Knights claim decisive win over Wheeling on senior night
By Jonah Rosenblum
If there were spray charts for soccer, then Thursday night's would show that Prospect left no part of the field untouched — except its own.
The Knights dominated possession all game long as they raced out to an 8-0 Mid Suburban League East home victory over Wheeling on senior night.
Wheeling, for its part, was unable to clear the ball past its own 30-yard line — it is a converted football field, after all — as its boots upfield ran into an unfriendly foot nearly without exception.
Prospect (12-6-2, 5-5-1) wasn't necessarily at its sharpest on Thursday night. The Knights completely missed far more crosses than they made and there were a few headers and crosses that made their way through the uprights rather than into the back of the net.
"That's the focus," coach Tom Froats said. "We're trying to improve that through the course of the year is being able to get outside and get quality services, and more importantly, get on the end of those services.
"Tonight the opportunity presented itself for us to get more chances than usual and the girls were able to get on the end of those services in a pretty good fashion."
With their sharp midfield passing, the Knights touched every blade of grass on the Wildcats' side of the field.
And with freshman forward Martina Kowalczuk speeding down the sideline all evening long, losing her defender time after time, Prospect had plenty of crosses to choose from, and was able to convert enough of them.
"When she stays composed and takes a reasonable effort at striking the ball and not overhitting, she does a really nice job with her service," Froats said.
"If she doesn't rush herself, she can serve a quality ball. That's what we're looking for from her outside with her pace is that she can carry the ball and get in and behind defenses and then get that service off and give us an opportunity to get into the box."
Prospect cashed in plenty, needing just five minutes to break the ice, as Kowalczuk sent a deep cross to the left post, where junior midfielder Emily Novak was able to tap it in.
Just four minutes later, junior midfielder Kim Welk found some space on the inside and toed one past the keeper to take a two-goal lead.
Once again, Prospect didn't take long to put another ball into the back of the net, striking four minutes later, as precise midfield passing led to another goal from Novak.
The Knights capped off an exceptional run of four goals in a little under 10 minutes, as Kowalczuk fought through a one-on-one to recover the ball wide right of the net.
Facing an exceptionally difficult angle, Kowalczuk kicked the ball high and straight — right into the left side netting to put Prospect up by four.
Leading 5-0 to start the second half, the Knights wasted little time asserting themselves, as Novak managed to cap off a hat trick just 35 seconds into the period.
"Emily is kind of a pure finisher," Froats said. "She strikes the ball really well and she has a sense for getting to the ball in the dangerous positions in the box and finishing."
Then, after a couple of headers fell flat in the first half, Prospect sharpened up in the second half, converting two headers within the space of 30 seconds to build its lead to eight.
On a cold night, with the wind whipping through the northwest suburbs, making it feel like 43 degrees outside, fans were likely grateful for the Knights' newfound success on headers for mutliple reasons. The large lead also cut the remaining time in half.
Heading into the halftime ceremonies to honor the team's seniors, Sarah LaCost headed in a shot to allow the Knights to breathe easy and enjoy the night.
As Froats put it, it was "a nice feather in the cap."
