Prospect rides rollercoaster in Knights Inv.
Lake Zurich takes tourney title
By Ken Keenan
MOUNT PROSPECT -- After falling to eventual champion Lake Zurich by a 2-1 count in the semifinals of the 2019 Knights Invitational Saturday morning, host Prospect finished on a positive note with a 5-0 thumping of McHenry in consolation pool action.
The Knights (6-4-3) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first half against McHenry on a pair of goals by freshman midfielder Abby Knott, and then put the Warriors away in the final 40 minutes on a trio of tallies by freshman forward Hannah Mekky.
Prospect junior defender Ashley Erickson assisted on Knott's first marker, and senior forward Abbey Danciu earned the helper on the second tally. Senior defender Karsen Keller, senior midfielder Kendall Tapia and senior forward Ashley Welk respectively assisted on Mekky's three goals.
"The way to score goals is to shoot," said Knights head coach Tom Froats, whose team began play in the six-team tourney with a 2-0 loss to South Elgin and a 1-0 win over McHenry in pool play (which featured matches of 40 minutes played in 20-minute halves) on Friday.
"Against McHenry (on Saturday), we created opportunities and took advantage of that. The girls wanted to end the tournament having fun and getting a good result moving forward."
Lake Zurich, a 2-0 winner over University (Normal) in the title match Saturday afternoon, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes against Prospect in the semis and increased the margin to 2-0 by the break.
The Knights cut the lead in half on an unassisted goal by senior mid Tina Suto in the final two minutes, but the Bears held on for the win.
"We can take away a lot from our second half performance against Lake Zurich," Froats said. "You want to see growth every game, and I thought we played mistake-free."
Froats said the 2-0 deficit against South Elgin on Friday was mostly due to, "some defensive breakdowns, and they made us pay. We pushed back, had our chances, but we didn't capitalize."
The second pool play game provided a better result for Prospect and broke three-game losing and four-game winless streaks. Welk's goal in the second half (assisted by Danciu) made the difference.
"The games on Friday were tough games," Froats said. "With two 20-minute halves, you don't have the usual time. But it's a good challenge to be out of your comfort zone. Overall, (the invite is) an opportunity to show what we have with different players and a lot of games in a short time."
Lake Zurich takes tourney title
By Ken Keenan
MOUNT PROSPECT -- After falling to eventual champion Lake Zurich by a 2-1 count in the semifinals of the 2019 Knights Invitational Saturday morning, host Prospect finished on a positive note with a 5-0 thumping of McHenry in consolation pool action.
The Knights (6-4-3) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first half against McHenry on a pair of goals by freshman midfielder Abby Knott, and then put the Warriors away in the final 40 minutes on a trio of tallies by freshman forward Hannah Mekky.
Prospect junior defender Ashley Erickson assisted on Knott's first marker, and senior forward Abbey Danciu earned the helper on the second tally. Senior defender Karsen Keller, senior midfielder Kendall Tapia and senior forward Ashley Welk respectively assisted on Mekky's three goals.
"The way to score goals is to shoot," said Knights head coach Tom Froats, whose team began play in the six-team tourney with a 2-0 loss to South Elgin and a 1-0 win over McHenry in pool play (which featured matches of 40 minutes played in 20-minute halves) on Friday.
"Against McHenry (on Saturday), we created opportunities and took advantage of that. The girls wanted to end the tournament having fun and getting a good result moving forward."
Lake Zurich, a 2-0 winner over University (Normal) in the title match Saturday afternoon, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes against Prospect in the semis and increased the margin to 2-0 by the break.
The Knights cut the lead in half on an unassisted goal by senior mid Tina Suto in the final two minutes, but the Bears held on for the win.
"We can take away a lot from our second half performance against Lake Zurich," Froats said. "You want to see growth every game, and I thought we played mistake-free."
Froats said the 2-0 deficit against South Elgin on Friday was mostly due to, "some defensive breakdowns, and they made us pay. We pushed back, had our chances, but we didn't capitalize."
The second pool play game provided a better result for Prospect and broke three-game losing and four-game winless streaks. Welk's goal in the second half (assisted by Danciu) made the difference.
"The games on Friday were tough games," Froats said. "With two 20-minute halves, you don't have the usual time. But it's a good challenge to be out of your comfort zone. Overall, (the invite is) an opportunity to show what we have with different players and a lot of games in a short time."