Plainfield South rolls into Metea Valley
Hosts hope to end Cougars' 5-game win streak,
rebound from 1-3 PepsiCo record
By Derek Wolff
Fresh off of capturing the Lincoln-Way Invitational championship over the weekend, Plainfield South (8-1-1) will travel to Metea Valley (6-4-1) Tuesday to begin a full week of play.
Metea Valley gets Plainfield’s top two teams back-to-back after hosting Plainfield North on Monday.
For Plainfield South, the thrill of capturing the Lincoln-Way Tournament by beating Joliet West 2-0 Saturday is tempered by the task at hand.
Coach Dave Brown called Metea Valley a first class program and was excited for his team to get another chance to prove itself in one of the best starts in program history.
“We have not had the opportunity to play them in our recent past, but we are excited to get another top nonconference opponent on our schedule this season,” Brown said. “We look at the game as an opportunity to compete against one of the better teams in the area, and hopefully our team will relish in that opportunity.
"This will be another experience that hopefully prepares us well for the rest of our conference season and postseason down the road.”
Plainfield South has played a tough schedule to this point but hasn’t lost in nearly a month. And its defeat was impressive too -- a 1-0, August 28 loss at Naperville Central (currently 7-1-3 and Best of the West titleists).
The Cougars have recorded wins over Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way Central and rival Plainfield North. They will try to improve to 2-0 in the Southwest Prairie Conference against Minooka on Thursday before taking the weekend off.
Taking things one game at a time has been the key to success this season for the Cougars, who have grown in their resolve over the first 10 games, Brown said.
“I'm not sure if it is momentum that we can take away from the tournament, but we can certainly take confidence from the way we played. Our team has competed against some of the best teams in the Chicagoland area and done well so far this year,” the coach said.
“Each game brought different styles of play from our opponents and different game situations that we can now draw on for the rest of the season with confidence because we have been through them and found a way to be successful.”
After a red hot 5-1-1 start that included a six-game unbeaten streak, host Metea Valley has fallen on hard times with losses in 3-of-its-last-4 games, all at the PepsiCo Showdown. Those included two 1-0 losses -- one an overtime loss to Oak Park and River Forest, and the other at the hands of defending Class 2A champion Washington.
Now the Mustangs have a tall order to fill with the top two Plainfield teams on back-to-back nights.
Plainfield North entered the game Monday with an 11-1-0 record. It's lone loss came against South last week.
Coach Josh Robinson said the Mustangs are looking forward to the challenge and will look to push the play in the attacking third early against both sides.
“We need to continue to look to press offensively to get goals,” Robinson said. “The ability to get early goals this week will determine the winner in both contests.
"We are very lucky to get to play two quality opponents this week to help us measure where we are at as a program as we begin the second half of the season.”
Playing against top sides like the Plainfield teams will be beneficial down the road, Robinson said.
“We have made a schedule against teams in our sectional that will challenge us and measure us as a program," he said.
"We continue to play strong defense against great opponents, and we hope to get a lot out of these games in terms of what players can play under pressure and help us down the road.”
Metea Valley will get a long break to get healthy and focused after its Plainfield double. The Mustangs have a week off before they host Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division foe East Aurora on Senior Night on Sept. 30.
Hosts hope to end Cougars' 5-game win streak,
rebound from 1-3 PepsiCo record
By Derek Wolff
Fresh off of capturing the Lincoln-Way Invitational championship over the weekend, Plainfield South (8-1-1) will travel to Metea Valley (6-4-1) Tuesday to begin a full week of play.
Metea Valley gets Plainfield’s top two teams back-to-back after hosting Plainfield North on Monday.
For Plainfield South, the thrill of capturing the Lincoln-Way Tournament by beating Joliet West 2-0 Saturday is tempered by the task at hand.
Coach Dave Brown called Metea Valley a first class program and was excited for his team to get another chance to prove itself in one of the best starts in program history.
“We have not had the opportunity to play them in our recent past, but we are excited to get another top nonconference opponent on our schedule this season,” Brown said. “We look at the game as an opportunity to compete against one of the better teams in the area, and hopefully our team will relish in that opportunity.
"This will be another experience that hopefully prepares us well for the rest of our conference season and postseason down the road.”
Plainfield South has played a tough schedule to this point but hasn’t lost in nearly a month. And its defeat was impressive too -- a 1-0, August 28 loss at Naperville Central (currently 7-1-3 and Best of the West titleists).
The Cougars have recorded wins over Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way Central and rival Plainfield North. They will try to improve to 2-0 in the Southwest Prairie Conference against Minooka on Thursday before taking the weekend off.
Taking things one game at a time has been the key to success this season for the Cougars, who have grown in their resolve over the first 10 games, Brown said.
“I'm not sure if it is momentum that we can take away from the tournament, but we can certainly take confidence from the way we played. Our team has competed against some of the best teams in the Chicagoland area and done well so far this year,” the coach said.
“Each game brought different styles of play from our opponents and different game situations that we can now draw on for the rest of the season with confidence because we have been through them and found a way to be successful.”
After a red hot 5-1-1 start that included a six-game unbeaten streak, host Metea Valley has fallen on hard times with losses in 3-of-its-last-4 games, all at the PepsiCo Showdown. Those included two 1-0 losses -- one an overtime loss to Oak Park and River Forest, and the other at the hands of defending Class 2A champion Washington.
Now the Mustangs have a tall order to fill with the top two Plainfield teams on back-to-back nights.
Plainfield North entered the game Monday with an 11-1-0 record. It's lone loss came against South last week.
Coach Josh Robinson said the Mustangs are looking forward to the challenge and will look to push the play in the attacking third early against both sides.
“We need to continue to look to press offensively to get goals,” Robinson said. “The ability to get early goals this week will determine the winner in both contests.
"We are very lucky to get to play two quality opponents this week to help us measure where we are at as a program as we begin the second half of the season.”
Playing against top sides like the Plainfield teams will be beneficial down the road, Robinson said.
“We have made a schedule against teams in our sectional that will challenge us and measure us as a program," he said.
"We continue to play strong defense against great opponents, and we hope to get a lot out of these games in terms of what players can play under pressure and help us down the road.”
Metea Valley will get a long break to get healthy and focused after its Plainfield double. The Mustangs have a week off before they host Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division foe East Aurora on Senior Night on Sept. 30.