Nailor nails it in a Hoffman Estates win

The girls soccer matchup between visiting Prospect and Hoffman Estates appeared headed for overtime until Jennie Nailor's 71st minute free kick found its way into the back of the net to give the Hawks a hard-fought 1-0 victory Wednesday.

"We've been telling the girls to keep shooting, and tonight we got some very good looks on frame - a couple of them stopped by great saves from the Prospect keeper (Paige Thiel)," said Hoffman Estates coach Ralph Tooren. "But it was great to see one of them finally get in to give us a terrific win."

The victory puts the Hawks at 2-2-0 in the Mid-Suburban League.

"I don't know how long it's been since we've had a .500 record at this point in the season, but the hard work the girls have been putting in is slowly starting to make a difference," Tooren said.

Truth be told, a 0-0 result would have been a fair one, as both sides put together some entertaining soccer, highlighted by sensational play between the sticks by both keepers, particularly the Knights' Thiel.

"Paige took a couple of goals out of the net with her saves - it's too bad that one got in, which wasn't her fault, or our back line either," said Prospect captain Maggie Sullivan, who along with her teammates worked hard all night, just as her counterpart, Nailor, did for Hoffman Estates.

"Both keepers made some great saves tonight, while on the other end, I thought we played some of our best possession and attacking soccer of the year," said Nailor, a junior who wears the captain's armband along with Ale Alonso for the Hawks.

Prospect (0-6-0, 0-4-0) was a little sharper in its game than the hosts during the first quarter-hour as it played through center midfielder Andi Marfilius as much as it could. She ran hard at the Hawks, while giving the three front-runners coach Tom Froats stationed in his 3-4-3 formation plenty of action.

The Hawks began to get into the thick of the action just before the half-hour, as they began to find Alonso in the middle with more frequency. If not for a superb save from Thiel on a Sharon Lopez rocket seemed destined for the net, the Hawks would have been the first on the scoreboard at 26 minutes.

Prospect's Taylor Sliwa had a chance two minutes later but steered her shot wide. Just before intermission, Martina Kowalczuk turned her defender around to get herself free inside the box until Jessica Miller tracked back and tackled the junior before she got in on Hawks keeper Francesca Van.

The second half began just as quickly paced as the first half ended, with terrific passing from both clubs nearly opening up each back line - only to see the final ball go astray before either keeper was called to action.

During a thrilling five-minute sequence, each club had a glorious opportunity to strike first - beginning with the Hawks, when Thiel turned a nasty blast from Alonso around the post to give the hosts a corner in the 56th minute.

The Knights saw their best chance of this period erased when Amy Novak's cross from the left side split the Hawks' defense, creating a close-range shot blocked and spilled toward an open net. But the fast-thinking Van got the ball just before it went over the end line to save a goal at 60 minutes.

"Frankie (Van) came up big for us tonight," Tooren said.

Nailor's 40-yard free kick went up and over the Knights' wall and somehow found its way in for the lone goal of the night.

"We did a lot of things very well tonight, including some great stuff with our attack, but we still can't find the back of the net," said Prospect coach Tom Froats.

"We spent a lot of time working on our shooting lately, so it was nice to finally get one of our out shots to finally go in," said Nailor.

Next up for the Hawks is MSL East-leading Hersey this Friday, while the Knights' road doesn't get easier as they host state power Barrington on Friday.

Fremd 5, Rolling Meadows 0: Jessica Kopec scored 3 goals and assisted on another to help power a victory for the host Vikings.

Barrington 4, Buffalo Grove 2: Sarah O'Connor had both goals for the Bison as Barrington protected its lead in the Mid-Suburban League standings.

Conant 9, Wheeling 0: Sidney O'Keeffe and Leah Celarek both scored twice as seven Conant players found the net. Celarek also assisted on 4 goals, and Zoe Shoro provided 2 assists for the Cougars.

Schaumburg 1, Elk Grove 1: Alexis Orozco tallied for the visiting Saxons as keepers Sam Tyler (Schaumburg, 5 saves) and Cassie Slattery (Elk Grove, 8 saves) kept it close.

Hersey 3, Palatine 1: Jessica Schmidt, Rachel Swift and Kayla Knauss had the goals for Hersey, while Gina Miklasz, Grace Kozurek and Susan Lindstrom had assists to help the Huskies improve to 8-1-1 overall and 4-0 against the MSL.