Knights give 80 minutes in 1-1 tie with Palatine
By Dan Santaromita

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Thursday night’s Prospect-Palatine encounter may have looked like a bit of a rugby scrum at times with both teams firing throws into the penalty box and having to battle to win the ball in the air.

Palatine, known for its aerial prowess, and host Prospect each headed in a second half goal preceded by a long throw in a 1-1 tie in Mid Suburban League action. The Knights (0-3-2, 0-2-1 MSL) remained winless, but displayed progress in drawing the undefeated Pirates (5-0-2, 2-0-1) after 100 minutes of play.

“This is the first complete game this team has played this year,” said Prospect coach Kurt Trenkle. “We’ve been getting a little bit better every game and I think they did a fantastic job. It was a very even battle. Long throws for both teams defended well for both sides. It was a little sloppy in the middle sometimes, but that’s the way it gets in this league.”

The sides played a fairly even first half with the Pirates earning a few more set piece opportunities and the Knights creating the best chances via the run of play on a pair of low crosses that just missed the crucial connection.

Knights’ senior Matt Wruskyj drilled a ball towards the far post, but just missed his streaking teammate. Later in the half, Wruskyj hit a free kick from the edge of the area on frame but Kyle Leber (4 saves) was up to the task.

The Pirates displayed their specialty right out of halftime. In the third minute of the second half Jeremy Velinski launched a throw to the near post and Dave Clark flicked it into the net.

“I trust Dave, he’ll go get it,” Velinski said.

“Prospect is much better in the air than we played before so he had to get it up more towards the goal so I could flick it in,” Clark added.

Palatine has two long throwers in Velinski and sophomore Gavin Falotico. The two share long throw duties, but Velinski is also an aerial threat so sometimes he will join Clark as a primary target for Falotico’s throws. In this case Velinski earned the assist.

Relying on set pieces isn’t always the prettiest style to watch, but Palatine’s execution on dead balls can be a thing of beauty.

“It’s just different,” Velinski said. “Different people you play with so it’s just about getting used to it and then getting after it in the air.”

Prospect showed its own ability to score on set pieces with 22 minutes left in regulation. The Knights’ long thrower, Curtis Glennon, heaved one high into the Pirates’ box and Joe Tuczak rose over the defenders to thump the header home.

Despite another couple handful of throws for each team neither was able to score again even after two overtime periods. Both defenses worked hard to prevent breakdowns in their own area.

“It was definitely hard for me and Alex Whiteman to not give away those close throw-ins,” Prospect senior Ethan Graven said. “I bet the same was difficult for them.”

Junior keeper Jack Cooney (13 saves) was kept busy. He commanded his box with a number of punches on set pieces.

Graven and his sophomore backline partner, Whiteman, with help from Glennon tracking back also helped keep the Pirates at bay. Without the scoring punch of recent years the Knights will have to rely on its senior-heavy defense.

“We’re starting to finally get chemistry with each other,” Graven said. “Curtis is doing a great job when me or Whiteman go up to drop for us so we don’t get left with only two in the back.”

Watching both sides work hard and rely on set pieces made it seem like Palatine was playing a mirror image of itself.

“It really (stinks) when you've got to play yourself,” Palatine coach Willie Filian said with a smile. “When we played Wheeling they kind of played a similar style, they were more direct.

“I think you might see a little bit more of it, especially the difference makers aren’t around. There still are some, but a lot of guys are playing academy.”

Filian’s only complaint about his side was its relative inefficiency on set pieces compared to Prospect. Palatine had the run of play for extended portions of the match, but weren’t able to take advantage.

The Pirates return home Tuesday for another MSL crossover against Rolling Meadows. Prospect visits Glenbrook South on Saturday before returning to conference play at Hoffman Estates Tuesday.

Trenkle hopes to see his team continue to progress after the slow start to the season.

“We’re just happy to get out of here with a point finally,” Trenkle said.