Prospect advances with 80 quality minutes
Danciu's 2nd half goal ends drama in 2-0 regional win over Taft
By Mike Garofola
EVANSTON -- It's no secret that Prospect has had its share of ups and downs this season, particularly during the latter half of the 2018 campaign when manager Tom Froats' club went 2-2-1 in its last five games of the regular season.
The respected longtime manager of the Lady Knights would, in a do-over, like to have games with Buffalo Grove and Elk Grove back. Each one-goal defeat dashed the hopes of his club for a Mid-Suburban League East Division title and berth in the 29th annual MSL Soccer Bowl.
However, with the postseason comes new hope and another chance for glory. After its 2-0 victory over Taft from the Chicago Public League, the Lady Knights (11-8-2) have a chance to realize some of the dreams set in place in advance of this season.
Kristina Suto got the Lady Knights off and running towards the win at 30 minutes, and teammate Abby Danciu delivered the finishing touch against a spirited opponent to send Prospect in the regional final against host Evanston (13-7-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at Murney Lazier Field.
"The girls brought a lot of energy with them tonight," began a pleased Froats, whose club seeks its first regional championship since 2007.
"We did a lot of very good things in our attack," he continued. "We played quick, moved the ball around and possessed like we know that we can against a very hard-working opponent.
"Now we have to come out and do the same with Evanston, who is similiar in style to the way we play. We have to finish our chances if we want to advance."
Though the CPS First Division North champs worked hard throughout the night, it was clear from the onset the Eagles (14-7-1) would have trouble with the pace the Lady Knights heaped upon the no. 12-seed, and its manager Christine Medunycia.
"I thought we gave a tremendous effort against a very talented team that knew how to attack, and did so with numbers and speed," said the affable Taft manager, who kept her club alive up until the final whistle with encouragment and a refreshing positive approach for her young and enthusiastic side.
The Eagles struggled to keep the ball off the feet of Faith Fitzsimmons, Shawna Stokes, Sarah Mulvihill and Ella Marzolf during the opening quarter hour. Plenty of the build-up from the back came from outside backs Alexa Mitka and Ashley Erickson. It all came together under the leadership of Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match Helen Siavelis, who showed great composure in her play.
"We talked before this game that we had to play with speed, urgency and creativity while also being physical, because it's the way it is this time of the year," said the junior Siavelis, Prospect's central defender and one of four who wears the captain's armband for Froats.
"The only thing we could have done better was to finish the chances we created, because to stay 1-0 for as long as we did can be dangerous. We'll look to do that on Friday in our regional final."
The sixth-seeded Lady Knights showed purpose and pace in the run of play and on several other occasions on the counterattack.
Mulvihill went close in the 6th minute, as did Stokes on the turn after receiving a helper from Mulvihill. This continued pressure led to three-consecutive corners all put into play by Mitka.
The last of this trio found Kristin Schneider, who quickly put the ball across to Fitzsimmons at the edge of the box.
Fitzsimmons was on target with her attempt and forced Eagles keeper Kelly Palacios to save, but in doing so the senior conceded yet another corner.
Taft finally came into the game just after this corner kick sequence by its opponent. The Eagles used big long tosses from Nikki Gorder to cause some trouble in addition to some gritty work in the middle of the park from Olivia Harcarik and Amina Ahmetovic, who ran and tackled hard at every moment.
Prospect's hopes for a goal against the run of play were almost answered by Stokes, through Schneider. With a clear look at goal, the veteran forward powered a shot off the Taft keeper and over the endline for a corner.
The exchange finally allowed the Lady Knights to break this goal-less contest with a combination of power and accuracy when Suto took advantage of her mark to slip inside and unload a wicked blast past Palacios after a perfect corner serve by Marzolf.
"It may have looked like I was unmarked from your vantage point, but I kind of broke free of the defender and just ran onto Ella's corner," said Suto of her wonderous goal, which proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Marzolf's mazy run and carry around three defenders gave Fitzsimmons a chance to add another to the scoreline after Marzolf was fouled at the top of the box but her free kick attempt at 34 minutes went wide.
Mulvihill had a go moments later, in which Palacios saved with ease, but the Taft keeper would not have had a chance if a terrific ball to the back post by Emma Gries had found Schneider ninety seconds from the intermission.
"Again, it was great to see us create opportunities, but we just have to be better in the final third in order to finish a few of those," lamented Froats.
Prospect would start the second half as brightly as it finished the first. The Lady Knights poured forward with numbers to keep the Eagles in their own end and eventually forced them to sit deeper in order to try to slow the siege.
The Lady Knights doubled their advantage with another marvelous effort, this one coming from Danciu in the 63rd minute.
The junior's angled run put her inside six yards where a splendid one-time side volley drove home the final goal of the evening for Prospect.
"Just a great goal by Abbey and one that we really needed to give us a little room to breathe," said Froats.
Added Siavelis: "We talked at the half about trying to build-up our attack more from the back, and sending more crosses into the box. And that's what Alexa (Mitka) did with her free kick on that goal." .
The score took the wind out of the Eagles sails for good, and although Medunycia's club continued to play hard, it wasn't enough to save it from defeat.
"We handled their nonstop pressure pretty well tonight, and we never gave in. (We) were just beaten by a better team," said Medunycia, who will lean on a core of returning players next spring.
For Prospect, its final with Evanston will test its midfield and backline strength. That will put Siavelis, Fitzsimmons and Stokes under pressure and force senior Natalie Marfilius to go touchline to touchline and box to box to tackle and slow the Wildkits talented midfield trio of Vanessa Eljaiek, Ruby Siegel and Kat Sehgal.
"We'll have to play our best to beat one of the best, but I know the girls will up to the task on Friday night," said Froats.
Starting lineups
Taft (3-2-3-2)
GK- Kelly Palacios
D- Shelly Bultron
D- Hallie Paluca
D- Nikki Gorder
DM- Olivia Harcarik
DM- Amina Ahmetovic
M- Chloe Clark
M- Cynthia Gonzalez
M- Denise Carajal
F- Tess Bojan
F- Victoria Tryba
PROSPECT (3-2-3-2)
GK- Gianna Rossi
D- Alexa Mitka
D- Helen Siavelis
D- Ashley Erickson
M- Kristina Suto
M- Natalie Marfilius
M- Ella Marzolf
M- Faith Fitzsimmons
M- Kristin Schneider
F- Shawna Stokes
F- Sarah Mulvihill
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Helen Siavelis, jr., D, Prospect
Referee: Vic Taylor
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Suto (Marzolf) 29'
Second half
Prospect: Danciu (Mitka) 63'
Danciu's 2nd half goal ends drama in 2-0 regional win over Taft
By Mike Garofola
EVANSTON -- It's no secret that Prospect has had its share of ups and downs this season, particularly during the latter half of the 2018 campaign when manager Tom Froats' club went 2-2-1 in its last five games of the regular season.
The respected longtime manager of the Lady Knights would, in a do-over, like to have games with Buffalo Grove and Elk Grove back. Each one-goal defeat dashed the hopes of his club for a Mid-Suburban League East Division title and berth in the 29th annual MSL Soccer Bowl.
However, with the postseason comes new hope and another chance for glory. After its 2-0 victory over Taft from the Chicago Public League, the Lady Knights (11-8-2) have a chance to realize some of the dreams set in place in advance of this season.
Kristina Suto got the Lady Knights off and running towards the win at 30 minutes, and teammate Abby Danciu delivered the finishing touch against a spirited opponent to send Prospect in the regional final against host Evanston (13-7-3) at 6 p.m. Friday at Murney Lazier Field.
"The girls brought a lot of energy with them tonight," began a pleased Froats, whose club seeks its first regional championship since 2007.
"We did a lot of very good things in our attack," he continued. "We played quick, moved the ball around and possessed like we know that we can against a very hard-working opponent.
"Now we have to come out and do the same with Evanston, who is similiar in style to the way we play. We have to finish our chances if we want to advance."
Though the CPS First Division North champs worked hard throughout the night, it was clear from the onset the Eagles (14-7-1) would have trouble with the pace the Lady Knights heaped upon the no. 12-seed, and its manager Christine Medunycia.
"I thought we gave a tremendous effort against a very talented team that knew how to attack, and did so with numbers and speed," said the affable Taft manager, who kept her club alive up until the final whistle with encouragment and a refreshing positive approach for her young and enthusiastic side.
The Eagles struggled to keep the ball off the feet of Faith Fitzsimmons, Shawna Stokes, Sarah Mulvihill and Ella Marzolf during the opening quarter hour. Plenty of the build-up from the back came from outside backs Alexa Mitka and Ashley Erickson. It all came together under the leadership of Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match Helen Siavelis, who showed great composure in her play.
"We talked before this game that we had to play with speed, urgency and creativity while also being physical, because it's the way it is this time of the year," said the junior Siavelis, Prospect's central defender and one of four who wears the captain's armband for Froats.
"The only thing we could have done better was to finish the chances we created, because to stay 1-0 for as long as we did can be dangerous. We'll look to do that on Friday in our regional final."
The sixth-seeded Lady Knights showed purpose and pace in the run of play and on several other occasions on the counterattack.
Mulvihill went close in the 6th minute, as did Stokes on the turn after receiving a helper from Mulvihill. This continued pressure led to three-consecutive corners all put into play by Mitka.
The last of this trio found Kristin Schneider, who quickly put the ball across to Fitzsimmons at the edge of the box.
Fitzsimmons was on target with her attempt and forced Eagles keeper Kelly Palacios to save, but in doing so the senior conceded yet another corner.
Taft finally came into the game just after this corner kick sequence by its opponent. The Eagles used big long tosses from Nikki Gorder to cause some trouble in addition to some gritty work in the middle of the park from Olivia Harcarik and Amina Ahmetovic, who ran and tackled hard at every moment.
Prospect's hopes for a goal against the run of play were almost answered by Stokes, through Schneider. With a clear look at goal, the veteran forward powered a shot off the Taft keeper and over the endline for a corner.
The exchange finally allowed the Lady Knights to break this goal-less contest with a combination of power and accuracy when Suto took advantage of her mark to slip inside and unload a wicked blast past Palacios after a perfect corner serve by Marzolf.
"It may have looked like I was unmarked from your vantage point, but I kind of broke free of the defender and just ran onto Ella's corner," said Suto of her wonderous goal, which proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Marzolf's mazy run and carry around three defenders gave Fitzsimmons a chance to add another to the scoreline after Marzolf was fouled at the top of the box but her free kick attempt at 34 minutes went wide.
Mulvihill had a go moments later, in which Palacios saved with ease, but the Taft keeper would not have had a chance if a terrific ball to the back post by Emma Gries had found Schneider ninety seconds from the intermission.
"Again, it was great to see us create opportunities, but we just have to be better in the final third in order to finish a few of those," lamented Froats.
Prospect would start the second half as brightly as it finished the first. The Lady Knights poured forward with numbers to keep the Eagles in their own end and eventually forced them to sit deeper in order to try to slow the siege.
The Lady Knights doubled their advantage with another marvelous effort, this one coming from Danciu in the 63rd minute.
The junior's angled run put her inside six yards where a splendid one-time side volley drove home the final goal of the evening for Prospect.
"Just a great goal by Abbey and one that we really needed to give us a little room to breathe," said Froats.
Added Siavelis: "We talked at the half about trying to build-up our attack more from the back, and sending more crosses into the box. And that's what Alexa (Mitka) did with her free kick on that goal." .
The score took the wind out of the Eagles sails for good, and although Medunycia's club continued to play hard, it wasn't enough to save it from defeat.
"We handled their nonstop pressure pretty well tonight, and we never gave in. (We) were just beaten by a better team," said Medunycia, who will lean on a core of returning players next spring.
For Prospect, its final with Evanston will test its midfield and backline strength. That will put Siavelis, Fitzsimmons and Stokes under pressure and force senior Natalie Marfilius to go touchline to touchline and box to box to tackle and slow the Wildkits talented midfield trio of Vanessa Eljaiek, Ruby Siegel and Kat Sehgal.
"We'll have to play our best to beat one of the best, but I know the girls will up to the task on Friday night," said Froats.
Starting lineups
Taft (3-2-3-2)
GK- Kelly Palacios
D- Shelly Bultron
D- Hallie Paluca
D- Nikki Gorder
DM- Olivia Harcarik
DM- Amina Ahmetovic
M- Chloe Clark
M- Cynthia Gonzalez
M- Denise Carajal
F- Tess Bojan
F- Victoria Tryba
PROSPECT (3-2-3-2)
GK- Gianna Rossi
D- Alexa Mitka
D- Helen Siavelis
D- Ashley Erickson
M- Kristina Suto
M- Natalie Marfilius
M- Ella Marzolf
M- Faith Fitzsimmons
M- Kristin Schneider
F- Shawna Stokes
F- Sarah Mulvihill
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Helen Siavelis, jr., D, Prospect
Referee: Vic Taylor
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Suto (Marzolf) 29'
Second half
Prospect: Danciu (Mitka) 63'