Plainfield N. sees win streak end vs. CLS
Tigers can't dent 3-0 halftime deficit against undefeated Gators
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Plainfield North rode a nice winning streak into Thursday’s PepsiCo Showdown quarterfinal tilt with Crystal Lake South.
The Tigers, ranked no. 18 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, defeated Romeoville 3-0 in a Southwest Prairie League matchup Wednesday for their fifth-straight victory.
However, the hosts one-upped their guests when they continued their undefeated start to their season. The Gators took advantage of fortune, set piece execution and a great defensive effort. Their reward was a 3-0 result and advancement to the semifinals of the I Grow Chicago bracket.
“We were fortunate enough to get a nice three-goal first-half cushion,” said Crystal Lake South coach Jay Mueller. “We are excited to advance to play in the next round on Saturday.”
The Crystal Lake South girls kept alive the chance alive to equal the boys’ team’s success last fall. That group reached the final of their bracket.
“It would be nice if we could do that,” said a smiling Mueller. “If we play the way we can play, we’ve got a good chance against anyone.”
It was almost a very different start to the game. Plainfield North (7-3-0), off of an early corner from Megan Breier, saw the ball deflect and roll along the goal line.
It was cleared off the line by the Gators, but several Tigers immediately voiced their opinion, saying the ball was over the line. There was no goal indication from the referees and play continued.
“That ball was 100% over the line,” said Tiger midfielder Jessica Christmas. “One of the other team’s players kicked the ball away before the referee could see it at their angle. If that would have counted, it would have been a completely different game; our mentality may have been a little different.”
Plainfield North keeper Megan Donnally’s mentality definitely remained strong for the next few minute. She made a big save on Crystal Lake South midfielder Abby Wiegand, and then stopped the sophomore again on a chance from the top of the 18.
The game took its first turn in the 13th minute. In their attacking third, Gator defender Jenna Ross threw a long ball towards Wiegand. The ball went past Wiegand’s head, struck the near post and fell to the feet of midfielder Taylor Bittenbender for a tap-in goal.
Wiegand gave the Gators (6-0-1) a two-goal lead in the 30th minute. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match made a run and was on the receiving end of a perfect free kick from defender Brooke Dunteman. A flick was all that was needed to beat Donnally.
It was an exciting first half for Wiegand, who is in her first year with the Gators.
“It was a good feeling to get one in the back to the net -- to get my first goal in my high-school career,” said Wiegand.
Dunteman described what she saw before delivering the sublime service.
“I was aiming for a specific area, as I knew all of my teammates would be attacking,” Dunteman said. “I played it into an area, and Abby happened to be there. Abby scored a great goal.”
Plainfield North fell into a deeper deficit six minutes later. After Donnally stopped an initial shot, she was called for a foul inside the box on Gator midfielder Jillian Brokhof, when both players were chasing the rebound. The resulting spot-kick was converted by midfielder Jess Schoenfeldt.
Despite trailing in the second half, the Tigers put together a more solid offensive effort in the final 40 minutes. Multiple efforts from forward Molly Grant were narrowly wide or over. Christmas used her speed to create shots of her own that narrowly missed. Breier had several efforts stopped by Gator goalkeeper Annika Sevcik.
Another Tigers chance came in the 66th minute, when midfielder and captain Brittaney Kroll drove a free kick from 22 yards that went wide-left of Sevcik.
“The second half, we came out really strong,” said Plainfield North coach Jane Crowe. “Even the first half, I don’t feel like we didn’t have chances. If we could have pushed a goal in early in the second half, it might have made it a game. However, we were really struggling around the net.”
Crowe did acknowledge that getting close to an early goal was a turning point in the match.
“If we could have gotten that first goal, it might have made a huge difference,” Crowe said. “I think they (Crystal Lake South) finished their chances. To have a goal come from a throw-in hitting the post was a little unlucky. It’s a bit frustrating because looking at the scoreline, it didn’t feel like a 3-0 game.”
Breier complemented her team’s effort in the second half.
“You can’t win when you give up three first half goals,” Breier said. “We came out with a lot of motivation, thinking we could keep up with them. We had some chances, but we couldn’t score, unfortunately. We had about six or eight corner kicks throughout the game. They (Crystal Lake South) took advantage of their restarts, and we could not do the same.”
Despite the outcome, coach Crowe did note some standout performances.
“Two of our senior captains, Brittaney Kroll, in the middle of the field, and Megan Breier up-top, really stepped up and created chances for us.” Crowe said. “Kylee Colwell in the back also stepped up. There were a lot of positives to come out of this game, if you take away the score.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK: Megan Donnally
D: Kylee Colwell
D: Claudia Baginski
D: Makenna Woodill
D: Payton Strausberger
MF: Jessica Christmas
MF: Brittaney Kroll
MF: Ann Marie Krusiewicz
MF: Megan Breier
MF: Victoria Thornton
F: Molly Grant
Crystal Lake South
GK: Annika Sevcik
D: Jenna Ross
D: Kelly Gaede
D: Sofia Liszka
D: Brooke Dunteman
MF: Jess Schoenfeldt
MF: Taylor Bittenbender
MF: Cam Sengstock
MF: Abby Wiegand
MF: Anna Wruck
F: Courtney Sengstock
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abby Wiegand, so., MF, Crystal Lake South
Officials: Jeff Ryder (center); Bob Hansen; Randy Bevis
Tigers can't dent 3-0 halftime deficit against undefeated Gators
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Plainfield North rode a nice winning streak into Thursday’s PepsiCo Showdown quarterfinal tilt with Crystal Lake South.
The Tigers, ranked no. 18 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, defeated Romeoville 3-0 in a Southwest Prairie League matchup Wednesday for their fifth-straight victory.
However, the hosts one-upped their guests when they continued their undefeated start to their season. The Gators took advantage of fortune, set piece execution and a great defensive effort. Their reward was a 3-0 result and advancement to the semifinals of the I Grow Chicago bracket.
“We were fortunate enough to get a nice three-goal first-half cushion,” said Crystal Lake South coach Jay Mueller. “We are excited to advance to play in the next round on Saturday.”
The Crystal Lake South girls kept alive the chance alive to equal the boys’ team’s success last fall. That group reached the final of their bracket.
“It would be nice if we could do that,” said a smiling Mueller. “If we play the way we can play, we’ve got a good chance against anyone.”
It was almost a very different start to the game. Plainfield North (7-3-0), off of an early corner from Megan Breier, saw the ball deflect and roll along the goal line.
It was cleared off the line by the Gators, but several Tigers immediately voiced their opinion, saying the ball was over the line. There was no goal indication from the referees and play continued.
“That ball was 100% over the line,” said Tiger midfielder Jessica Christmas. “One of the other team’s players kicked the ball away before the referee could see it at their angle. If that would have counted, it would have been a completely different game; our mentality may have been a little different.”
Plainfield North keeper Megan Donnally’s mentality definitely remained strong for the next few minute. She made a big save on Crystal Lake South midfielder Abby Wiegand, and then stopped the sophomore again on a chance from the top of the 18.
The game took its first turn in the 13th minute. In their attacking third, Gator defender Jenna Ross threw a long ball towards Wiegand. The ball went past Wiegand’s head, struck the near post and fell to the feet of midfielder Taylor Bittenbender for a tap-in goal.
Wiegand gave the Gators (6-0-1) a two-goal lead in the 30th minute. The Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match made a run and was on the receiving end of a perfect free kick from defender Brooke Dunteman. A flick was all that was needed to beat Donnally.
It was an exciting first half for Wiegand, who is in her first year with the Gators.
“It was a good feeling to get one in the back to the net -- to get my first goal in my high-school career,” said Wiegand.
Dunteman described what she saw before delivering the sublime service.
“I was aiming for a specific area, as I knew all of my teammates would be attacking,” Dunteman said. “I played it into an area, and Abby happened to be there. Abby scored a great goal.”
Plainfield North fell into a deeper deficit six minutes later. After Donnally stopped an initial shot, she was called for a foul inside the box on Gator midfielder Jillian Brokhof, when both players were chasing the rebound. The resulting spot-kick was converted by midfielder Jess Schoenfeldt.
Despite trailing in the second half, the Tigers put together a more solid offensive effort in the final 40 minutes. Multiple efforts from forward Molly Grant were narrowly wide or over. Christmas used her speed to create shots of her own that narrowly missed. Breier had several efforts stopped by Gator goalkeeper Annika Sevcik.
Another Tigers chance came in the 66th minute, when midfielder and captain Brittaney Kroll drove a free kick from 22 yards that went wide-left of Sevcik.
“The second half, we came out really strong,” said Plainfield North coach Jane Crowe. “Even the first half, I don’t feel like we didn’t have chances. If we could have pushed a goal in early in the second half, it might have made it a game. However, we were really struggling around the net.”
Crowe did acknowledge that getting close to an early goal was a turning point in the match.
“If we could have gotten that first goal, it might have made a huge difference,” Crowe said. “I think they (Crystal Lake South) finished their chances. To have a goal come from a throw-in hitting the post was a little unlucky. It’s a bit frustrating because looking at the scoreline, it didn’t feel like a 3-0 game.”
Breier complemented her team’s effort in the second half.
“You can’t win when you give up three first half goals,” Breier said. “We came out with a lot of motivation, thinking we could keep up with them. We had some chances, but we couldn’t score, unfortunately. We had about six or eight corner kicks throughout the game. They (Crystal Lake South) took advantage of their restarts, and we could not do the same.”
Despite the outcome, coach Crowe did note some standout performances.
“Two of our senior captains, Brittaney Kroll, in the middle of the field, and Megan Breier up-top, really stepped up and created chances for us.” Crowe said. “Kylee Colwell in the back also stepped up. There were a lot of positives to come out of this game, if you take away the score.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK: Megan Donnally
D: Kylee Colwell
D: Claudia Baginski
D: Makenna Woodill
D: Payton Strausberger
MF: Jessica Christmas
MF: Brittaney Kroll
MF: Ann Marie Krusiewicz
MF: Megan Breier
MF: Victoria Thornton
F: Molly Grant
Crystal Lake South
GK: Annika Sevcik
D: Jenna Ross
D: Kelly Gaede
D: Sofia Liszka
D: Brooke Dunteman
MF: Jess Schoenfeldt
MF: Taylor Bittenbender
MF: Cam Sengstock
MF: Abby Wiegand
MF: Anna Wruck
F: Courtney Sengstock
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Abby Wiegand, so., MF, Crystal Lake South
Officials: Jeff Ryder (center); Bob Hansen; Randy Bevis