Plainfield N. upset bid foiled by hat-trick
Lose 3-1 in 2 OT; Plainfield Central's Sanchez has big day
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – As one of five freshmen on the Plainfield North roster, Shea Bechtel understands that the future holds great promise for the Tigers.
It would be nice, of course, if Bechtel and his buddies had something to show for their efforts in the present, and there are signs the Tigers might be on the verge of something.
Bechtel tallied his third goal of the season Saturday when he turned and fired a 22-yard shot into the upper right corner of the net. The goal with 26:43 left in the second half gave the host Tigers a 1-0 over a Plainfield Central squad that's ranked no. 22 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
That may have come as a shock to some who thought Plainfield Central would win easily, but players on both teams said it was no surprise.
“We knew that they were going to come out strong,” Plainfield Central senior forward Joel Sanchez said. “Every year they come out strong.
“We knew they had (graduated some players) from last year that were good. That doesn’t impact them. They’re still a good team.”
Thanks to Sanchez, though, the Wildcats restored order. He tied the game three minutes after Bechtel’s goal and then scored twice in the first overtime as Plainfield Central rallied to win the Southwest Prairie Conference match 3-1 in double overtime.
The hat-trick gave Sanchez a team-leading 14 goals and the Wildcats (14-1-1, 6-0) their eighth-consecutive victory. The last four have not been overwhelming. The road wins have included two one-goal decisions, one in PKs and the overtime win Saturday.
“We’re finding different ways,” Plainfield Central coach Kevin Fitzgerald said. “I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the recent wins but we’ll take them of course. The results are great.
“I think those one-goal games aren’t really as much us as maybe the competition. Plainfield South was a strange game with both teams having guys out, but Minooka is a tough team to play against, Joliet West is very talented, and these guys are very talented.”
The Tigers (4-13-0, 2-4-0) have struggled this fall. North’s defense held the elusive Sanchez to just one shot over the first 56 minutes, he scored on three of his next four.
The equalizer was a thing of beauty, a simple yet sublime individual effort that saw Sanchez dribble through four defenders in the North box before he slipped the ball underneath goalkeeper Cal Cangilla with 23:42 to go in regulation.
“We’re composed,” Sanchez said. “We knew we still had time ... and nothing is impossible, in soccer especially.”
The Tigers had a couple good cracks at retaking the lead. Four minutes after Sanchez’s strike, freshman Dilan Anweiler dribbled to the left end line and crossed in front to Bechtel, who sent a 10-yard volley over the crossbar.
Then with five minutes to play, Bechtel’s lead pass sprung junior Brian Bertoni free in the middle of the box. Central goalkeeper Shane Badertscher deflected Bertoni’s first shot to his right and then Bertoni’s rebound from a tough angle rolled wide of the left post.
Other than that, the last 40 minutes belonged to the Wildcats, who squeezed off 20 of their 24 shots after intermission. Cangilla did his best to keep the Tigers in it, making six of his nine saves in the second half, including one on the dangerous Simeon Adesina, who got the ball back and beat Cangilla with a second shot that was kicked off the line by freshman defender Kanon Woodill with 17:45 to go.
Cangilla sent the game to overtime with another tremendous effort with 1:40 remaining when he leaped to tip Adesina’s 15-yard shot over the crossbar.
“We came out strong and created chances,” Bechtel said. “In the second half we put one away.
“We kept creating, but we gave one up a little later and in overtime we just had some defensive lapses.”
Sanchez took full advantage, knocking home a cross from Adesima with 5:33 left in the first overtime to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Then he headed in Zachary Bergas’ corner kick 2:21 later to finish the scoring.
“He’s crazy good,” Bechtel said. “He’s definitely a threat to any defender.”
The Tigers were held to one shot in the extra periods as the Wildcats finally wore them down.
Plainfield North’s offense has looked better of late. The Tigers switched to a 3-4-3 formation this week to put more emphasis into the attack.
“We’ve got a new formation and we’re playing harder and more offensively, getting more runners in, creating more chances,” Bechtel said. “It’s given us more production and aggressiveness.”
That paid off Thursday with a 3-2 win over Joliet Central which snapped a five-game losing streak.
“We are definitely a better team than what our record shows,” Bechtel said. “We play good in our games.
“We just can’t get the results, but I think if we keep playing hard and creating chances, it will start to come together.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield Central
GK Shane Badertscher
D Alan Ontiveros
D Ismael Contreras
D Rogelio Vera
D Jose Ramirez
M Zachary Bargas
M Hunter Fuss
F Joel Sanchez
F Simeon Adesina
F Andrit Salihu
F Noah Selefski
Plainfield North
GK Calvin Cangilla
D Oliver Fisher
D Brandon Wojtkiewicz
D Jared Osbourne
D Nick Thompson
M Yousef Ismail
M Lloyd Queszada
M John Seeley
M Shea Bechtel
M Patrick Elster
F Brian Bertoni
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jose Sanchez, F, Plainfield Central.
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Plainfield North – Shea Bechtel 26:43
Plainfield Central – Joel Sanchez 23:42
1st Overtime
Plainfield Central – Sanchez (Simeon Adesina) 5:33
Plainfield Central – Sanchez (Zachary Bargas) 3:12
Lose 3-1 in 2 OT; Plainfield Central's Sanchez has big day
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – As one of five freshmen on the Plainfield North roster, Shea Bechtel understands that the future holds great promise for the Tigers.
It would be nice, of course, if Bechtel and his buddies had something to show for their efforts in the present, and there are signs the Tigers might be on the verge of something.
Bechtel tallied his third goal of the season Saturday when he turned and fired a 22-yard shot into the upper right corner of the net. The goal with 26:43 left in the second half gave the host Tigers a 1-0 over a Plainfield Central squad that's ranked no. 22 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
That may have come as a shock to some who thought Plainfield Central would win easily, but players on both teams said it was no surprise.
“We knew that they were going to come out strong,” Plainfield Central senior forward Joel Sanchez said. “Every year they come out strong.
“We knew they had (graduated some players) from last year that were good. That doesn’t impact them. They’re still a good team.”
Thanks to Sanchez, though, the Wildcats restored order. He tied the game three minutes after Bechtel’s goal and then scored twice in the first overtime as Plainfield Central rallied to win the Southwest Prairie Conference match 3-1 in double overtime.
The hat-trick gave Sanchez a team-leading 14 goals and the Wildcats (14-1-1, 6-0) their eighth-consecutive victory. The last four have not been overwhelming. The road wins have included two one-goal decisions, one in PKs and the overtime win Saturday.
“We’re finding different ways,” Plainfield Central coach Kevin Fitzgerald said. “I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the recent wins but we’ll take them of course. The results are great.
“I think those one-goal games aren’t really as much us as maybe the competition. Plainfield South was a strange game with both teams having guys out, but Minooka is a tough team to play against, Joliet West is very talented, and these guys are very talented.”
The Tigers (4-13-0, 2-4-0) have struggled this fall. North’s defense held the elusive Sanchez to just one shot over the first 56 minutes, he scored on three of his next four.
The equalizer was a thing of beauty, a simple yet sublime individual effort that saw Sanchez dribble through four defenders in the North box before he slipped the ball underneath goalkeeper Cal Cangilla with 23:42 to go in regulation.
“We’re composed,” Sanchez said. “We knew we still had time ... and nothing is impossible, in soccer especially.”
The Tigers had a couple good cracks at retaking the lead. Four minutes after Sanchez’s strike, freshman Dilan Anweiler dribbled to the left end line and crossed in front to Bechtel, who sent a 10-yard volley over the crossbar.
Then with five minutes to play, Bechtel’s lead pass sprung junior Brian Bertoni free in the middle of the box. Central goalkeeper Shane Badertscher deflected Bertoni’s first shot to his right and then Bertoni’s rebound from a tough angle rolled wide of the left post.
Other than that, the last 40 minutes belonged to the Wildcats, who squeezed off 20 of their 24 shots after intermission. Cangilla did his best to keep the Tigers in it, making six of his nine saves in the second half, including one on the dangerous Simeon Adesina, who got the ball back and beat Cangilla with a second shot that was kicked off the line by freshman defender Kanon Woodill with 17:45 to go.
Cangilla sent the game to overtime with another tremendous effort with 1:40 remaining when he leaped to tip Adesina’s 15-yard shot over the crossbar.
“We came out strong and created chances,” Bechtel said. “In the second half we put one away.
“We kept creating, but we gave one up a little later and in overtime we just had some defensive lapses.”
Sanchez took full advantage, knocking home a cross from Adesima with 5:33 left in the first overtime to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Then he headed in Zachary Bergas’ corner kick 2:21 later to finish the scoring.
“He’s crazy good,” Bechtel said. “He’s definitely a threat to any defender.”
The Tigers were held to one shot in the extra periods as the Wildcats finally wore them down.
Plainfield North’s offense has looked better of late. The Tigers switched to a 3-4-3 formation this week to put more emphasis into the attack.
“We’ve got a new formation and we’re playing harder and more offensively, getting more runners in, creating more chances,” Bechtel said. “It’s given us more production and aggressiveness.”
That paid off Thursday with a 3-2 win over Joliet Central which snapped a five-game losing streak.
“We are definitely a better team than what our record shows,” Bechtel said. “We play good in our games.
“We just can’t get the results, but I think if we keep playing hard and creating chances, it will start to come together.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield Central
GK Shane Badertscher
D Alan Ontiveros
D Ismael Contreras
D Rogelio Vera
D Jose Ramirez
M Zachary Bargas
M Hunter Fuss
F Joel Sanchez
F Simeon Adesina
F Andrit Salihu
F Noah Selefski
Plainfield North
GK Calvin Cangilla
D Oliver Fisher
D Brandon Wojtkiewicz
D Jared Osbourne
D Nick Thompson
M Yousef Ismail
M Lloyd Queszada
M John Seeley
M Shea Bechtel
M Patrick Elster
F Brian Bertoni
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jose Sanchez, F, Plainfield Central.
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Plainfield North – Shea Bechtel 26:43
Plainfield Central – Joel Sanchez 23:42
1st Overtime
Plainfield Central – Sanchez (Simeon Adesina) 5:33
Plainfield Central – Sanchez (Zachary Bargas) 3:12