Plainfield South sets bar
high in win over Morton
Cougars prove worth in dominant 4-0 performance
By Derek Wolff
SCHAUMBURG -- Playing in the Pepsi Showdown for the first time, Plainfield South wanted to make an instant impression.
The Cougars certainly turned some heads on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 4-0 win in the Gatorade Bracket over No. 13 seed Morton.
First-year coach Lauren DeWolf was eager for the chance for the Cougars (4-2-1) to prove themselves against top-notch competition and to put the team on the radar.
“It's just awesome to see the competition that we have,” DeWolf said. “This is kind of what we need. Our name is starting to get out there, and I feel that this is going to start earning us some respect. When people see that, they go, 'Oh, you know it's Plainfield South, we'd better watch out for that team.' I think this tournament is going to help us with that exposure.
“Morton, they're typically a solid team, so to get a result like that hopefully the next game (the other team) kind of gives us some respect and goes, 'Oh, we'd better watch out for them.' Hopefully this just kind of gets our name out there.”
The Cougars didn’t waste much time scoring, with Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, Michele Govern, finding junior midfielder Angie Corcoran in stride. Corcoran’s blast eluded the Morton goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.
“In the first half, what really worked for us was moving off of the ball and just looking for each other on the outside,” Corcoran said. “We have some pretty strong outside mids, and their crosses and working with Michele in the middle really got us those goals.”
Govern added two more assists in the first half as the Cougars offense surged out to a 3-0 lead on goals from sophomore Lindsey Bond and senior Lexus Rose.
South’s speed and seamless transitions from the neutral to attacking third allowed the Cougars and particularly Govern to navigate the open space, a role the senior’s grown accustomed to over the years.
“I’ve just been used to playing center-mid my whole life,” Govern said. “I've always been the playmaker, never really the goal scorer so assisting is just looking for the through-balls to find the attacking players.”
South went up 4-0 later in the half when freshman midfielder Ciara Coneset converted on a penalty kick.
Morton regrouped in the second half and held the line defensively, but the Cougars were content to wait and play the counterattack. Neither team had many second-half scoring opportunities.
“We challenged a little more, but at that point it's a little late,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of his team's second-half effort. “We had a couple of dead balls where we watched the ball, didn't go for it. If we got to those balls, you never know; you might win a 50-50 ball, you might flick on in or something. So we've got to learn those things.”
Plainfield South midfielder Miranda Nirchi was injured in the first few minutes of the game, and needed a cart to be taken off the field. She did not return.
DeWolf said the team played for Nirchi after the sophomore asked to continue playing. She hopes the team will be able to use the injury as motivation as it progresses through the tournament.
“Obviously I hope it's not a season-ending injury, but I think that's always something. You want to play for someone because the first thing she said to me was, 'Coach, I just want to play,' ” DeWolf said. “Kind of sharing that with them, hoping that gives them that motivation, that, 'I have something that you can't do right now' and 'I want to do this for her.' She's been such a solid player for us this year so far, and she's got plenty of years to go.”
Playing select competition was the main reason that Morton entered the tournament, and the Mustangs should benefit from the loss, Bageanis said.
“That's the exact reason that we're in it, because we're playing against pressure-on, better teams,” Bageanis said. “We have some young players here as well, but it's a good experience here for our girls.
"It shows them that you have to play the whole 80 minutes. You can't come out lackadaisical for 10 or 15 minutes and expect to win. You've got to play balls, you've got to keep our feet moving without the ball. A lot of times we fell asleep or were lazy coming back, and if you don't run 18 to 18 against these better teams, they're going to make you pay.”
Plainfield South moves on in the tournament to play No. 4 seed Deerfield on Tuesday. They’ll look to replicate Saturday’s result even with Nirchi’s status up in the air.
“It definitely gives us some confidence that we can hang with these teams, being unranked and having such a great score against Morton,” Corcoran said. “It will definitely be a confidence booster and bring some energy to us as well.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK Samantha Hlavac
D Kaylee DeVivo
D Madison Ourada
D Lindsey Bond
D Peyton Marmoll
M Angie Corcoran
M Miranda Nirchi
M Lexus Rose
M Ciara Coneset
F Shelby Bishop
F Michele Govern
Morton
GK Ashley Castanon
D Evelyn Castanon
D Yareli Martinez
D Valeria Orozco
D Esmeralda Hernandez
SW Alyssa Garcia
M Karen Arroyo
M Heidi Carvajal
M Shannon Fricke
M Tania Paez
F Alexis Mondragon
MVP of the Match: Michele Govern, F, Plainfield South
Officials: Mario Marvan, Rudy Barragan and Manny Montiel
high in win over Morton
Cougars prove worth in dominant 4-0 performance
By Derek Wolff
SCHAUMBURG -- Playing in the Pepsi Showdown for the first time, Plainfield South wanted to make an instant impression.
The Cougars certainly turned some heads on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 4-0 win in the Gatorade Bracket over No. 13 seed Morton.
First-year coach Lauren DeWolf was eager for the chance for the Cougars (4-2-1) to prove themselves against top-notch competition and to put the team on the radar.
“It's just awesome to see the competition that we have,” DeWolf said. “This is kind of what we need. Our name is starting to get out there, and I feel that this is going to start earning us some respect. When people see that, they go, 'Oh, you know it's Plainfield South, we'd better watch out for that team.' I think this tournament is going to help us with that exposure.
“Morton, they're typically a solid team, so to get a result like that hopefully the next game (the other team) kind of gives us some respect and goes, 'Oh, we'd better watch out for them.' Hopefully this just kind of gets our name out there.”
The Cougars didn’t waste much time scoring, with Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, Michele Govern, finding junior midfielder Angie Corcoran in stride. Corcoran’s blast eluded the Morton goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead.
“In the first half, what really worked for us was moving off of the ball and just looking for each other on the outside,” Corcoran said. “We have some pretty strong outside mids, and their crosses and working with Michele in the middle really got us those goals.”
Govern added two more assists in the first half as the Cougars offense surged out to a 3-0 lead on goals from sophomore Lindsey Bond and senior Lexus Rose.
South’s speed and seamless transitions from the neutral to attacking third allowed the Cougars and particularly Govern to navigate the open space, a role the senior’s grown accustomed to over the years.
“I’ve just been used to playing center-mid my whole life,” Govern said. “I've always been the playmaker, never really the goal scorer so assisting is just looking for the through-balls to find the attacking players.”
South went up 4-0 later in the half when freshman midfielder Ciara Coneset converted on a penalty kick.
Morton regrouped in the second half and held the line defensively, but the Cougars were content to wait and play the counterattack. Neither team had many second-half scoring opportunities.
“We challenged a little more, but at that point it's a little late,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of his team's second-half effort. “We had a couple of dead balls where we watched the ball, didn't go for it. If we got to those balls, you never know; you might win a 50-50 ball, you might flick on in or something. So we've got to learn those things.”
Plainfield South midfielder Miranda Nirchi was injured in the first few minutes of the game, and needed a cart to be taken off the field. She did not return.
DeWolf said the team played for Nirchi after the sophomore asked to continue playing. She hopes the team will be able to use the injury as motivation as it progresses through the tournament.
“Obviously I hope it's not a season-ending injury, but I think that's always something. You want to play for someone because the first thing she said to me was, 'Coach, I just want to play,' ” DeWolf said. “Kind of sharing that with them, hoping that gives them that motivation, that, 'I have something that you can't do right now' and 'I want to do this for her.' She's been such a solid player for us this year so far, and she's got plenty of years to go.”
Playing select competition was the main reason that Morton entered the tournament, and the Mustangs should benefit from the loss, Bageanis said.
“That's the exact reason that we're in it, because we're playing against pressure-on, better teams,” Bageanis said. “We have some young players here as well, but it's a good experience here for our girls.
"It shows them that you have to play the whole 80 minutes. You can't come out lackadaisical for 10 or 15 minutes and expect to win. You've got to play balls, you've got to keep our feet moving without the ball. A lot of times we fell asleep or were lazy coming back, and if you don't run 18 to 18 against these better teams, they're going to make you pay.”
Plainfield South moves on in the tournament to play No. 4 seed Deerfield on Tuesday. They’ll look to replicate Saturday’s result even with Nirchi’s status up in the air.
“It definitely gives us some confidence that we can hang with these teams, being unranked and having such a great score against Morton,” Corcoran said. “It will definitely be a confidence booster and bring some energy to us as well.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK Samantha Hlavac
D Kaylee DeVivo
D Madison Ourada
D Lindsey Bond
D Peyton Marmoll
M Angie Corcoran
M Miranda Nirchi
M Lexus Rose
M Ciara Coneset
F Shelby Bishop
F Michele Govern
Morton
GK Ashley Castanon
D Evelyn Castanon
D Yareli Martinez
D Valeria Orozco
D Esmeralda Hernandez
SW Alyssa Garcia
M Karen Arroyo
M Heidi Carvajal
M Shannon Fricke
M Tania Paez
F Alexis Mondragon
MVP of the Match: Michele Govern, F, Plainfield South
Officials: Mario Marvan, Rudy Barragan and Manny Montiel