Plainfield N. GK Clark saves day vs. DGN
Stops 2nd half PK for 1-1 nonconference draw
By Ken Keenan
DOWNERS GROVE -- Going left was the right move for Plainfield North junior goalkeeper Ashley Clark. The quick-thinking decision, on a penalty kick by Downers Grove North senior forward Mia Marconi midway through the second half, resulted in the save of the game during a 1-1 tie in nonconference action Saturday at Carstens Field.
Clark, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, then watched as dangerous Trojans junior forward Alexis Parker missed high on the rebound.
"As a goalkeeper, PKs are the most stressful situation," said Clark, who batted away Marconi's shoulder-high PK attempt in the 56th minute after Parker drew a foul in the box. "There's a lot of pressure. You have to guess. If it goes in, it changes the game."
Clark said she made her choice after looking into Marconi's eyes.
"I saw her look to my right, so I thought she might go to my left," Clark said. "I went for it, and I was hoping it was a low one. Then the rebound freaked me out. I could take a breath after that."
Tigers sophomore defender Marissa Richmond said, "That save hyped us up. We thought, if she can make that save, she can make any save."
Trojans head coach Brian Papa, whose squad (5-7-1 overall) forged the tie on a goal by Marconi in the 54th minute after Plainfield North tallied in the first half, said, "Credit the goalkeeper -- she made the right guess. But on PKs, it's usually better to go upper or lower."
Marconi was unavailable to give her take on the PK. She left the game following a head injury suffered during a nasty collision with 15:19 remaining in the second half. Marconi was looked at by the trainer for a spell and then departed for medical attention. Nine minutes earlier, she scored on a one-timer from the right side to finish a perfect cross sent from the left by Parker.
The PK try came just over a minute later.
"It was, 'Oh, no!' when we missed the PK," said Downers Grove North senior midfielder Julia Kramper. "But we had to keep working hard. We had more to give. In the first half, our communication was low. But we came out harder in the second half and had more offensive chances."
Plainfield North (8-6-2) opened the scoring in the 17th minute when junior forward Lindsay Dusatko set up sophomore forward Jessie Gruben for a tap-in from the right side.
The Tigers had a few opportunities to increase the margin in the first 40 minutes. But Trojans starting keeper Emma Duncan (replaced in the second half by sophomore Blythe Braun per Papa's pre-game plan) had the answer for a turnaround shot by Plainfield North freshman forward Nina Bradshaw in the 23rd minute. Bradshaw also missed wide-right from 15 yards in the 26th minute.
With 5:45 to go before the break, Tigers freshman mid Madi Buck sailed a 30-yard strike over the crossbar.
Downers Grove North's best chances in the first half came on a hard, left-footed shot by Parker that missed just high in the 16th minute, as well as a 15-yard try by Parker in the 32nd minute that rolled wide-right.
With two minutes to go before halftime, Trojans' freshman forward Ryan Wendt concluded a multi-touch possession with a tip try in-close that went wide-left. Exactly one minute later, Clark handled a bending 25-yard shot from the right side by Downers Grove North sophomore midfielder Lindsay Ringbloom.
Clark also made a nice diving stop on a left-footed rocket by Kramper in the first minute of the second half, and the Plainfield North keeper stood tall to thwart Marconi with 36:20 left in the match.
Following the unsuccessful PK attempt, Clark also stoned Trojans sophomore mid Abbie Peterson from in-close with 16:50 showing.
On the other side of the field, Downers Grove North keeper Braun made a strong leg save to spoil a semi-breakaway opportunity by Dusatko in the 66th minute. Braun also stopped a 20-yard shot by Gruben with 13:30 left, and made yet another save to foil Dusatko's short try from the left side in the 69th minute.
Downers Grove North had the last chance to break the deadlock, but Clark nabbed Ringbloom's 20-yard strike just two second before the final horn sounded.
"It was a back-and-forth game," Parker said. "It came down to who could finish."
Plainfield North skipper Steve Berry said, "It was a typical game with Downers Grove North. It's always a good, quality game ... a competitive nature. Both teams had chances, both teams squandered chances."
Added Richmond: "It was a good battle. Downers Grove North has a good team. They were willing, and wanting, to score. Once they scored, we had to play more defensive."
Though the big-time save on Marconi's PK try was key, Clark didn't take all the credit for holding the Trojans to one tally.
"As a keeper, I couldn't have better defenders," Clark said. "There's trust and respect. We communicate with each other in the back."
Trojans skipper Papa said, "We had opportunities, but we didn't finish. But we played well. We made one technical error on (Plainfield North's) goal. That was the only mistake. The second half we played better. We possessed and attacked.
"We'll take the good with the bad. The fact is, it's still not a loss, so we're still unbeaten (3-0-1) in our last four games. We're moving in the right direction."
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
G: Ashley Clark
D: Makenna Woodill
D: Payton Strausberger
D: Sophie Adzia
D: Marissa Richmond
D: Natalie Drover
M: Claudia Baginski
M: McKenna Kalina
M: Reece Capion
F: Lindsey Duskato
F: Jessie Gruben
Downers Grove North
G: Emma Duncan
D: Rachael Wilson
D: Kendall Hennelley
D: Lindsey Good
M: Lindsay Ringbloom
M: Abbie Peterson
M: Maggie Urbanski
M: Julia Kramper
M: Julia Bauer
F: Mia Marconi
F: Alexis Parker
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ashley Clark, jr., GK, Plainfield North
Officials: John Jakobsze, Rabindra Narayan, Mason Messina
Scoring summary
First half
Plainfield North: Jessie Gruben (assisted by Lindsey Duskato) in 17th minute
Second half
Downers Grove North: Mia Marconi (assisted by Alexis Parker) in 54th minute
Stops 2nd half PK for 1-1 nonconference draw
By Ken Keenan
DOWNERS GROVE -- Going left was the right move for Plainfield North junior goalkeeper Ashley Clark. The quick-thinking decision, on a penalty kick by Downers Grove North senior forward Mia Marconi midway through the second half, resulted in the save of the game during a 1-1 tie in nonconference action Saturday at Carstens Field.
Clark, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, then watched as dangerous Trojans junior forward Alexis Parker missed high on the rebound.
"As a goalkeeper, PKs are the most stressful situation," said Clark, who batted away Marconi's shoulder-high PK attempt in the 56th minute after Parker drew a foul in the box. "There's a lot of pressure. You have to guess. If it goes in, it changes the game."
Clark said she made her choice after looking into Marconi's eyes.
"I saw her look to my right, so I thought she might go to my left," Clark said. "I went for it, and I was hoping it was a low one. Then the rebound freaked me out. I could take a breath after that."
Tigers sophomore defender Marissa Richmond said, "That save hyped us up. We thought, if she can make that save, she can make any save."
Trojans head coach Brian Papa, whose squad (5-7-1 overall) forged the tie on a goal by Marconi in the 54th minute after Plainfield North tallied in the first half, said, "Credit the goalkeeper -- she made the right guess. But on PKs, it's usually better to go upper or lower."
Marconi was unavailable to give her take on the PK. She left the game following a head injury suffered during a nasty collision with 15:19 remaining in the second half. Marconi was looked at by the trainer for a spell and then departed for medical attention. Nine minutes earlier, she scored on a one-timer from the right side to finish a perfect cross sent from the left by Parker.
The PK try came just over a minute later.
"It was, 'Oh, no!' when we missed the PK," said Downers Grove North senior midfielder Julia Kramper. "But we had to keep working hard. We had more to give. In the first half, our communication was low. But we came out harder in the second half and had more offensive chances."
Plainfield North (8-6-2) opened the scoring in the 17th minute when junior forward Lindsay Dusatko set up sophomore forward Jessie Gruben for a tap-in from the right side.
The Tigers had a few opportunities to increase the margin in the first 40 minutes. But Trojans starting keeper Emma Duncan (replaced in the second half by sophomore Blythe Braun per Papa's pre-game plan) had the answer for a turnaround shot by Plainfield North freshman forward Nina Bradshaw in the 23rd minute. Bradshaw also missed wide-right from 15 yards in the 26th minute.
With 5:45 to go before the break, Tigers freshman mid Madi Buck sailed a 30-yard strike over the crossbar.
Downers Grove North's best chances in the first half came on a hard, left-footed shot by Parker that missed just high in the 16th minute, as well as a 15-yard try by Parker in the 32nd minute that rolled wide-right.
With two minutes to go before halftime, Trojans' freshman forward Ryan Wendt concluded a multi-touch possession with a tip try in-close that went wide-left. Exactly one minute later, Clark handled a bending 25-yard shot from the right side by Downers Grove North sophomore midfielder Lindsay Ringbloom.
Clark also made a nice diving stop on a left-footed rocket by Kramper in the first minute of the second half, and the Plainfield North keeper stood tall to thwart Marconi with 36:20 left in the match.
Following the unsuccessful PK attempt, Clark also stoned Trojans sophomore mid Abbie Peterson from in-close with 16:50 showing.
On the other side of the field, Downers Grove North keeper Braun made a strong leg save to spoil a semi-breakaway opportunity by Dusatko in the 66th minute. Braun also stopped a 20-yard shot by Gruben with 13:30 left, and made yet another save to foil Dusatko's short try from the left side in the 69th minute.
Downers Grove North had the last chance to break the deadlock, but Clark nabbed Ringbloom's 20-yard strike just two second before the final horn sounded.
"It was a back-and-forth game," Parker said. "It came down to who could finish."
Plainfield North skipper Steve Berry said, "It was a typical game with Downers Grove North. It's always a good, quality game ... a competitive nature. Both teams had chances, both teams squandered chances."
Added Richmond: "It was a good battle. Downers Grove North has a good team. They were willing, and wanting, to score. Once they scored, we had to play more defensive."
Though the big-time save on Marconi's PK try was key, Clark didn't take all the credit for holding the Trojans to one tally.
"As a keeper, I couldn't have better defenders," Clark said. "There's trust and respect. We communicate with each other in the back."
Trojans skipper Papa said, "We had opportunities, but we didn't finish. But we played well. We made one technical error on (Plainfield North's) goal. That was the only mistake. The second half we played better. We possessed and attacked.
"We'll take the good with the bad. The fact is, it's still not a loss, so we're still unbeaten (3-0-1) in our last four games. We're moving in the right direction."
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
G: Ashley Clark
D: Makenna Woodill
D: Payton Strausberger
D: Sophie Adzia
D: Marissa Richmond
D: Natalie Drover
M: Claudia Baginski
M: McKenna Kalina
M: Reece Capion
F: Lindsey Duskato
F: Jessie Gruben
Downers Grove North
G: Emma Duncan
D: Rachael Wilson
D: Kendall Hennelley
D: Lindsey Good
M: Lindsay Ringbloom
M: Abbie Peterson
M: Maggie Urbanski
M: Julia Kramper
M: Julia Bauer
F: Mia Marconi
F: Alexis Parker
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ashley Clark, jr., GK, Plainfield North
Officials: John Jakobsze, Rabindra Narayan, Mason Messina
Scoring summary
First half
Plainfield North: Jessie Gruben (assisted by Lindsey Duskato) in 17th minute
Second half
Downers Grove North: Mia Marconi (assisted by Alexis Parker) in 54th minute