Chicagoland Soccer

Knights top Hoffman in lightning-shortened contest
By Dan Santaromita

Prospect entered Wednesday night’s match against Hoffman Estates hoping to work on its finishing. After scoring six goals in just over 50 minutes of play the Knights should be more than pleased.

The host Knights overmatched Hoffman, earning a 6-0 win shortened by lightning. It’s Prospect’s third Mid Suburban League win in eight tries.

Kelli Iovino scored the first two goals. Emily Novak scored a header and Jesse Petrovski closed out the first half scoring for a 4-0 halftime lead.

Petrovski added her second goal in the second minute of the second half. Mary Rose Pettenuzzo scored the final goal in the 51st minute. Lightning in the area brought the match to a halt before the match could restart and the six goals stood as the final.

“One of the things I wanted to see tonight was some finishing on the offensive end,” Prospect coach Tom Froats said. “In spurts we’ve created great chances throughout the season and the idea of tonight knowing those opportunities would present themselves again. The idea of just being able to get quality finishes. I thought we had a couple of them on some real nice serves from the outside.”

Froats was concerned his team wouldn’t bring its best game following Saturday’s tough loss in the final of the Knights Invite. His fears proved to be unfounded.

“Sometimes there’s a let down in the next match so for us to not have much of a let down and to have high energy at the start of the match is something that I was wishing for and hoping for,” he said. “Certainly we were expecting to do well, but to see us do as well as I expected, that’s not always the case.”

The Knights (6-5-2, 3-4-1) have a week in between matches before visiting Schaumburg. With the MSL East out of reach Prospect is looking to pick up a signature win over a top tier team with the added benefit of improving its sectional seed.

“I feel like we can play with any team in this conference,” goalkeeper Megan McCabe said. “It’s just a matter of getting to the goal and scoring because that’s always been our problem. I think we can hold them defensively as long as we’re all on our games. If we can just get that one goal or two goals and we can have a lot of success.”

Froats thinks the Knights are building momentum and hopes they can get over the hump against a quality side.

“We’ve had a pretty rigorous schedule so I think we’ve been hardened and toughened for the games that are upcoming,” he said. “When we look towards our next match, which is Wednesday of next week against Schaumburg, it’s a quality club that would be a signature win for us. We’re looking for those kinds of games.”

McCabe kept the clean sheet for Prospect’s fourth shutout of the season.

In front of McCabe the Knights’ young back line, which features sophomores Danielle Hamzeloo and Trisha Benson alongside senior Kelly Ziegenfuss, has jelled. Prospect hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game yet this season.

“We’ve got a young backline, but I think they are stepping up to the positions and they’re doing well,” McCabe said. “There’s still improvements to be made, but they’re good at stepping in, defending and knowing when to drop so I’m happy with them.”