Plainfield North makes
lemonade against Plainfield East
Tigers hold on for 3-2 win, 3rd place finish in Lemont Cup
By Derek Wolff
LEMONT —After a loss to eventual champion Downers Grove North in pool play, Plainfield North won the next best prize with a 3-2 victory over Plainfield East in the third place match of the Lemont Cup on Saturday.
The Tigers (6-1-0) led 3-0 at the half but then had to fend off a furious attack from Southwest Prairie Conference foe Plainfield East in the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.
Plainfield East scored twice late in the game to make things interesting after a dominating first half from Plainfield North.
“Of course it felt like we just hung on to not lose (rather than) go on and win but you’ll take a win any way you can,” said Tigers first-year coach Steve Berry. “It’s also tough to play against a conference team in a game that is, in a way, meaningless, so those emotions get a little silly in games like that.
“We’re growing as a group.”
Austin Collier scored two goals in the first half to bring his tournament total to eight. Teammate Nick Anweiler added another despite playing in the midfield rather than occupying his usual home at striker.
Collier, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, was grateful his side held on for the win but acknowledged that letting up against opponents has yielded more goals than the Tigers would have liked to allow thus far.
“I think that’s one of the things we’ve struggled with,” Collier said “When we’re up we just kind of sit back, and we need to keep pounding and pounding so they put their heads down. Today we scored three goals and were too relaxed. They scored two but we got the result.”
Fellow Tiger senior Austin Hansen also added eight goals over the tournament to help the Tigers win three-of-four matches.
Three goals would be a luxury for most teams, but to Plainfield North it's considered a pedestrian effort.
The Tigers scored 23 goals during the four-game tournament. Nineteen of the goals came in wins against East Aurora and Minooka, but the high-scoring squad was shut down in a 2-1 loss against eventual Lemont Cup champion Downers Grove North.
For the season, the Tigers have scored an astounding 45 times in seven games.
Berry attributed the dynamic play in the attacking third to returning key figures on offense like Collier, Hansen and Anweiler, while also praising senior forward Mitchell Rathbun.
He also said the team’s focus on offense is out of necessity due to the number of inexperienced players the team relies on in the defensive third.
“In the high school game, there’s probably not enough flow (in the game),” Berry said. “So we figure we can put a little more pressure on, and we can make the other team lose the ball in our attacking half and press a little more to play with pace up front.
“I think knowing that we’re returning the amount of players we were but at the same time losing some really key players, especially at the back, that we probably spent even more time knowing that we’re going to need to score goals since we’ll probably give up a few.”
Despite one shutout and two one-goal games, the Tigers have given up 16 scores at this point, a number they know won’t be sustainable if they want to accomplish their goals this year.
“It is a little tougher with the inexperience,” said junior goalkeeper Cade Fink, who has started for Plainfield North since he was a freshman. “We’re not young, but it’s just guys being out of position. They’re dealing with it well, and it’s the early part of the season so as we get along we’re going to get a lot better.”
Plainfield East threatened early in the second half but wasn’t able to push anything through until a counterattack in the 65th minute.
Marlon Azuero dribbled up the left side of the field and drove into the box, feeding a perfectly timed cross for Jacob Stevens, whose header beat Fink at the near post to get East on the board.
Nathan Lang had a chance for the Bengals two minutes later, but missed a shot at the near post.
Fink dove to stop another chance from Stevens a moment later, pushing the ball out of bounds.
Carlos Giron capitalized on the ensuing corner, finishing a shot from the right side of the 18 at the near post to cut the deficit to one.
Fink said the answer going forward is to continue to possess the ball, something the Tigers struggled with in the second half.
“Just keep the ball,” Fink said. “We can’t get so direct in the last 20 minutes there. They probably pummeled us in the last 20 minutes. All we can do is keep the ball and go at them, not let them go at us for a whole 20 minutes.”
The two sides will meet again October 6 at Plainfield East.
After their final game in the tournament, each coach received one all-tournament team award to give to a player of the coach’s choosing. That did not sit well with Berry.
“We scored 23 goals this tournament, and you expect me to give this to one player?" he asked the tournament representative.
He makes a good point.
Starting lineups
PLAINFIELD NORTH
GK Cade Fink
D Ian Aslam
D Brandon Scherry
D Nick Thompson
D Patrick Elster
M Jackson Ranck
M Adam Ratini
M Nick Anweiler
M Alex Lynch
F Austin Collier
F Austin Hansen
PLAINFIELD EAST
GK Isaias Marquez
D Joshua George
D Jacob Wissinger
D Edgar Flores
D Griffin Mitchell
D Victor Salgado
M Michael Flores
M Carlos Giron
M Alan Romero
F Brice Tchamou
F Nathan Lang
Man of the Match: Austin Collier, F, Plainfield N
lemonade against Plainfield East
Tigers hold on for 3-2 win, 3rd place finish in Lemont Cup
By Derek Wolff
LEMONT —After a loss to eventual champion Downers Grove North in pool play, Plainfield North won the next best prize with a 3-2 victory over Plainfield East in the third place match of the Lemont Cup on Saturday.
The Tigers (6-1-0) led 3-0 at the half but then had to fend off a furious attack from Southwest Prairie Conference foe Plainfield East in the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.
Plainfield East scored twice late in the game to make things interesting after a dominating first half from Plainfield North.
“Of course it felt like we just hung on to not lose (rather than) go on and win but you’ll take a win any way you can,” said Tigers first-year coach Steve Berry. “It’s also tough to play against a conference team in a game that is, in a way, meaningless, so those emotions get a little silly in games like that.
“We’re growing as a group.”
Austin Collier scored two goals in the first half to bring his tournament total to eight. Teammate Nick Anweiler added another despite playing in the midfield rather than occupying his usual home at striker.
Collier, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, was grateful his side held on for the win but acknowledged that letting up against opponents has yielded more goals than the Tigers would have liked to allow thus far.
“I think that’s one of the things we’ve struggled with,” Collier said “When we’re up we just kind of sit back, and we need to keep pounding and pounding so they put their heads down. Today we scored three goals and were too relaxed. They scored two but we got the result.”
Fellow Tiger senior Austin Hansen also added eight goals over the tournament to help the Tigers win three-of-four matches.
Three goals would be a luxury for most teams, but to Plainfield North it's considered a pedestrian effort.
The Tigers scored 23 goals during the four-game tournament. Nineteen of the goals came in wins against East Aurora and Minooka, but the high-scoring squad was shut down in a 2-1 loss against eventual Lemont Cup champion Downers Grove North.
For the season, the Tigers have scored an astounding 45 times in seven games.
Berry attributed the dynamic play in the attacking third to returning key figures on offense like Collier, Hansen and Anweiler, while also praising senior forward Mitchell Rathbun.
He also said the team’s focus on offense is out of necessity due to the number of inexperienced players the team relies on in the defensive third.
“In the high school game, there’s probably not enough flow (in the game),” Berry said. “So we figure we can put a little more pressure on, and we can make the other team lose the ball in our attacking half and press a little more to play with pace up front.
“I think knowing that we’re returning the amount of players we were but at the same time losing some really key players, especially at the back, that we probably spent even more time knowing that we’re going to need to score goals since we’ll probably give up a few.”
Despite one shutout and two one-goal games, the Tigers have given up 16 scores at this point, a number they know won’t be sustainable if they want to accomplish their goals this year.
“It is a little tougher with the inexperience,” said junior goalkeeper Cade Fink, who has started for Plainfield North since he was a freshman. “We’re not young, but it’s just guys being out of position. They’re dealing with it well, and it’s the early part of the season so as we get along we’re going to get a lot better.”
Plainfield East threatened early in the second half but wasn’t able to push anything through until a counterattack in the 65th minute.
Marlon Azuero dribbled up the left side of the field and drove into the box, feeding a perfectly timed cross for Jacob Stevens, whose header beat Fink at the near post to get East on the board.
Nathan Lang had a chance for the Bengals two minutes later, but missed a shot at the near post.
Fink dove to stop another chance from Stevens a moment later, pushing the ball out of bounds.
Carlos Giron capitalized on the ensuing corner, finishing a shot from the right side of the 18 at the near post to cut the deficit to one.
Fink said the answer going forward is to continue to possess the ball, something the Tigers struggled with in the second half.
“Just keep the ball,” Fink said. “We can’t get so direct in the last 20 minutes there. They probably pummeled us in the last 20 minutes. All we can do is keep the ball and go at them, not let them go at us for a whole 20 minutes.”
The two sides will meet again October 6 at Plainfield East.
After their final game in the tournament, each coach received one all-tournament team award to give to a player of the coach’s choosing. That did not sit well with Berry.
“We scored 23 goals this tournament, and you expect me to give this to one player?" he asked the tournament representative.
He makes a good point.
Starting lineups
PLAINFIELD NORTH
GK Cade Fink
D Ian Aslam
D Brandon Scherry
D Nick Thompson
D Patrick Elster
M Jackson Ranck
M Adam Ratini
M Nick Anweiler
M Alex Lynch
F Austin Collier
F Austin Hansen
PLAINFIELD EAST
GK Isaias Marquez
D Joshua George
D Jacob Wissinger
D Edgar Flores
D Griffin Mitchell
D Victor Salgado
M Michael Flores
M Carlos Giron
M Alan Romero
F Brice Tchamou
F Nathan Lang
Man of the Match: Austin Collier, F, Plainfield N