Boys Soccer: Tony Prospero, Kevin Staniszewski trigger Lincoln-Way West victory

Updated: September 27, 2012 6:37PM

Lincoln-Way West goalie Tony Prospero had never been involved in a penalty kick shootout on any level. The Warriors’ Kevin Staniszewski was the eighth kicker in his team’s lineup and didn’t expect to get a chance to shoot.

The two fought off nerves to become heroes for Lincoln-Way West, Staniszewski scoring the clinching goal and Prospero making three saves in the shootout to lift the Warriors to a 3-2 win over Stagg in a SouthWest Suburban Red opener in New Lenox.

The teams were tied at 4 in the shootout through seven shooters when Staniszewski stepped up and scored with a shot to the right side.

“I saw their goalie (Erick Estrada) was diving to the same side every shot so I changed it up from my normal shot and went the other way,” Staniszewski said.

Prospero then stopped Isaac Marrin’s shot to clinch the win for Lincoln-Way West (8-5-3).

“Oh my goodness, there was just a sigh of relief just to be done,” Prospero said. “I tried to use humor to calm myself down. I was talking to my teammates, talking to the ref. It was a great experience.”

Ryan Curry, Shane Varner, Paul Miller and Adam Webb also scored in penalty kicks for the Warriors.

Stagg (6-6-2) erased a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes as Matt Kois scored off a great pass from Adrian Cup and Dino Karas scored on a penalty kick to tie it with 4:45 left.

Lincoln-Way West jumped to a quick lead when Curry was taken down in the box and converted the penalty just 40 seconds into the match. Ian McGrath scored for a 2-0 lead 35 minutes in.

For the Warriors, a win over the three-time defending Red champion Stagg was a perfect way to start league play.

“They beat us 5-0 last year,” Staniszewski said. “That wasn’t fun. This was a huge win.”

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