishing once again.
“I think it just came down to effort in the end, so it’s really disappointing we couldn’t come out with the three points at the end. Our team outplayed them and outworked them and had more dangerous chances.
“It just came down to that finishing, which has been a bit of an issue the whole season. Once we figure that out, I think we can be unstoppable.
“The fan turnout was beautiful, very inspiring and very motivational. All the players were blessed to have this opportunity. It was a great crowd.”
Prospect avoided a late heart-breaking defeat thanks to the outstanding play of senior goalie Alejandro Rider-Leiner. The Mustangs applied plenty of pressure in the second overtime, with three excellent chances in the final four-plus minutes.
Lockley had a breakaway with just over three minutes left but was stopped on a sliding save. He added another save off a shot from Andrew Flores with 2:55 remaining, Less than 22 seconds later, Ben Gligor drilled a hard shot but Rider-Leiner made a great save. and stopped a corner kick attempt with 1:40 left.
Prospect coach Mike Andrews said it was an emotional game.
“My nerves are shot,” Andrews said. “That was obviously an incredible game for both teams. There were so many chances. Both teams had incredible chances the entire game, and it was high energy. It was a great game.
“Coming off a full overtime on Tuesday, this is a testament to the hearts of my players. Alejandro was just outstanding, especially in the final overtime when he had three enormous saves in a row. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the win, but I think it’s a pretty fair result.”
Rider-Leiner compiled 12 saves in the victory, including six in the two overtime sessions. He credited his backline with a stellar game.
“I was excited, but there was a lot of pressure,” he said. “I knew they were coming at us hard, so I had to step up and do my thing.
“Throughout the whole game, I was relaxed but I knew I had to keep our team’s energy high, so I was screaming the whole time. The energy was high from everyone. I had fun.”
Olson said the Mustangs can learn from the draw, especially since they trailed for the first time all season for an extended period of time
“We knew this was going to be a battle,” Olson said. “They’ve been scoring a ton of goals. We gave them some space on that goal, and they made us pay.
“We’ve had a hard time putting the ball in the back of the net. We've been very snake bitten. We still control things on our end in the conference, which is a nice point.
“The Prospect keeper played outstanding. The way we played in overtime and had three or four breakaways, it feels like a loss. I’m not going to complain, but the tie hurts. It feels like we should’ve had three points, but we’re still undefeated.
“But I’m happy with the way we responded. … We’ve only given up four goals. We were down to Romeoville in a tournament and Hampshire.
“When we’ve had some adversity, we’ve responded really well. That’s what I’ll take from this game. This was the first time trailing for a long time, but we didn’t panic.”
After nearly scoring two goals in a three-minute segment, the Knights finally got on the board on DeSantiago’s 31-yard shot into the far upper corner off an assist from Owen Walsh late in the first half.
“It was a pretty nice goal,” DeSantiago said. “I took a touch and shot it far left. It was a great goal, and awesome because we needed it.”
Rolling Meadows senior goalie Ramon Orozco, who had 11 saves in the game, credited DeSantiago for his well-placed shot.
“It was a banger, and I was just not able to save it,” he said. “I just looked up and saw it go in. It was a very intense game. We had our chances, got a great goal. We played great in overtime.”
O’Brien recharged the crowd with his goal following a slow first 20 minutes of the second half. He scored the equalizer on a header that led to a wild celebration in the stands and on the field.
“It was a great game, a bit disappointed we couldn’t get three points,” O’Brien said. “I thought we outplayed them in the overtime, showed a lot of heart. It was unfortunate not to get another goal. I’m proud of the guys, the fans who all came out. It was so much fun to play in that game.
“It’s just disappointing because we thought we dominated, but didn’t win and come away with the three points. Gage gave me a great ball on the goal. I found a great spot and got my head on it.”
Prospect defender Sam Heintz said it was unfortunate to allow a late goal to spoil an otherwise solid game by the backline.
“It all happened so quickly on that goal,” Heintz said. “We had unmarked people in the back, and they got a lucky header that went in. Our defense is really good and showed we can compete against the top teams after playing Barrington and Rolling Meadows.”
Lockley helped set up the tying goal with a solid hit on the corner kick.
“I saw Andrew Flores in the back post, but I had a little bit of a mishit,” he said. “I didn’t want to hit it too far, so it worked out nicely. I really don’t even know how it worked out, a lot of ping-pong and pinball machine action. Aidan had a nice header over their keeper, who had an amazing game.”
The Mustangs get some time to recuperate before their final game of the Cardinal Cup on Tuesday in a key league game against Hersey (6-2-1, 5-1-0) in Arlington Heights.
Prospect heads to Palatine to take on second-ranked Fremd (9-1-1, 6-0-0) on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Prospect
GK Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D Sam Heintz
D Ari Kemperas
D Nicholas Casaletto
D David Marshall
M Shea Morris
M Steven Lopez
M Christopher Morys
M Luis DeSantiago
F Owen Walsh
F Ryan Novak
Rolling Meadows
GK Ramon Orozco
D Luke Bieda
D Aidan O’Brien
D Ethan Kossack
D Alex Puciaty
M Joe Salemi
M Andrew Flores
M Gage Lockley
M Brian Diaz
F Ben Gligor
F Wilson Espino
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alejandro Rider-Leiner, sr., GK, Prospect
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Luis DeSantiago (Owen Walsh), 36th minute
Second half
Rolling Meadows— Aidan O’Brien (Gage Lockley), 66th minute
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring