Boys soccer: Prospect finishes up at Elk Grove

Prospect's boys soccer team survived a late scare against Elk Grove to secure its second consecutive shutout victory with a 1-0 triumph at the Grens' home park, Robert Haskell Memorial Stadium, on Tuesday.

"Coach has been telling us how important it is to have a strong start, and lately, we really haven't been able to," said Knights junior Nico Mho, who struck the eventual game-winner in the 58th minute. "But I thought tonight we came out with a lot of energy in the first 15 minutes, which I think really helped set the tone for the entire night for us."

Mho and teammates Jakub Bochenek and Joe Boduch were full of energy, pace and a much higher work rate to help put their hosts under pressure from the opening whistle. That didn't go unnoticed by Grens coach Rob Shepard.

"Ever since I've been here, it seems like the M.O. of Elk Grove soccer is to not show up at the start, then once we find our game, we play well afterward," Shepard said. "But that's also how you find yourself in trouble.

"We've been working on this issue for the last 10 days or so. And last week, although we still struggled in the first half against Rolling Meadows, we came out and dominated on our way to a 5-1 win, and I was hoping that effort would carry over into tonight's first half."

The Knights' front seven troubled the Grens (4-3-0, 2-1-0) during the first quarter-hour, and Elk Grove's back line came to the rescue as its weathered a 15-minute storm until the offense finally came around.

"It's kind of like a pitcher not getting any run support - our defense, I thought, played very well tonight," Shepard said. "But you'd like to think if they concede just 1 goal, that's the game.

"Our offense needed to support the defense with a goal or two of their own."

The Knights (3-3-0, 2-2-0) nearly got on the scoresheet just before intermission when a Mho corner found an unmarked Grant Whitebloom with an empty back post staring the senior in the eye. Whitebloom's fierce header was taken off the line by Nazzar Peron to deny the visitors the lead.

The action and speed of play after the break was much quicker than the first period, with both clubs squandering a handful of quality chances to finish.

A sharp tackle by Oscar Gonzalez ended the hopes of Miho, who had a step on the Grens' back line as a lovely chip by Jakob Bochenek put him through.

Grens keeper Sammi Casas saved brilliantly at point-blank range after the Knights executed a nearly perfect dead-ball play that put Aaron Whiteman in position to strike from in close.

The Knights finally break through against the run of play with Mho finding the upper-right corner with a magnificent right-footed touch.

"I held up, came back to Jakob, and he then bent a great ball to me to help give the chance to score," said Mho.

Although the back four of Prospect - James Estrada, Tengis Tulga, Evan Milligan and Whitebloom - kept plenty in front of them while enjoying a high percentage of wins in the air, they had a challenge in the final quarter-hour as the Grens began to push numbers forward in search of a tying goal.

Noe Centeno and Misa Contreras were at the center of the Grens' revved-up attack. Outside back Jesus Castrejon served one after another up and over, testing the Knights' ability to one-touch out of the area.

In the closing moments of regulation, it looked as though the constant pressure from the Grens would pay off when Contreras unloaded a 22-yard missile which appeared to have just enough room to make it under the bar. In the final second it rattled and shook the entire net, falling straight down on the end line, then up again as the clock went to 00:00.

"Our goal was to grab 12 points from our first four games, but with this loss, Thursday's game against Hoffman Estates now has added importance to it," said Shepard. "We'll need to come out much stronger and faster than we did tonight."

The Knights will host Conant on Thursday at 6:30.

Hersey 2, Palatine 0: Saul Casillas scored both goals for the Huskies, getting assists from Matt Dickey and Thomas Skiba.

Conant 9, Rolling Meadows 1: The host Cougars rolled against their foes from the MSL East in improving to 5-3 overall.

Buffalo Grove 1, Schaumburg 1: Buffalo Grove Jake Salzman stopped 6 shots to help the Bison net a tie with the visiting Saxons.