Keepers star as Prospect, Maine West go scoreless

One hundred minutes of soccer could not separate Prospect and Maine West as Saturday’s tournament match in Des Plaines ended in a 0-0 draw.

The storyline of the contest was that of the superb work of both keepers, Brad Reibel from Prospect and junior Dennis Chronopoulos for Maine West.

Chronopoulos started for coach Mike Divincenzo in place of teammate Jecsan Torres, who was injured earlier in the week.

“I thought both keepers did a terrific job today, and especially (Reibel), who made a couple of goal-saving stops and who was also so strong in the air for Prospect today,” said Divincenzo.

The Knights (2-0-1) had their best chance of the first half when Bill Cooney’s enterprising run and carry down the left side freed up the senior along the end line, from where he sent a superb low ball to teammate Patryk Ruta. His blast went just over the bar as the center official whistled the end of play.

Just after the break, Reibel extended to his left to save Nelson Herrera from in close. Then, after some of the best possession soccer of the afternoon by the hosts, in which Alex Herrera, Gerardo Espinoza, Xavier Gomez and Herrera all had plenty of touches, the Knights countered quickly. Alex Schnef was the early creator, with Stefano Dolomas missing at the back post after Cooney helped get his teammate free of the Maine West defense.

“We got some guys who are quite capable of scoring in Ruta, Schnef, Cooney and others,” Prospect coach Kurt Trenkle said. “We didn’t see it much today, but on a few occasions they were able to get in and create some chances for us. We know when the opportunity arises, they’ll be able to finish.”

Gomez, who was playing Top Talent club soccer a year ago, tricked his way into the box at the hour mark, but Reibel once again was there to save. About ten minutes later, the all-MSL keeper of a year ago had to thank his backline mate Matthew Burikas as the junior cleared a would-be goal off the line when Nelson Herrera chipped Reibel.

Cooney had a go in the 76th minute, and Chronopoulos calmly saved. But the Warriors (1-1-1) came this-close to grabbing a victory at 80 minutes when Ozzie Fernandez elevated to meet Spencer Walton’s corner but ended up wide with a header.

The Warriors enjoyed the run of play in both 10-minute extra periods, but were not sharp enough in the final third of the field to beat Reibel, who turned away a pair of shots on frame.

“We played hard today, but things got a little ragged about midway through that second period,” said Trenkle. “But I liked what I saw from Ethan (Graven) in the back, and Ihor Lehkiv, one of our new guys this year. And Brad is just Brad — he catches and stops just about everything.”

The Knights finish up tournament play on Monday against South Elgin, while the Warriors will have a few days off to train and rest a few minor bumps and bruises before meeting Leyden on Wednesday.

“We made a few changes here and there today, and with a lot of success, including the twins, Josh and John DeLeon, as well as some great work in the back from Ramon Contreras, who did a fantastic job along with Ozzie also,” said Divincenzo.