Improving Prospect travels to Elk Grove
By Ken Keenan
It's no mystery -- coaches preach the message all the
time -- but competing hard for a full 80 minutes often becomes the
secret to success.
And though that hasn't been the case at times during an up-and-down
season for Prospect, the Knights are starting to receive the signal.
Prospect, which visits Elk Grove for a Mid-Suburban League East battle
at 6 p.m. Wednesday, won two matches on Saturday to earn a runner-up
finish at the Glenwood Invite.
The Knights secured second-place hardware with a 1-0 win over the host
Titans, preceded by a 2-0 victory over Morton. In Friday's tourney
opener against Maine South, Prospect cut a 2-0 halftime deficit in
half before falling 4-1.
"The Glenwood match, for me, showed that for the second time this
season -- when the game was on the line at the end of 80 hard-fought
minutes -- we met the challenge head-on, and chose to be the team we
can be," said Knights coach Tom Froats, whose club improved to 5-5-0
in its last 10 matches with the pair of invite wins. "When we all
sacrifice, and work hard for each other, we're capable of playing a
pretty good soccer match. (Against Glenwood), we played what I feel
was our most complete game in all three phases: goalkeeping, defense
and the offense doing its part."
Prospect shut out a Glenwood team that had scored a combined nine
goals in its previous two matches.
"Defensively, we were able to slow down -- and throttle -- a powerful
offense," Froats said. "In goal, (senior) Natalie Tuczak and
(sophomore) Paige Thiel both played terrific for us all weekend. They
shared the net against Glenwood, and arguably both played their best
halves of the year.
"Our midfield, led by (senior) Maggie Sullivan, (junior) Michelle
Haaning, (senior) Jenna Leane, (junior) Sarah Boss and (sophomore)
Grace Bauer, did a terrific job in slowing down (the Titans) and
denying them free reign in the middle of the pitch. And our defenders
-- (senior) Jenny Leet, (freshman) Natalie Marfilius, (and sophomores)
Caroline Hajek and Grace Taldone -- stepped well to the ball and
applied pressure at the opportune times to prevent several attacking
threats."
The lone goal of the match was scored by junior forward Martina
Kowalczuk, on an assist that Froats termed, "a superb helper" from
sophomore forward Ally Kobler. During Prospect's run to a second-place
finish in its own Knights Invite on April 25, Kowalczuk and Kobler
combined to tally five goals and three assists.
"Although both are underclassmen, we need them to be our offensive
leaders," Froats said. "(At Glenwood) and the Knights Invite, they
both showed what they are capable of: dangerous offensive players able
to break down a defense and create opportunities for themselves and
their teammates."
In facing Elk Grove, Prospect (5-12-0 overall, 1-8-0 in league play)
will be seeking its second conference win of the season, while the
Grenadiers look to do the same. Coach Dan Klaus's crew -- which lost
by a 2-0 count to St. Francis in nonconference action on Saturday --
stands at 2-11-1 overall and 1-7-1 in MSL action.
The Grenadiers have been mired in a scoring drought. Since beating
Wheeling 2-0 on April 10, Elk Grove is 0-6-1 overall, with only two
goals scored and 16 allowed during that stretch.
Elk Grove tied Schaumburg 1-1 on April 15, and tickled the twine once
during a 3-1 loss to Hersey on April 29. Otherwise, the Grenadiers
were shut out in each of the six most recent defeats.
By Ken Keenan
It's no mystery -- coaches preach the message all the
time -- but competing hard for a full 80 minutes often becomes the
secret to success.
And though that hasn't been the case at times during an up-and-down
season for Prospect, the Knights are starting to receive the signal.
Prospect, which visits Elk Grove for a Mid-Suburban League East battle
at 6 p.m. Wednesday, won two matches on Saturday to earn a runner-up
finish at the Glenwood Invite.
The Knights secured second-place hardware with a 1-0 win over the host
Titans, preceded by a 2-0 victory over Morton. In Friday's tourney
opener against Maine South, Prospect cut a 2-0 halftime deficit in
half before falling 4-1.
"The Glenwood match, for me, showed that for the second time this
season -- when the game was on the line at the end of 80 hard-fought
minutes -- we met the challenge head-on, and chose to be the team we
can be," said Knights coach Tom Froats, whose club improved to 5-5-0
in its last 10 matches with the pair of invite wins. "When we all
sacrifice, and work hard for each other, we're capable of playing a
pretty good soccer match. (Against Glenwood), we played what I feel
was our most complete game in all three phases: goalkeeping, defense
and the offense doing its part."
Prospect shut out a Glenwood team that had scored a combined nine
goals in its previous two matches.
"Defensively, we were able to slow down -- and throttle -- a powerful
offense," Froats said. "In goal, (senior) Natalie Tuczak and
(sophomore) Paige Thiel both played terrific for us all weekend. They
shared the net against Glenwood, and arguably both played their best
halves of the year.
"Our midfield, led by (senior) Maggie Sullivan, (junior) Michelle
Haaning, (senior) Jenna Leane, (junior) Sarah Boss and (sophomore)
Grace Bauer, did a terrific job in slowing down (the Titans) and
denying them free reign in the middle of the pitch. And our defenders
-- (senior) Jenny Leet, (freshman) Natalie Marfilius, (and sophomores)
Caroline Hajek and Grace Taldone -- stepped well to the ball and
applied pressure at the opportune times to prevent several attacking
threats."
The lone goal of the match was scored by junior forward Martina
Kowalczuk, on an assist that Froats termed, "a superb helper" from
sophomore forward Ally Kobler. During Prospect's run to a second-place
finish in its own Knights Invite on April 25, Kowalczuk and Kobler
combined to tally five goals and three assists.
"Although both are underclassmen, we need them to be our offensive
leaders," Froats said. "(At Glenwood) and the Knights Invite, they
both showed what they are capable of: dangerous offensive players able
to break down a defense and create opportunities for themselves and
their teammates."
In facing Elk Grove, Prospect (5-12-0 overall, 1-8-0 in league play)
will be seeking its second conference win of the season, while the
Grenadiers look to do the same. Coach Dan Klaus's crew -- which lost
by a 2-0 count to St. Francis in nonconference action on Saturday --
stands at 2-11-1 overall and 1-7-1 in MSL action.
The Grenadiers have been mired in a scoring drought. Since beating
Wheeling 2-0 on April 10, Elk Grove is 0-6-1 overall, with only two
goals scored and 16 allowed during that stretch.
Elk Grove tied Schaumburg 1-1 on April 15, and tickled the twine once
during a 3-1 loss to Hersey on April 29. Otherwise, the Grenadiers
were shut out in each of the six most recent defeats.