Plainfield C. scores early,
hangs on against Oswego
Wildcats freshman stands tall in 1-0 victory
By Derek Wolff
OSWEGO — At just 5-foot-6, freshman Joel Sanchez was one of the smallest players on the field during Tuesday’s Southwest Prairie Conference opener between Sanchez’s Plainfield Central and Oswego.
But the midfielder made the biggest play of the afternoon, heading in the only goal the Wildcats would need 14 minutes into the first half to give his side the victory.
Central had been pushing the pace of play early and often in the first half before drawing a series of corner kicks. Ozzie Gutierrez laced the first one into the box, bouncing it off of Gage Wuestenfeld before Sanchez sent it home.
Wildcats head coach Kevin Fitzgerald said the goal was the right combination of luck and skill.
“We always talk about how set plays are sometimes luck, un-luck, right place, right time,” Fitzgerald said. “We have some guys that aren’t afraid to head some balls in traffic. Joel is a freshman but you can’t tell from the way he plays. He’s good in the air, always has been.”
Oswego created a number of chances to equalize late in the second half. Midfielder Mitch Kearby found some space on the left side of the 18 and headed a last-chance effort toward the net, but it rolled just wide with three minutes remaining.
It was a much-improved performance for the Panthers after a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Naperville Central on Saturday. Head coach Brian Falli changed tactics and saw immediate results.
“Getting our second game under our belt, we looked a lot better today,” Falli said. “A lot more comfortable on the ball at times, some guys playing different spots in a new formation so definitely just adjusting to that and the best way to do it is do it on the field in a game situation. I think what we put into place did work. We did have a bunch of opportunities; we just have to take those opportunities and put them into the back of the net.”
The new formation, a sort of attacking hybrid 4-5-1, gave Falli's players confidence in their approach as well.
“We just learned this new formation the other day and we need to start getting used to it,” said senior captain Michael Simmons. “We definitely fixed a lot of things going forward and I feel like from here on we should start getting some wins.”
Wildcats midfielder Gutierrez, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, was a force on both sides of the ball, routinely disrupting play in Central’s end and creating havoc moving forward. He said the game was a good test of the strength of the conference as a whole.
“I believe that we could have played better,” Gutierrez said. “I feel like this game was a reality check for us. Our conference is going to be physical, we’re going to have to work hard and we’re not going to be able to keep on having these performances to win. We’re going to have to play as a team and come together and be ready to fight.”
His teammate Jarod Petrovic echoed those sentiments and said the game was won largely in the midfield.
“We defended well and won a lot of 50-50 balls,” Petrovic said. “We won the first ball and the second ball and were able to find the open guy and get forward.”
Falli also credited the overall strength of the conference and thought the match could have gone either way.
“Varsity soccer, everybody is going to hang around and everybody is tough in our conference,” Falli said. “One goal games are tough because you can pinpoint a couple of things here or there, a bounce this way, a bounce that way. It didn’t go our way today, but the boys played hard and the chances were there.”
The Wildcats fought off a couple of early opportunities in the first half before a slew of chances, resulting in the goal from Sanchez. They had another goal late in the first half with five minutes remaining that was called back because of a handball.
Oswego found its shape as the second half moved along and created a few chances to equalize. Fitzgerald was grateful to walk away with the win but wasn’t pleased with his side letting the Panthers back in the contest.
“I can’t complain about a shutout but I thought a few situations turned a little anxious when they didn’t need to be anxious,” he said. “They had a few chances at the end there. It’s a good win; I think we need to get better, though. It doesn’t get easier.”
The Wildcats will be back in action Thursday against Metea Valley, while the Panthers will host Batavia on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Plainfield Central
G-Sebastian Zajac
D-Gustavo Sanchez
D-Gage Wuestenfed
D-Phil Garcia
D-Ish Contreras
D-Matt Geib
M-Jarod Petrovic
M-Zach Gill
M-Ozzie Gutierrez
M-Joel Sanchez
F-Edgar Cardenas
Oswego
G-Eddy Sandoval
D-Rodolfo Moreno
D-Andrew Siergeza
D-Michael Simmons
M-Truman Crafts
M-Ryan Baumann
M-Carlos Contreras
M-Blake Kearby
M-Mitch Kearby
M—Luke Moran
F-JC Mora
Man of the Match: Ozzie Gutierrez
Referees: Alex Alvarado, Gary Griffin, John Meszaros
hangs on against Oswego
Wildcats freshman stands tall in 1-0 victory
By Derek Wolff
OSWEGO — At just 5-foot-6, freshman Joel Sanchez was one of the smallest players on the field during Tuesday’s Southwest Prairie Conference opener between Sanchez’s Plainfield Central and Oswego.
But the midfielder made the biggest play of the afternoon, heading in the only goal the Wildcats would need 14 minutes into the first half to give his side the victory.
Central had been pushing the pace of play early and often in the first half before drawing a series of corner kicks. Ozzie Gutierrez laced the first one into the box, bouncing it off of Gage Wuestenfeld before Sanchez sent it home.
Wildcats head coach Kevin Fitzgerald said the goal was the right combination of luck and skill.
“We always talk about how set plays are sometimes luck, un-luck, right place, right time,” Fitzgerald said. “We have some guys that aren’t afraid to head some balls in traffic. Joel is a freshman but you can’t tell from the way he plays. He’s good in the air, always has been.”
Oswego created a number of chances to equalize late in the second half. Midfielder Mitch Kearby found some space on the left side of the 18 and headed a last-chance effort toward the net, but it rolled just wide with three minutes remaining.
It was a much-improved performance for the Panthers after a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Naperville Central on Saturday. Head coach Brian Falli changed tactics and saw immediate results.
“Getting our second game under our belt, we looked a lot better today,” Falli said. “A lot more comfortable on the ball at times, some guys playing different spots in a new formation so definitely just adjusting to that and the best way to do it is do it on the field in a game situation. I think what we put into place did work. We did have a bunch of opportunities; we just have to take those opportunities and put them into the back of the net.”
The new formation, a sort of attacking hybrid 4-5-1, gave Falli's players confidence in their approach as well.
“We just learned this new formation the other day and we need to start getting used to it,” said senior captain Michael Simmons. “We definitely fixed a lot of things going forward and I feel like from here on we should start getting some wins.”
Wildcats midfielder Gutierrez, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, was a force on both sides of the ball, routinely disrupting play in Central’s end and creating havoc moving forward. He said the game was a good test of the strength of the conference as a whole.
“I believe that we could have played better,” Gutierrez said. “I feel like this game was a reality check for us. Our conference is going to be physical, we’re going to have to work hard and we’re not going to be able to keep on having these performances to win. We’re going to have to play as a team and come together and be ready to fight.”
His teammate Jarod Petrovic echoed those sentiments and said the game was won largely in the midfield.
“We defended well and won a lot of 50-50 balls,” Petrovic said. “We won the first ball and the second ball and were able to find the open guy and get forward.”
Falli also credited the overall strength of the conference and thought the match could have gone either way.
“Varsity soccer, everybody is going to hang around and everybody is tough in our conference,” Falli said. “One goal games are tough because you can pinpoint a couple of things here or there, a bounce this way, a bounce that way. It didn’t go our way today, but the boys played hard and the chances were there.”
The Wildcats fought off a couple of early opportunities in the first half before a slew of chances, resulting in the goal from Sanchez. They had another goal late in the first half with five minutes remaining that was called back because of a handball.
Oswego found its shape as the second half moved along and created a few chances to equalize. Fitzgerald was grateful to walk away with the win but wasn’t pleased with his side letting the Panthers back in the contest.
“I can’t complain about a shutout but I thought a few situations turned a little anxious when they didn’t need to be anxious,” he said. “They had a few chances at the end there. It’s a good win; I think we need to get better, though. It doesn’t get easier.”
The Wildcats will be back in action Thursday against Metea Valley, while the Panthers will host Batavia on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Plainfield Central
G-Sebastian Zajac
D-Gustavo Sanchez
D-Gage Wuestenfed
D-Phil Garcia
D-Ish Contreras
D-Matt Geib
M-Jarod Petrovic
M-Zach Gill
M-Ozzie Gutierrez
M-Joel Sanchez
F-Edgar Cardenas
Oswego
G-Eddy Sandoval
D-Rodolfo Moreno
D-Andrew Siergeza
D-Michael Simmons
M-Truman Crafts
M-Ryan Baumann
M-Carlos Contreras
M-Blake Kearby
M-Mitch Kearby
M—Luke Moran
F-JC Mora
Man of the Match: Ozzie Gutierrez
Referees: Alex Alvarado, Gary Griffin, John Meszaros