Prospect and Fremd on the upswing
MSL foes reversing rough starts
By Ken Keenan
PALATINE -- Prospect and Fremd, which meet in Mid-Suburban League
action Wednesday, have been on similar paths this season.
Combined, the Knights and Vikings posted a mark of 0-10-0 to begin the
2015 campaign. Since then, Fremd is 6-2-1, while Prospect has forged a
3-3-0 record, including Monday's 2-0 loss to Schaumburg.
"We have settled into our formation, and found the strengths we have
and worked on the weaknesses," said Fremd coach Steve Keller, whose
squad was 0-3-0 out of the gate but improved to 6-5-1 overall with a
2-0 win over Lincoln-Way Central on Saturday. "I think, as a whole,
the girls have bought into what we are trying to do, and have worked
hard at doing what works for us.
"Against Lincoln-Way Central, we played a poor first half and then
came out more aggressive the second half. We had a lot of possession
and created numerous scoring opportunities. Our work ethic in the
second half, along with our possession, allowed us to pull away on the
scoreboard."
Senior midfielder Danielle Money (assisted by fellow senior middie
Caroline Freeman) scored her second goal of the season in the win,
while senior mid Katie Zara (from junior mid Kellie Halloran) notched
her fourth. Zara -- Fremd's second-leading scorer -- also has two
assists this year. Senior forward Jessica Kopec leads the Vikings in
scoring with eight goals and five assists. Sophomore forward Missy Adrian (three goals) is another threat to score.
"Zara and Kopec have stepped up as our leaders on offense," Keller
said. "(Seniors) Liz Flavin, Freeman, Annika Morin, Sarah Marturano
and Emily Rogers have been solid in the defensive end -- and (senior)
Reilly Siepka, Halloran and (sophomore) Julia Szylke have been
tremendous in the midfield."
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsie Stone has tended the net in all 12 Vikings
matches this season, and holds a solid 1.27 goals-against average.
Stone has seven shutouts, with 48 total saves.
"She has been superb in goal, making outstanding saves to keep us in
games," Keller said.
Meanwhile, Prospect's improvement is due in part to an offense that
finally started finding the back of the net. In starting the campaign
at 0-7-0, the Knights were collectively outscored 27-2. In six matches
since, they've scored 11 goals while allowing only 13.
"We have had some success of late because of timely scoring," said
Prospect coach Tom Froats.
In the team's first win of the season -- 4-0 over Wheeling on April 20
-- the 1-2 punch of forwards Martina Kowalczuk, a junior, and
sophomore Ally Kobler combined to each tally a goal and an assist.
During Prospect's run to the title match of its own Knights Invitational,
Kobler scored a pair of goals in Friday's 3-0 win over McHenry, with
Kowalczuk assisting on the second. In Saturday morning's 2-1 semifinal
victory over University (Normal), Kowalczuk scored twice after Kobler
assisted on both.
Kowalczuk also notched Prospect's lone goal during a 6-1 loss to Lake
Zurich in the invite's championship game.
"Martina had a good weekend," Froats said following the title tilt.
"She's reaping the rewards of all her hard work. And Kobler, she's
come on as of late, as well. They're feeding off each other right
now."
With just one 'W' under their belts heading into the invite, the
Knights' back-to-back triumphs provided a boost of confidence.
"It was a nice accomplishment for the girls. We haven't had a lot
of success in winning matches this year," Froats said. "We played well
in pieces during the championship match, but made too many mistakes
and had too many letdowns in energy and effort that cost us.
"All in all, we have had a stronger effort defensively, and have shown
an ability to play together on the field. There still is a need for
being willing to be all in on stepping to 50-50 balls, and challenging
opponents in 1-v.-1 environments -- whether offensively or
defensively."
Froats cited his team's play in the loss to Schaumburg as an example.
"Schaumburg played better than us and deserved the win," said Froats,
whose team fell to 1-7-0 in league play. "They played more
aggressively and with more confidence than we did, and that showed in
the final result on the scoreboard.
"Our effort and energy -- while good -- wasn't good enough, and we need to learn from that experience
and take that into future matches."
The immediate future begins with the conference match at Fremd. The Vikings will take the field with a solid 5-2-1 league mark.
"Fremd is one of the top teams in the MSL that has shown the ability
to improve each and every game during the season," Froats said. "I
felt that we were on the same track (during a 3-1-0 stretch), but have
hit a plateau. We need to strive to get better each day in practice,
and show improvement if we want to have success against a traditional
MSL power like Fremd."
In the Vikings camp, Keller hopes to see his crew build on its recent
success as the season winds down.
"We would love to continue to improve, win out and get prepared for
the (IHSA) playoffs," he said. "We need to focus on what we do, and
the rest will take care of itself. Every game is important, and we
constantly stress that to our girls. (Against Prospect), we need to
continue to fine-tune things and play to our potential."
MSL foes reversing rough starts
By Ken Keenan
PALATINE -- Prospect and Fremd, which meet in Mid-Suburban League
action Wednesday, have been on similar paths this season.
Combined, the Knights and Vikings posted a mark of 0-10-0 to begin the
2015 campaign. Since then, Fremd is 6-2-1, while Prospect has forged a
3-3-0 record, including Monday's 2-0 loss to Schaumburg.
"We have settled into our formation, and found the strengths we have
and worked on the weaknesses," said Fremd coach Steve Keller, whose
squad was 0-3-0 out of the gate but improved to 6-5-1 overall with a
2-0 win over Lincoln-Way Central on Saturday. "I think, as a whole,
the girls have bought into what we are trying to do, and have worked
hard at doing what works for us.
"Against Lincoln-Way Central, we played a poor first half and then
came out more aggressive the second half. We had a lot of possession
and created numerous scoring opportunities. Our work ethic in the
second half, along with our possession, allowed us to pull away on the
scoreboard."
Senior midfielder Danielle Money (assisted by fellow senior middie
Caroline Freeman) scored her second goal of the season in the win,
while senior mid Katie Zara (from junior mid Kellie Halloran) notched
her fourth. Zara -- Fremd's second-leading scorer -- also has two
assists this year. Senior forward Jessica Kopec leads the Vikings in
scoring with eight goals and five assists. Sophomore forward Missy Adrian (three goals) is another threat to score.
"Zara and Kopec have stepped up as our leaders on offense," Keller
said. "(Seniors) Liz Flavin, Freeman, Annika Morin, Sarah Marturano
and Emily Rogers have been solid in the defensive end -- and (senior)
Reilly Siepka, Halloran and (sophomore) Julia Szylke have been
tremendous in the midfield."
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsie Stone has tended the net in all 12 Vikings
matches this season, and holds a solid 1.27 goals-against average.
Stone has seven shutouts, with 48 total saves.
"She has been superb in goal, making outstanding saves to keep us in
games," Keller said.
Meanwhile, Prospect's improvement is due in part to an offense that
finally started finding the back of the net. In starting the campaign
at 0-7-0, the Knights were collectively outscored 27-2. In six matches
since, they've scored 11 goals while allowing only 13.
"We have had some success of late because of timely scoring," said
Prospect coach Tom Froats.
In the team's first win of the season -- 4-0 over Wheeling on April 20
-- the 1-2 punch of forwards Martina Kowalczuk, a junior, and
sophomore Ally Kobler combined to each tally a goal and an assist.
During Prospect's run to the title match of its own Knights Invitational,
Kobler scored a pair of goals in Friday's 3-0 win over McHenry, with
Kowalczuk assisting on the second. In Saturday morning's 2-1 semifinal
victory over University (Normal), Kowalczuk scored twice after Kobler
assisted on both.
Kowalczuk also notched Prospect's lone goal during a 6-1 loss to Lake
Zurich in the invite's championship game.
"Martina had a good weekend," Froats said following the title tilt.
"She's reaping the rewards of all her hard work. And Kobler, she's
come on as of late, as well. They're feeding off each other right
now."
With just one 'W' under their belts heading into the invite, the
Knights' back-to-back triumphs provided a boost of confidence.
"It was a nice accomplishment for the girls. We haven't had a lot
of success in winning matches this year," Froats said. "We played well
in pieces during the championship match, but made too many mistakes
and had too many letdowns in energy and effort that cost us.
"All in all, we have had a stronger effort defensively, and have shown
an ability to play together on the field. There still is a need for
being willing to be all in on stepping to 50-50 balls, and challenging
opponents in 1-v.-1 environments -- whether offensively or
defensively."
Froats cited his team's play in the loss to Schaumburg as an example.
"Schaumburg played better than us and deserved the win," said Froats,
whose team fell to 1-7-0 in league play. "They played more
aggressively and with more confidence than we did, and that showed in
the final result on the scoreboard.
"Our effort and energy -- while good -- wasn't good enough, and we need to learn from that experience
and take that into future matches."
The immediate future begins with the conference match at Fremd. The Vikings will take the field with a solid 5-2-1 league mark.
"Fremd is one of the top teams in the MSL that has shown the ability
to improve each and every game during the season," Froats said. "I
felt that we were on the same track (during a 3-1-0 stretch), but have
hit a plateau. We need to strive to get better each day in practice,
and show improvement if we want to have success against a traditional
MSL power like Fremd."
In the Vikings camp, Keller hopes to see his crew build on its recent
success as the season winds down.
"We would love to continue to improve, win out and get prepared for
the (IHSA) playoffs," he said. "We need to focus on what we do, and
the rest will take care of itself. Every game is important, and we
constantly stress that to our girls. (Against Prospect), we need to
continue to fine-tune things and play to our potential."