80th-minute goal pulls
Joliet West even at Plainfield South
Visitors deny Cougars the win on Senior Night
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – Plainfield South was in position to win its first game of the season and junior goalkeeper Robin Coetzee was a big reason why.
Coetzee, who relieved starter James Anderson at halftime, made a spectacular save on Joliet West’s Tony Kochev with 15:06 remaining in the second half to keep the game scoreless.
Kotchev sent a wicked 27-yard free kick over the Cougars’ wall that dipped toward the lower right corner of the net, but Coetzee lunged to his left and knocked the ball away.
“Since it was 30 yards out, I knew they were probably going for a goal,” Coetzee said. “I know the person, so I know he’s going to do something interesting.
“I kind of knew he was going over the wall, so I was ready on my line to run and get the ball.”
Coetzee’s big play breathed some life into what had been a lackluster performance by the Cougars, who had been outplayed up until that point and had yet to generate any dangerous scoring chances.
“I’d definitely say that gave us a confidence boost,” said Coetzee, who like Anderson finished with two saves.
Plainfield South was sorely in need of a shot in the arm after being outscored 33-9 until the visit from Joliet West, another squad that has struggled out of the gate.
Junior midfielder Melchizedek Mensah sent a charge into the home fans when he knocked home a corner kick from David Sanchez with 3:17 left, but Joliet West’s Michael O’Shea got the equalizer with 35 seconds to go and the Southwest Prairie Conference match ended in a 1-1 draw.
O’Shea’s goal, a one-timer that snuck just inside the right post off a cross from Aldo Navarette, came on the power play after a Plainfield South player was ejected with 1:49 left.
That put a damper on a nice Senior Night celebration. The Cougars (0-5-3, 0-5-3) honored seniors Miki Derka, Justin Dalessandro, Andrew Shelton, Haris Pabadeinskas, Ernesto Cortina, Cyrus Angel, Tyler Purdy, Brandon Czurylo, Rocco Rizzi, Bryan Graham and Thomas Gardner in a halftime ceremony.
The only members of that group who will play in college are Rizzi, a defender who has committed to St. Francis, and Derka, who is still mulling some offers.
The seniors haven’t gotten the final season they would have liked. The start was delayed until early March by the coronavirus pandemic and the IHSA elected not to have a state tournament, which has made Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams’ job harder.
“You’re really going deep into the bag of tricks to motivate the guys and keep them going,” Williams said. “There’s no state tournament so you can’t look towards that.
“For the seniors, we’re talking about finishing your high school career strong. We’ve got three regular season conference games and at least one conference tournament game left.
“For some of them it will be the last game of soccer they’ll ever play, and we want them to have a good feeling about it when they walk off the field.”
Both teams had a good feeling at times during the match. Joliet West (1-5-2, 1-5-2) outshot the Cougars 8-3 in the first half and had several shots narrowly miss the post and another skim the top of the crossbar.
But Plainfield South was better in the second half, particularly in the final 20 minutes after Williams exited after an argument with the officials. Mensah’s goal had the Cougars staring at victory until O’Shea’s shock score.
“The emotional rollercoaster really describes this well,” Williams said. “I know that’s a phrase that’s often overused.
“The first half I felt like both teams were kind of going through the motions and really not doing much. Second half I think the teams picked it up a little bit, and there was chippy play on both sides.
“I think that kind of got the intensity level going a little bit towards the end of the game.
“We got the goal to go up, and it looks like we’re going to win. Give Joliet West credit -- they battled and got a goal at the end.”
The Tigers’ late rally meant the result felt more like a loss to the Cougars. Given the two teams’ struggles, a draw was probably apropos.
“They’re kind of in the same boat we are,” Williams said. “We’ve both had tough seasons and you give them credit because the situation they’re in – they give up a goal late, they’re down 1-0 and a lot of teams would have quit. They didn’t.
“We weren’t equal to the task and I think a lot of that goes to we’re not used to playing with the lead, either. We haven’t had the lead much this year. So it was probably a little bit of panic on our part defensively, and we just let things get away.”
Coetzee was asked about the Cougars’ emotions following the game.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a game,” Coetzee said. “Accepting a tie, as much as it sucks, you’ve just got to go with it.
“We’re just trying to play. We’re just trying to have as much fun as possible but hopefully get a win out of it.”
That hasn’t happened yet, but Coetzee was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We did a lot better than we usually do,” Coetzee said. “Part of that could be Senior Night, but if we play like this, we can probably win all the other games we have left.”
Starting lineups
Joliet West
GK Jesse Palacios
D Erick Guzman
D Brian Sanchez
D Gavin Moore
D Ethan Cooksey
M Aldo Navarette
M Adrian Maldonado
M Victor Antomez
M JeJaun Ward
F Michael O’Shea
F Tony Kochev
Plainfield South
GK James Anderson
D Andrew Shelton
D Tyler Purdy
D Brandon Czurylo
D Rocco Rizzi
M Thomas Garner
M Justin Dalessandro
M Bryan Graham
F Haris Pabedinskas
F Cyrus Angel
F Miki Derka
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robin Coetzee, jr., GK, Plainfield South.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield South – Melchizedek Mensah (David Sanchez) 3:17 remaining
Joliet West – Michael O’Shea (Aldo Navarette) (pp) 35 seconds remaining
Joliet West even at Plainfield South
Visitors deny Cougars the win on Senior Night
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – Plainfield South was in position to win its first game of the season and junior goalkeeper Robin Coetzee was a big reason why.
Coetzee, who relieved starter James Anderson at halftime, made a spectacular save on Joliet West’s Tony Kochev with 15:06 remaining in the second half to keep the game scoreless.
Kotchev sent a wicked 27-yard free kick over the Cougars’ wall that dipped toward the lower right corner of the net, but Coetzee lunged to his left and knocked the ball away.
“Since it was 30 yards out, I knew they were probably going for a goal,” Coetzee said. “I know the person, so I know he’s going to do something interesting.
“I kind of knew he was going over the wall, so I was ready on my line to run and get the ball.”
Coetzee’s big play breathed some life into what had been a lackluster performance by the Cougars, who had been outplayed up until that point and had yet to generate any dangerous scoring chances.
“I’d definitely say that gave us a confidence boost,” said Coetzee, who like Anderson finished with two saves.
Plainfield South was sorely in need of a shot in the arm after being outscored 33-9 until the visit from Joliet West, another squad that has struggled out of the gate.
Junior midfielder Melchizedek Mensah sent a charge into the home fans when he knocked home a corner kick from David Sanchez with 3:17 left, but Joliet West’s Michael O’Shea got the equalizer with 35 seconds to go and the Southwest Prairie Conference match ended in a 1-1 draw.
O’Shea’s goal, a one-timer that snuck just inside the right post off a cross from Aldo Navarette, came on the power play after a Plainfield South player was ejected with 1:49 left.
That put a damper on a nice Senior Night celebration. The Cougars (0-5-3, 0-5-3) honored seniors Miki Derka, Justin Dalessandro, Andrew Shelton, Haris Pabadeinskas, Ernesto Cortina, Cyrus Angel, Tyler Purdy, Brandon Czurylo, Rocco Rizzi, Bryan Graham and Thomas Gardner in a halftime ceremony.
The only members of that group who will play in college are Rizzi, a defender who has committed to St. Francis, and Derka, who is still mulling some offers.
The seniors haven’t gotten the final season they would have liked. The start was delayed until early March by the coronavirus pandemic and the IHSA elected not to have a state tournament, which has made Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams’ job harder.
“You’re really going deep into the bag of tricks to motivate the guys and keep them going,” Williams said. “There’s no state tournament so you can’t look towards that.
“For the seniors, we’re talking about finishing your high school career strong. We’ve got three regular season conference games and at least one conference tournament game left.
“For some of them it will be the last game of soccer they’ll ever play, and we want them to have a good feeling about it when they walk off the field.”
Both teams had a good feeling at times during the match. Joliet West (1-5-2, 1-5-2) outshot the Cougars 8-3 in the first half and had several shots narrowly miss the post and another skim the top of the crossbar.
But Plainfield South was better in the second half, particularly in the final 20 minutes after Williams exited after an argument with the officials. Mensah’s goal had the Cougars staring at victory until O’Shea’s shock score.
“The emotional rollercoaster really describes this well,” Williams said. “I know that’s a phrase that’s often overused.
“The first half I felt like both teams were kind of going through the motions and really not doing much. Second half I think the teams picked it up a little bit, and there was chippy play on both sides.
“I think that kind of got the intensity level going a little bit towards the end of the game.
“We got the goal to go up, and it looks like we’re going to win. Give Joliet West credit -- they battled and got a goal at the end.”
The Tigers’ late rally meant the result felt more like a loss to the Cougars. Given the two teams’ struggles, a draw was probably apropos.
“They’re kind of in the same boat we are,” Williams said. “We’ve both had tough seasons and you give them credit because the situation they’re in – they give up a goal late, they’re down 1-0 and a lot of teams would have quit. They didn’t.
“We weren’t equal to the task and I think a lot of that goes to we’re not used to playing with the lead, either. We haven’t had the lead much this year. So it was probably a little bit of panic on our part defensively, and we just let things get away.”
Coetzee was asked about the Cougars’ emotions following the game.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a game,” Coetzee said. “Accepting a tie, as much as it sucks, you’ve just got to go with it.
“We’re just trying to play. We’re just trying to have as much fun as possible but hopefully get a win out of it.”
That hasn’t happened yet, but Coetzee was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We did a lot better than we usually do,” Coetzee said. “Part of that could be Senior Night, but if we play like this, we can probably win all the other games we have left.”
Starting lineups
Joliet West
GK Jesse Palacios
D Erick Guzman
D Brian Sanchez
D Gavin Moore
D Ethan Cooksey
M Aldo Navarette
M Adrian Maldonado
M Victor Antomez
M JeJaun Ward
F Michael O’Shea
F Tony Kochev
Plainfield South
GK James Anderson
D Andrew Shelton
D Tyler Purdy
D Brandon Czurylo
D Rocco Rizzi
M Thomas Garner
M Justin Dalessandro
M Bryan Graham
F Haris Pabedinskas
F Cyrus Angel
F Miki Derka
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robin Coetzee, jr., GK, Plainfield South.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield South – Melchizedek Mensah (David Sanchez) 3:17 remaining
Joliet West – Michael O’Shea (Aldo Navarette) (pp) 35 seconds remaining