Boys soccer: Mho, Prospect make fast start hold up at Schaumburg
Nico Mho's 2 goals and a terrific opening half of soccer gave Prospect the result it was after as the Knights topped host Schaumburg 3-1 on Thursday at Gary Scholz Stadium.
"We really needed this one tonight," said Knights coach Mike Andrews after picking up the first MSL victory of his career. "Things didn't go very well for us the other night against Rolling Meadows (in a 4-1 loss), so it was important that we come out and play well right from the start - and we did just that."
Mho's got it started. He finished with a thunderous shot after Joey Boduch, Sid Gaire and Patrick Limanowka had a hand in setting up the strike in the seventh minute.
"We came out the other night with zero energy, so we all knew we couldn't do the same thing tonight if we expected to come out of here with a win," said Limanowka, whose pace and nonstop work rate up top made him a threat throughout and also helped create chances for his teammates.
What set the Knights (4-2-0, 1-2-0) apart from Schaumburg during the first 40 minutes was their willingness to patiently build the attack from the back and through midfield.
Eric Sorby, Schaumburg's first-year coach, certainly noticed.
"We've been a slow-starting team thus far, including our 3-2 win in overtime the other night against Hoffman Estates, and tonight wasn't any different," Sorby said. "And with Prospect confident in the back, while also doing well in possession, we found ourselves chasing the game the entire first half."
A delightful early ball out of the back from Alex Predescu helped spring Limanowka free from his defenders, and when he got past the last man from Schaumburg, it took one more touch to go past keeper Grant Behrens to double Prospect's advantage at the half-hour.
Schaumburg (1-3-1, 1-1-2) only had one effort on target in the first period, that coming in the 17th minute when Jared Schoo's low drive was stopped by a Kevin Shane dive.
Sorby's squad delivered a higher work rate in the second period, forcing the Knights to defend far more than they wanted to in the first quarter-hour of the second half.
Schoo was responsible for a rise in the Saxons' ball-winning percentage after the break, and teammates Nick Marino, Edwin Zuniga and Luis Bautista-Melendez provided a creative spark in the attack.
"The big difference in that second half was we worked harder together put a lot of high pressure on Prospect, and moved the ball quicker and through our midfield," said Sorby.
Mho dash any comeback hopes for Schaumburg when he bent his 20-yard free kick around the Saxons' wall in the 60th minute.
Bautista-Melendez, who provided the game-winner in overtime against Hoffman Estates, ended Shane's shutout bid three minutes from time.
"Schaumburg really came at us in that second half, which we expected, but our defense withstood the pressure to help us get a big win," said Andrews.
Prospect hosts defending MSL champion Wheeling next Tuesday, while the Saxons take on Conant this Saturday in a MSL West division contest.