Rolling Meadows outmatches Prospect
A lone strike from Jacob Koutas at 59 minutes was enough for Rolling Meadows to edge visiting Prospect 1-0 Thursday at Robert Hoese Field in a Mid-Suburban League boys soccer opener for both teams.
Fresh off sweeping all three matches at the Grayslake North tourney one week ago, the Mustangs (4-1-0, 1-0-0) came back from a lackluster opening quarter to dominate most of the second period, much to the delight of coach Peter Mikulak.
"The first 15-20 minutes tonight wasn't our best effort - we played nervous, and were not organized at all - but we got through that tough stretch and played so much better after that," said Mikulak.
Rolling Meadows is re-inventing itself after losing the bulk of the starters from last year's team, which got 1 victory away from reaching the supersectional.
"We have so many new guys this year, so the returning players like myself need to keep reminding them you have to play one second quicker in order to play at this level - and we're starting to see that from everyone now," said Koutas, who along with teammate Alex Bielic played heavy minutes last season.
For most of the first quarter-hour, the Knights enjoyed the run of play, thanks in part to a nice effort from junior Dominik Limanowska in the middle, and the Knights' leading scorer, Chris Cooney, who bagged 5 goals in a season-opener victory over Maine East.
"We began the match very well with a lot of good combination work and possession, while getting Chris free up top on several occasions," said Prospect's new head coach, Paul Elkins. "But when we stopped playing that way, things turned in favor of Rolling Meadows, and except for the very end when things got a little frantic on both ends, we weren't very dangerous the rest of the way."
Cooney created a corner for his teammates after some good work with Elai Kobayashi-Solomon, then saw Limanowska's side-footed attempt go wide from in close in the 20th minute.
The introduction of senior Edgar Avolos from off the bench energized the Mustangs and helped Mikulak's club begin to play with more urgency, which carried right into the second half.
"Edgar is a real workhorse, and his pace and energy have given our team a real lift during the first two weeks of the season," said Mikulak of Avolos, who was a place-kicker for the Mustangs football team last fall.
Jash Snopek's rampaging run up the left side ended with the senior putting one on frame, with the rebound spilling free to a trailing Koutas, who on the end of his center channel run found the back of the net with an unstoppable finish.
"That was just a great run from Jash - it opened up the Prospect defense to allow me to score," said Koutas.
Snopek injureed his ankle during the sequence and remained on the sideline for the remaining 21 minutes of regulation.
The Mustangs' attack came alive after they'd taken the lead. If it wasn't Tony Montesinos creating trouble, then it was Jairo Diaz Ugalde, Zach Kacimi or Bialek and Koutos.
"We told the guys at the break they have to play smarter and more simple soccer, but we never got into our game, and it was all Rolling
Meadows in the second half," said Elkins.
The Meadows back-line quartet of captain Benny Masi, Junior Sanchez, Jorge Leyva and Kacimi were air-tight in front of Pan Zervas, who registered the shutout.
The Knights (4-1-0, 1-0-0) will host Elk Grove next Tuesday, while Meadows welcomes Schaumburg from the MSL West.