Glenbrook South edges Prospect
Peter Campbell denied Prospect a perfect homecoming weekend start with a 58th-minute strike to help put visiting Glenbrook South ahead for good Friday afternoon in a nonconference soccer match in Mt. Prospect.
The Titans captain drove his close-range angled shot off the gloves of keeper Jack Cooney, who made a valiant attempt to turn around the game-winner in a 2-1 decision.
“I cannot fault the effort or the work put forth by the guys, especially in the second half just before Erick (Karkut) equalized, and after,” said Prospect coach Kurt Trenkle. “But this is kind of the way things have gone for us this season.”
Trenkle and his his counterpart, Paul Agombar, thought it might be a long night for Prospect (0-6-3) after a strong quarter-hour opening from Glenbrook South.
“We opened up so brightly and scored that early goal with quality precision,” said Agombar, whose club recently defeated Pepsi Showdown semifinalist Libertyville 1-0. “Some very good possession and attacking football, but we had our chances to add another one or more . . . and when we didn’t, we allowed (Prospect) to gain back their confidence and really give us a good fight afterwards.”
Campbell, Kosta Brkovic, Luke Pilliod and Kurt Roermer created a steady supply of chances as the Titans (6-1-3) dominated play early on, with Brkovic scoring following a lovely sequence of quick touches that allowed the senior to score on the tail end of an unmarked center-channel run.
“(They) looked very dangerous for most of the first half, and I felt we could have just packed it in after the break, so that was our major topic of conversion during half-time,” Trenkle said with a wry smile.
The Knights responded to their coach’s inspired speech, and with forwards Christian Ostorio and Chris Cooney running hard at the Titans’ backline, and the midfield unit led by Ian Lenke outworking its opponents, Prospect began to enjoy the run of play.
Karkut leveled the score from in close with the help of Bryan Velazquez in the 43rd minute. Six minutes later, Osorio set-up Jake Cavaiani, but the junior went over the bar to end a solid sequence.
An unfortunate turnover fell to Roemer, whose quick ball over the top to Campbell put him through. Shrugging off a Prospect defender, the senior had enough time and space to unleash his winning shot from 12 yards on Jack Cooney.
“Credit Prospect for staying with us, and giving us a strong game,” said Agombar. “We’re obviously happy with the result, but not with our overall effort today.”
It was a case of the reverse, from Prospect’s perspective.
“We found a formation we were happy with, and which worked well for us in that second half, and again, I know if we keep working and cleaning some things up, things will get better for us very soon,” said Trenkle.