Prospect's Mho breaks the ice, sinks Fremd
Midfielder's 1st goal of season holds up for 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Soccer is all about mitigating failure. Players know that instinctively. Success is measured differently.
“The mental part of the game is a huge aspect,” Prospect junior midfielder Nico Mho said. “It does not matter if you have the technical skill. You need to have the mental ability to stay positive throughout a game no matter what is going on.”
Mho is the offensive centerpiece of the Knights’ attack. Through the first four games, he had yet to record his first goal. The opportunities were there. Something always went awry.
“A week and a half ago, we played Saint Viator and Nico had three great opportunities, but he was not able to finish,” Prospect coach Paul Elkins said.
He remained undaunted, even as the frustration mounted. In the 28th minute of the Knights’ clash with Fremd, Mho appeared on the verge of ending his personal drought inside the box one-on-one against Vikings’ keeper Josh Kasser.
Kasser (3 saves) anticipated correctly and made a brilliant denial against Mho, ensuing the game remained scoreless at the break.
“I was starting to think, here we go again,” Elkins said. Mho never lost his resolve.
His relentless style and quiet determination paid off in the 46th minute as Mho drilled a low one-touch for that elusive first goal that proved the difference in the Knights’ 1-0 victory over the Vikings here Thursday night in a Mid-Suburban League clash.
Prospect (2-3-0, 1-2-0 earned its first conference win. Midfielder Patrick Limanowka drove the ball down the right flank and made the cross in setting up the score.
“It was just great teamwork, two-touch passing all the way up, and Patrick threaded the needle perfectly to me, and I took the touch and finished,” Mho said. “It was exciting after I had a couple of those in earlier games I had missed. Coming back to score and being to finish that in the bottom corner made me feel great. It lifted me up a little.”
Mho earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his game-winning finish.
The team shared in his private exultation. Mho is the team’s forward engine, a dynamic player in space whose aggressive and punishing style makes the team go.
“It was amazing,” forward Jakub Bochenek said. “I was not the one who put it away, but it was a team effort. Every single player just felt that they contributed.”
The game represented a microcosm of the year for the Vikings (1-4-2, 0-2-0), who enjoyed a sharp advantage in shots (11-3) and had more attempts on goal. Fremd improved as the game wore on. The problem was overcoming the deficit.
“In the first half, we were lackadaisical, I thought,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller, who experimented with different lineups to shake up the team.
“We didn’t play particularly well. Unfortunately we gave up that goal. And that’s a wake-up call and then we started playing. We have to figure out how to play the way we did at the end from the start.”
Fremd is better than its record, and the program has a recent history of slow starts and stronger finishes. Fremd showed glimpses in the service balls of Ben Cuthbert, and the runs made by standout forward Michael LaBarge. The team is still waiting to click on all cylinders.
“We didn’t really communicate at all, and our passing in the final third is not great,” LaBarge said. “We have a problem where we play a lot harder once we are down instead of at the start of the game. That’s a big problem. We just need to play on the ground and get forward and score the goals we need.”
Keller credited the Knights’ execution. He also saw areas where his team was deficient.
“We can’t break down defensively and give up the ball that way we do, and get beat one on one and not mark people,” he said.
The sharper play from the Vikings was evident during the game's final stretch. LaBarge had a header go just over the crossbar. Fremd’s other free-kick specialist, Shintaro Hidaka, nearly secured the equalizer in the 76th minute. He blasted a free-kick that took a devilish bounce off Prospect keeper Kevin Shane (4 saves). The Vikings could not get on the end of the rebound.
“I liked our fight,” Keller said. “I thought the last 20 minutes was good. If we play like that the whole game we are going to have a lot more luck and a lot more opportunities. And hopefully more things are going to go our way if we decide to play like that.”
The Hidaka free-kick nearly conjured nightmares for Elkins. The play was virtually identical to the game-winner Hoffman Estates scored in a 1-0 victory over the Knights on August 31. Prospect had eight days to brood over that game and the disappointing result.
“It was sitting in the back of our heads the entire time,” Bochenek said. “Of course we did not want to think about it too much but that’s what we needed to look back at to motivate us to what we can do better. This game was a building block.”
Fremd has the kind of history and prestige Prospect is angling for. The win clearly resounded with the team.
“The history we have had with them, we haven’t done so hot,” Mho said. “Being the team we have this year and the guys that we have, I now we have the talent to be successful. These first four games I think we were still trying to figure out how we work together and where we work together.
“I know towards the end of the season we are going to have a very good team.”
This was exactly the kind of win the Knights sought.
“I am very pleased with the result,” Elkins said. “I am more pleased with the effort and how we competed. It gives us a lot of confidence to beat a great team and a great program like Fremd.
“That does not happen very often. I think it gives us confidence to know if we show up, play together and compete that we can play with some very good teams.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Josh Kasser
D: Yuma Yamamoto
D: Ben Cuthbert
D: Bobby Burk
D: Shintaro Hidaka
MF: Dalton Rogers
MF: Yoshi Otani
MF: Max Clark
F: Michael LaBarge
F: Vania Martin
F: James LeFevre
Prospect
GK: Kevin Shane
D: Tengis Tulga
D: Joe Passmore
D: James Estrella
D: Grant Whitebloom
MF: Nico Mho
MF: Nick Kosla
MF: Joe Boduch
MF: Patrick Limanowka
MF: Aaron Whiteman
F: Jakub Bochenek
Man of the Match: Nico Mho, MF, Prospect
Midfielder's 1st goal of season holds up for 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
MOUNT PROSPECT -- Soccer is all about mitigating failure. Players know that instinctively. Success is measured differently.
“The mental part of the game is a huge aspect,” Prospect junior midfielder Nico Mho said. “It does not matter if you have the technical skill. You need to have the mental ability to stay positive throughout a game no matter what is going on.”
Mho is the offensive centerpiece of the Knights’ attack. Through the first four games, he had yet to record his first goal. The opportunities were there. Something always went awry.
“A week and a half ago, we played Saint Viator and Nico had three great opportunities, but he was not able to finish,” Prospect coach Paul Elkins said.
He remained undaunted, even as the frustration mounted. In the 28th minute of the Knights’ clash with Fremd, Mho appeared on the verge of ending his personal drought inside the box one-on-one against Vikings’ keeper Josh Kasser.
Kasser (3 saves) anticipated correctly and made a brilliant denial against Mho, ensuing the game remained scoreless at the break.
“I was starting to think, here we go again,” Elkins said. Mho never lost his resolve.
His relentless style and quiet determination paid off in the 46th minute as Mho drilled a low one-touch for that elusive first goal that proved the difference in the Knights’ 1-0 victory over the Vikings here Thursday night in a Mid-Suburban League clash.
Prospect (2-3-0, 1-2-0 earned its first conference win. Midfielder Patrick Limanowka drove the ball down the right flank and made the cross in setting up the score.
“It was just great teamwork, two-touch passing all the way up, and Patrick threaded the needle perfectly to me, and I took the touch and finished,” Mho said. “It was exciting after I had a couple of those in earlier games I had missed. Coming back to score and being to finish that in the bottom corner made me feel great. It lifted me up a little.”
Mho earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his game-winning finish.
The team shared in his private exultation. Mho is the team’s forward engine, a dynamic player in space whose aggressive and punishing style makes the team go.
“It was amazing,” forward Jakub Bochenek said. “I was not the one who put it away, but it was a team effort. Every single player just felt that they contributed.”
The game represented a microcosm of the year for the Vikings (1-4-2, 0-2-0), who enjoyed a sharp advantage in shots (11-3) and had more attempts on goal. Fremd improved as the game wore on. The problem was overcoming the deficit.
“In the first half, we were lackadaisical, I thought,” said Fremd coach Steve Keller, who experimented with different lineups to shake up the team.
“We didn’t play particularly well. Unfortunately we gave up that goal. And that’s a wake-up call and then we started playing. We have to figure out how to play the way we did at the end from the start.”
Fremd is better than its record, and the program has a recent history of slow starts and stronger finishes. Fremd showed glimpses in the service balls of Ben Cuthbert, and the runs made by standout forward Michael LaBarge. The team is still waiting to click on all cylinders.
“We didn’t really communicate at all, and our passing in the final third is not great,” LaBarge said. “We have a problem where we play a lot harder once we are down instead of at the start of the game. That’s a big problem. We just need to play on the ground and get forward and score the goals we need.”
Keller credited the Knights’ execution. He also saw areas where his team was deficient.
“We can’t break down defensively and give up the ball that way we do, and get beat one on one and not mark people,” he said.
The sharper play from the Vikings was evident during the game's final stretch. LaBarge had a header go just over the crossbar. Fremd’s other free-kick specialist, Shintaro Hidaka, nearly secured the equalizer in the 76th minute. He blasted a free-kick that took a devilish bounce off Prospect keeper Kevin Shane (4 saves). The Vikings could not get on the end of the rebound.
“I liked our fight,” Keller said. “I thought the last 20 minutes was good. If we play like that the whole game we are going to have a lot more luck and a lot more opportunities. And hopefully more things are going to go our way if we decide to play like that.”
The Hidaka free-kick nearly conjured nightmares for Elkins. The play was virtually identical to the game-winner Hoffman Estates scored in a 1-0 victory over the Knights on August 31. Prospect had eight days to brood over that game and the disappointing result.
“It was sitting in the back of our heads the entire time,” Bochenek said. “Of course we did not want to think about it too much but that’s what we needed to look back at to motivate us to what we can do better. This game was a building block.”
Fremd has the kind of history and prestige Prospect is angling for. The win clearly resounded with the team.
“The history we have had with them, we haven’t done so hot,” Mho said. “Being the team we have this year and the guys that we have, I now we have the talent to be successful. These first four games I think we were still trying to figure out how we work together and where we work together.
“I know towards the end of the season we are going to have a very good team.”
This was exactly the kind of win the Knights sought.
“I am very pleased with the result,” Elkins said. “I am more pleased with the effort and how we competed. It gives us a lot of confidence to beat a great team and a great program like Fremd.
“That does not happen very often. I think it gives us confidence to know if we show up, play together and compete that we can play with some very good teams.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK: Josh Kasser
D: Yuma Yamamoto
D: Ben Cuthbert
D: Bobby Burk
D: Shintaro Hidaka
MF: Dalton Rogers
MF: Yoshi Otani
MF: Max Clark
F: Michael LaBarge
F: Vania Martin
F: James LeFevre
Prospect
GK: Kevin Shane
D: Tengis Tulga
D: Joe Passmore
D: James Estrella
D: Grant Whitebloom
MF: Nico Mho
MF: Nick Kosla
MF: Joe Boduch
MF: Patrick Limanowka
MF: Aaron Whiteman
F: Jakub Bochenek
Man of the Match: Nico Mho, MF, Prospect