Plainfield N. jumps on Hinsdale S. early
Tigers score twice in first 4 minutes, win 3-0
By Chris Walker
PLAINFIELD – Plainfield North’s game against Hinsdale South in the Plainfield Classic on Monday evening was delayed by about 45 minutes, but it didn’t take long for the Tigers to get down to business after the opening whistle.
Plainfield North scored twice in the first 3:19 of action and dominated possession throughout for a 3-0 victory.
Hinsdale South was fortunate that a few of the scoring chances by the Tigers were misfires or stopped. The Hornets' offense didn't have an answer for their hosts.
The Hornets kept within the two-goal deficit until midway through the second half when Plainfield North freshman Cooper Allen followed in his own miss which caromed off the right post.
“I haven’t had to follow in a goal like that before, and it hit the back of the goalie and sat right in front of the goal so I couldn’t miss it,” Allen said. “Today was a really good game for us. We connected a lot of passes and made nice runs behind them and things like that.”
The duo of Plainfield North junior Shea Bechtel and senior Adrian Jurkowski looked like they’ve been teammates for a long time as they took turns setting each other up for the game’s other two goals. The interesting thing is that they are still getting to know each other. That includes finding out what makes the other tick, tendencies and abilities, and other characteristics that help players really jell.
“It’s getting better between us the more we get to play together,” Bechtel said. “He’s playing high school (soccer) for the first time, so we’re still getting to know each other and figure each other out.”
Bechtel found Jurkowski, who converted his shot with 37:15 still remaining in the first half, for the really early lead. Then, just 1:34 later they flip-flopped roles with Jurkowski sending a perfect cross to Bechtel who blasted it in for the 2-0 advantage.”
Bechtel was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his performance.
“I got through and crossed it to him and then he got through and played it across to me, and I hit a great shot,” Bechtel said. “I think we’re getting a lot more connected and consistent, especially starting now with this tournament.”
Plainfield North (6-3-0) opened tournament play with a 2-1 win over Shepard on Saturday. The Tigers carried the momentum from that victory into a fast start and didn't let playing late on a Monday become an excuse for a sluggish start or poor effort.
“We had a good warm-up and our mentality is to go out and try to win early and then try to keep that for the rest of the game,” Bechtel said. “We’ve done that multiple times where we come out and score and bury a team right away.”
The late start was due to the fact that the two games preceding it were only scheduled 90 minutes apart and ran long so the Tigers weren’t surprised by it. And they got a head’s up that the game would start late anyway, plus playing at home always provides a bit of an edge and comfort level.
“We got here at six as usual for a seven o’clock game,” Bechtel said. “And none of us live far so it’s not a big deal. Plus my mom works the concessions so she told us we weren’t going to be playing on time. So we just relaxed a bit longer, messed around a little bit and got starting to work by 6:45 p.m.”
Hinsdale South (4-5-0) struggled in creating opportunities and were rarely dangerous with the ball. The closest they came to scoring came on a near own-goal in the second half that Plainfield North keeper Alex Noser alertly reacted to and denied.
“We have three guys challenge for the ball and the one who wins it is the wrong one and heads it on our keeper,” Tigers interim coach Dave Brown said. “Alex was on his toes back there for us. It was a communication breakdown, and there are three guys who can account for it. None of them put a name to it, and it ends up being trouble for us.”
That was probably the only noteworthy mistake made by a Tigers team that has to be feeling pretty good with how it’s doing these days after two-straight in the tournament pool play.
“More than anything we are starting to see the signs,” Brown said. “Today there were no real defensive breakdowns. Our tendency has been to make one or two breakdowns a game where we play well but give up a silly goal out of nowhere against the run of play or maybe the team didn’t necessarily deserve the goal. Today the challenge was 80 minutes and no mistakes, and they responded to that for sure.”
Some of that response was obviously there from the get-go after two quick goals. The Plainfield North start was aided by Hinsdale South's defensive strategy.
“We just had to keep the ball behind, because that was working for us with their backline pushed up a little bit higher,” Allen said. “The ball across from Lloyd (Quezada) back there to across the pitch right to Jake (Gruben), and Sean (Elster) would then cross back to Adrian (Jurkowski) and when they’d take it down the line and then cross it again. That worked well for us.”
Jurkowski and Bechtel made it look far easier than it actually was.
“They’ve both been performing well all year,” Brown said. “Adrian is one of those players we talk to about how if he keeps the game simpler, it seems to be more effective for us. Today he was able to use his size and speed a little bit on the wing and generate some scoring. He generates some nice pressure for us tonight.”
Bechtel provided the same to make things difficult on the Hornets.
“Shea is a constant force for us,” Brown said. “He’s one of those guys we expect a lot from and his teammates rely a lot on him. More times than not he comes through for us and creates things through the run of play for sure.”
Both players are going to have a huge say in how this Tigers squad fares the rest of the season.
And there’s still a long way to go. The Tigers have more games left to play then are in the scorebook in a season sudden change and a mix of wild games. Brown unexpectedly took over the head coaching reins, a blowout conference win over a solid Minooka team was followed by a crushing loss that saw the team surrender eight goals to Glenbard West. Mixed in was a loss to Naperville Central, which has been ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 all season.
“Today we played the brand of soccer we want to play where it’s positive and aggressive and fast. And it was that way for 80 minutes today,” Brown said. “The full 80 minutes was our challenge to the team, and they responded from the outset. ... When we play the game the right way like that, and when we play as a team, we can be a pretty dangerous team.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale South
GK Bryan Alcantara
D Jacob Charters
D Jake Hospes
D Griffin Isberg
D Benjamin Metzger
MF Ben Bush
MF Dylan Chen
MF Tyler Kocourek
MF Allen Kozlica
F Ibraheem Chahin
F Andrew Metzger
Plainfield North
GK Alex Noser
D Lloyd Quezada
D Ryan Kuffel
D John Seeley
D James Vu
MF Cooper Allen
MF Shea Bechtel
MF Sam Dachman
F Sean Elster
F Avery Bell
F Adrian Jurkowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Shea Bechtel, jr., MF, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
Plainfield North 3, Hinsdale South 0
Hinsdale South 0 0 - 0
Plainfield North 2 1 - 3
First half
Plainfield North - Adrian Jurkowski (Shea Bechtel) 37:15
Plainfield North – Shea Bechtel (Adrian Jurkowski), 35:41
Second half
Plainfield North – Cooper Allen (u/a) 22:01
Tigers score twice in first 4 minutes, win 3-0
By Chris Walker
PLAINFIELD – Plainfield North’s game against Hinsdale South in the Plainfield Classic on Monday evening was delayed by about 45 minutes, but it didn’t take long for the Tigers to get down to business after the opening whistle.
Plainfield North scored twice in the first 3:19 of action and dominated possession throughout for a 3-0 victory.
Hinsdale South was fortunate that a few of the scoring chances by the Tigers were misfires or stopped. The Hornets' offense didn't have an answer for their hosts.
The Hornets kept within the two-goal deficit until midway through the second half when Plainfield North freshman Cooper Allen followed in his own miss which caromed off the right post.
“I haven’t had to follow in a goal like that before, and it hit the back of the goalie and sat right in front of the goal so I couldn’t miss it,” Allen said. “Today was a really good game for us. We connected a lot of passes and made nice runs behind them and things like that.”
The duo of Plainfield North junior Shea Bechtel and senior Adrian Jurkowski looked like they’ve been teammates for a long time as they took turns setting each other up for the game’s other two goals. The interesting thing is that they are still getting to know each other. That includes finding out what makes the other tick, tendencies and abilities, and other characteristics that help players really jell.
“It’s getting better between us the more we get to play together,” Bechtel said. “He’s playing high school (soccer) for the first time, so we’re still getting to know each other and figure each other out.”
Bechtel found Jurkowski, who converted his shot with 37:15 still remaining in the first half, for the really early lead. Then, just 1:34 later they flip-flopped roles with Jurkowski sending a perfect cross to Bechtel who blasted it in for the 2-0 advantage.”
Bechtel was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his performance.
“I got through and crossed it to him and then he got through and played it across to me, and I hit a great shot,” Bechtel said. “I think we’re getting a lot more connected and consistent, especially starting now with this tournament.”
Plainfield North (6-3-0) opened tournament play with a 2-1 win over Shepard on Saturday. The Tigers carried the momentum from that victory into a fast start and didn't let playing late on a Monday become an excuse for a sluggish start or poor effort.
“We had a good warm-up and our mentality is to go out and try to win early and then try to keep that for the rest of the game,” Bechtel said. “We’ve done that multiple times where we come out and score and bury a team right away.”
The late start was due to the fact that the two games preceding it were only scheduled 90 minutes apart and ran long so the Tigers weren’t surprised by it. And they got a head’s up that the game would start late anyway, plus playing at home always provides a bit of an edge and comfort level.
“We got here at six as usual for a seven o’clock game,” Bechtel said. “And none of us live far so it’s not a big deal. Plus my mom works the concessions so she told us we weren’t going to be playing on time. So we just relaxed a bit longer, messed around a little bit and got starting to work by 6:45 p.m.”
Hinsdale South (4-5-0) struggled in creating opportunities and were rarely dangerous with the ball. The closest they came to scoring came on a near own-goal in the second half that Plainfield North keeper Alex Noser alertly reacted to and denied.
“We have three guys challenge for the ball and the one who wins it is the wrong one and heads it on our keeper,” Tigers interim coach Dave Brown said. “Alex was on his toes back there for us. It was a communication breakdown, and there are three guys who can account for it. None of them put a name to it, and it ends up being trouble for us.”
That was probably the only noteworthy mistake made by a Tigers team that has to be feeling pretty good with how it’s doing these days after two-straight in the tournament pool play.
“More than anything we are starting to see the signs,” Brown said. “Today there were no real defensive breakdowns. Our tendency has been to make one or two breakdowns a game where we play well but give up a silly goal out of nowhere against the run of play or maybe the team didn’t necessarily deserve the goal. Today the challenge was 80 minutes and no mistakes, and they responded to that for sure.”
Some of that response was obviously there from the get-go after two quick goals. The Plainfield North start was aided by Hinsdale South's defensive strategy.
“We just had to keep the ball behind, because that was working for us with their backline pushed up a little bit higher,” Allen said. “The ball across from Lloyd (Quezada) back there to across the pitch right to Jake (Gruben), and Sean (Elster) would then cross back to Adrian (Jurkowski) and when they’d take it down the line and then cross it again. That worked well for us.”
Jurkowski and Bechtel made it look far easier than it actually was.
“They’ve both been performing well all year,” Brown said. “Adrian is one of those players we talk to about how if he keeps the game simpler, it seems to be more effective for us. Today he was able to use his size and speed a little bit on the wing and generate some scoring. He generates some nice pressure for us tonight.”
Bechtel provided the same to make things difficult on the Hornets.
“Shea is a constant force for us,” Brown said. “He’s one of those guys we expect a lot from and his teammates rely a lot on him. More times than not he comes through for us and creates things through the run of play for sure.”
Both players are going to have a huge say in how this Tigers squad fares the rest of the season.
And there’s still a long way to go. The Tigers have more games left to play then are in the scorebook in a season sudden change and a mix of wild games. Brown unexpectedly took over the head coaching reins, a blowout conference win over a solid Minooka team was followed by a crushing loss that saw the team surrender eight goals to Glenbard West. Mixed in was a loss to Naperville Central, which has been ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 all season.
“Today we played the brand of soccer we want to play where it’s positive and aggressive and fast. And it was that way for 80 minutes today,” Brown said. “The full 80 minutes was our challenge to the team, and they responded from the outset. ... When we play the game the right way like that, and when we play as a team, we can be a pretty dangerous team.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale South
GK Bryan Alcantara
D Jacob Charters
D Jake Hospes
D Griffin Isberg
D Benjamin Metzger
MF Ben Bush
MF Dylan Chen
MF Tyler Kocourek
MF Allen Kozlica
F Ibraheem Chahin
F Andrew Metzger
Plainfield North
GK Alex Noser
D Lloyd Quezada
D Ryan Kuffel
D John Seeley
D James Vu
MF Cooper Allen
MF Shea Bechtel
MF Sam Dachman
F Sean Elster
F Avery Bell
F Adrian Jurkowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Shea Bechtel, jr., MF, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
Plainfield North 3, Hinsdale South 0
Hinsdale South 0 0 - 0
Plainfield North 2 1 - 3
First half
Plainfield North - Adrian Jurkowski (Shea Bechtel) 37:15
Plainfield North – Shea Bechtel (Adrian Jurkowski), 35:41
Second half
Plainfield North – Cooper Allen (u/a) 22:01