Wildcats fall to Prospect in season opener
By Gary Larsen

With two shutouts in three games and only one goal given up thus far, the girls in back for Prospect have been getting it done for coach Tom Froats.

The Knights started the season with a 1-0 win over Lake Zurich and a 1-1 tie with perennial state power New Trier, and on a frigid night in Mt. Prospect on Monday they posted a 3-0 win over visiting Plainfield Central to improve to 2-0-1 on the young season.

Jenna Grivas, Kim Welk, and Emily Novak all scored in the win. While Froats would have liked to see more consistent play from his girls around the pitch, it’s hard to take issue with a shutout.

“Trish Benson at center back is doing good work for us, Elena (Cukurs) at outside back is good, and Kristen Frasco and Hannah Trezise have played well,” Froats said. “We’ve been pleased with our back four and what we’ve gotten there.”

And with former veteran goalkeeper Megan McCabe now playing for Eastern Michigan, Knights senior Eileen McTigue has stepped into the starting keeper’s spot and played well.

“I’m really impressed with Eileen. She’s been real solid for us,” Froats said. “Playing behind Megan was a tough spot for her but we’ve been fortunate to have a good string of good keepers playing for us. Eileen has done everything we’ve asked and played some really outstanding matches. We’re glad she’s in net for us.”

The game’s first half went scoreless, although Prospect had most of the through the first 40 minutes.

Playing in its first game of the season, Plainfield Central (0-1) rolled into Mt. Prospect with a roster that includes eight sophomores and three freshmen. The Wildcats will rely on a few returning varsity players to spearhead their attack, but that attack will take time to find its footing with so many underclassmen on the field.

“Maddie Conroy in the middle, Paige Fuller in the middle – we’ll be relying a lot on them in the attack,” Plainfield Central coach Ken Schoen said. “I thought Shawna Watson had a real nice game today and played with a lot of energy. We just have to do the simple things – and making the right runs up top, holding the ball when we need to.

“But we’ve got to clean it up a little bit. Prospect is a good side with a lot of skill, but I thought we shot ourselves in the foot too much. Every time we got possession we gave it right back. You go into your first game hoping things like that don’t happen but I think it can be expected because our (home) field isn’t even ready yet. We’ve only been outside three days and we weren’t on a soccer field.”

Roughly 10 minutes into the second half, Prospect’s Rosie Pettenuzzo sent a ball across the penalty area to Rachel Suarez, who sent it back out to Grivas. Grivas took a touch and scored from 25 yards out.
Ten minutes later, Welk fired a low shot from deep on the right side that appeared to bounce in off a defender and sneak inside the near post.

With a two-goal lead against a Wildcats team struggling in the attack, Prospect kept the pressure on.

“In the second half we started to raise our energy level a little bit, and get the run of play,” Froats said. “Getting that first goal, even if it wasn’t the best goal it was an important goal to give us confidence, and maybe take some of the wind out of their sails.

“We did enough to get the win we wanted. We just have to recognize that things get more serious for us on Wednesday (vs. MSL rival Schaumburg). Schaumburg is a really good, quality club.”

Prospect’s Pettenuzzo and Martina Kowalczuk each had scoring chances on their feet in the second half but it wasn’t until the game’s waning moments that the Knights’ Emily Novak scored from 18 yards out to finish the day’s scoring.

Schoen knows it will take time for his young squad to find its way and he saw a few bright spots on the field in Monday’s game.

“I thought McKenna Young did a nice job in back. She has never played outside back before but after seven or eight minutes she started to look comfortable,” Schoen said. “She’s quick and I was happy with the things she did.

“We’re trying to teach girls how to play certain positions that some of them aren’t familiar with. It will take time for us to gel. We’re real young.”