Plainfield North restarts
to beat Plainfield East
Tigers rally in second half to spoil Bengals' home finale
By Curt Herron
PLAINFIELD -- Giving up a goal late in the first half and then another early in the second half can often be a demoralizing blow to a team, especially when its playing on the road in a big showdown against a rival.
That's the scenario that faced Plainfield North on Tuesday when it played at Plainfield East in the battle for 119th Street bragging rights between the youngest schools in the district, which are just three miles apart.
Instead of getting demoralized with their 3-2 deficit, the Tigers responded with three goals in a 5:22 span to help them capture a 6-3 Southwest Prairie Conference victory that denied the Bengals from claiming the league title in their final home match.
With juniors Justin Williams and Ryan Bechtel each having a hand on a pair of goals on restarts, the Tigers (12-4-4, 6-1-3) improved to 4-0-1 in their last five matches and have scored 11 goals in their last two starts.
The six goals allowed by the Bengals (13-3-1, 8-2) were three more than their previous high total for a match which came in a 5-3 win over Benet Sept. 9. Plainfield East had won six in a row since suffering its first conference loss to West Aurora on Sept. 21.
Despite the loss, coach Cosimo Patano's Bengals can wrap up the league title with a win at Joliet West today.
Plainfield North got the first of its decisive trio of goals after Williams fired in a free kick from about 30 yards in the 45th minute to even the match at 3-3. Earlier, he sent a corner kick past the net that was headed in by Dylan Gustafson in the 34th minute to give them a brief 2-1 lead.
Bechtel then went to work by serving up a pair of throw-ins that resulted in the go-ahead goal and an insurance tally.
In the 46th minute, he found Aidan Smith, who headed one in to put the Tigers up for good. In the 50th minute, his toss into the box bounced around before Ryan Mauder put it in to give his team a more comfortable 5-3 lead.
Because of their key accomplishments on dead ball situations at crucial times, Bechtel and Williams shared the honor of the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
"Usually we don't score off of throw-ins or free kicks. Usually they just come in play, but tonight we finished our chances, and it was good to get the easy goals when they came," Bechtel said. "We knew that we were playing a lot better than they were in the first half, so even when we went down 3-2, we knew that we could come back and score more.
"It's hard to score off of them (throw-ins), because the goalie can come out. But when you can, the ball just drops down and putting it in the net is easy. It happens quite a lot, so if you can finish a decent percent of them, you'll get lots of goals like that.
“Especially with the state tournament coming soon, this is a good confidence-booster going in. We're tough to beat if we keep going. If we get down, we can come back most of the time since we don't give up."
Plainfield East is the fifth-seed in the Class 3A Plainfield North Sectional and will compete in the West Aurora Regional. The Bengals forced a 2-2 tie in the 38th minute when Alejandro Barriga sent in a long free kick, and Maximiliano Ibarra connected from close range.
Ibarra, who is Plainfield East's leading goal-scorer, gave the hosts their first lead at 3-2 in the 42nd minute when he fired in an attempt from 15 yards. But Williams countered with the long free kick for the equalizer and within a few minutes, the Tigers owned a two-goal advantage.
"It was good to get an assist off a corner and to score off of a free kick," Williams said. "We took advantage of our set pieces, which the other team didn't do. Even though they scored we kept our heads up, because we knew that there was time left. It was good to score three goals pretty quick, because then we had all of the momentum throughout the rest of the game.
"East is one of our biggest rivals, so it's always great to beat them. We had two new people score their first goals of the season, Ryan and Dylan, so that's always great.
“And our defense of Brady (Harwood), Noah (Horner), Aidan (Smith) and Mathew (Hipolito) were all solid in the back. As the season has progressed our bond has gotten so much stronger, and we're really becoming a whole team now."
After giving up three goals in the first 42 minutes, the Tigers defense found its groove and shut down Plainfield East the rest of the way. The Bengals got good attempts from Benjamin Basta and Ibarra, but keeper Peyton Meyers stopped everything that was sent his way.
Beside scoring the goal that put his team ahead for good, Smith also handed out an assist to Cooper Allen in the 78th minute. The goal equaled the season high in a game for the Tigers, who beat Plainfield South by an identical score Sept. 28.
"We were down when they scored (3-2), but I think we came back well," Smith said. "Any time we can get a free goal, like on a penalty or a free kick played in the box, we have to take advantage, because that can change a game.
"This feels great and to show them what we're made of means a lot. I like that when we're winning, we all fit together well. And when we score a goal, we're loving it, like a family."
Plainfield North caught its first big break in the match when Allen was fouled in the box in the fifth minute, and Harwood fired in the subsequent penalty.
The hosts fought back with good attempts from Luis Orizaba, Ibarra and Barriga, but Meyers turned them away while his teammates Allen and Williams delivered two of the best early chances for the Tigers.
Plainfield East tied things at 1-1 in the 31st minute, when Barriga directed a pass inside and Armando Velasquez was there to head the ball into the net.
After the visitors went back in front after Williams connected with Gustafson on the corner kick in the 34th minute, the Bengals evened things when Ibarra evened things with his first goal of the game.
Both sides had late first half chances. Plainfield North saw a short try by Bechtel stopped and Williams' free kick deflect off a defender. Plainfield East watched Meyers stop Ibarra’s try.
After seeing his team collect more than 40 percent of their goals this season in their last five matches, coach Lukasz Majewski is upbeat about the Tigers as they enter the postseason.
Plainfield North is the eight-seed in its sectional and will play nine-seed Bolingbrook on Sept. 19 in the Bolingbrook Regional. The winner faces top-seeded Naperville North on Sept. 22 for the championship.
"It's always nice to beat a rival school," Majewski said. "They're obviously a very good team that's well-organized. We've been watching them with a little bit of envy, because they took care of a bunch of teams in conference that we either tied or didn't play to the best of our potential.
“So, it was a big game for us. And going into the playoffs, we're treating these games like it's a playoff atmosphere.
"We've said all year long that if we can put the ball in the back of the net with a little more consistency that we'll be very dangerous. You see the results. Hopefully we're turning the corner.
"We've been working on set pieces and have had some luck off of corner kicks and things of that nature. Having a weapon like Ryan's throw-ins, we've preached from the beginning of the season that we should be able to do something. It wasn't often, but it all happened in one game."
Plainfield East played without their usual full uniforms. Instead the Bengals wore purple t-shirts in recognition of Night of Nets, a charity that provides bed nets to families in sub-Saharan Africa to prevent the spread of malaria.
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
G Peyton Meyers
D Brady Harwood
D Noah Horner
D Aidan Smith
D Mathew Hipolito
M Sean Elster
M Justin Williams
M Ryan Mauder
M Dylan Gustafson
F Ryan Bechtel
F Cooper Allen
Plainfield East
G Braxton Francis
D Matthew Manzella
D Alejandro Barriga
D Peter Basta
D Tyler Hill
M Erik Tapia
M Yandel Reyes
M Maximiliano Ibarra
M Alan Saldivar
F Bryant Tchoffa
F Luis Orizaba
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Ryan Bechtel, jr., F, Plainfield North; Justin Williams, jr., MF, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
PN: Harwood (PK), 5th minute
PE: Velasquez (Barriga), 31st minute
PN: Gustafson (Williams), 34th minute
PE: Ibarra (Barriga), 38th minute
Second half
PE: Ibarra (unassisted), 42nd minute
PN: Williams (free kick), 45th minute
PN: Smith (Bechtel), 46th minute
PN: Mauder (Bechtel), 50th minute
PN: Allen (Smith), 78th minute
to beat Plainfield East
Tigers rally in second half to spoil Bengals' home finale
By Curt Herron
PLAINFIELD -- Giving up a goal late in the first half and then another early in the second half can often be a demoralizing blow to a team, especially when its playing on the road in a big showdown against a rival.
That's the scenario that faced Plainfield North on Tuesday when it played at Plainfield East in the battle for 119th Street bragging rights between the youngest schools in the district, which are just three miles apart.
Instead of getting demoralized with their 3-2 deficit, the Tigers responded with three goals in a 5:22 span to help them capture a 6-3 Southwest Prairie Conference victory that denied the Bengals from claiming the league title in their final home match.
With juniors Justin Williams and Ryan Bechtel each having a hand on a pair of goals on restarts, the Tigers (12-4-4, 6-1-3) improved to 4-0-1 in their last five matches and have scored 11 goals in their last two starts.
The six goals allowed by the Bengals (13-3-1, 8-2) were three more than their previous high total for a match which came in a 5-3 win over Benet Sept. 9. Plainfield East had won six in a row since suffering its first conference loss to West Aurora on Sept. 21.
Despite the loss, coach Cosimo Patano's Bengals can wrap up the league title with a win at Joliet West today.
Plainfield North got the first of its decisive trio of goals after Williams fired in a free kick from about 30 yards in the 45th minute to even the match at 3-3. Earlier, he sent a corner kick past the net that was headed in by Dylan Gustafson in the 34th minute to give them a brief 2-1 lead.
Bechtel then went to work by serving up a pair of throw-ins that resulted in the go-ahead goal and an insurance tally.
In the 46th minute, he found Aidan Smith, who headed one in to put the Tigers up for good. In the 50th minute, his toss into the box bounced around before Ryan Mauder put it in to give his team a more comfortable 5-3 lead.
Because of their key accomplishments on dead ball situations at crucial times, Bechtel and Williams shared the honor of the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
"Usually we don't score off of throw-ins or free kicks. Usually they just come in play, but tonight we finished our chances, and it was good to get the easy goals when they came," Bechtel said. "We knew that we were playing a lot better than they were in the first half, so even when we went down 3-2, we knew that we could come back and score more.
"It's hard to score off of them (throw-ins), because the goalie can come out. But when you can, the ball just drops down and putting it in the net is easy. It happens quite a lot, so if you can finish a decent percent of them, you'll get lots of goals like that.
“Especially with the state tournament coming soon, this is a good confidence-booster going in. We're tough to beat if we keep going. If we get down, we can come back most of the time since we don't give up."
Plainfield East is the fifth-seed in the Class 3A Plainfield North Sectional and will compete in the West Aurora Regional. The Bengals forced a 2-2 tie in the 38th minute when Alejandro Barriga sent in a long free kick, and Maximiliano Ibarra connected from close range.
Ibarra, who is Plainfield East's leading goal-scorer, gave the hosts their first lead at 3-2 in the 42nd minute when he fired in an attempt from 15 yards. But Williams countered with the long free kick for the equalizer and within a few minutes, the Tigers owned a two-goal advantage.
"It was good to get an assist off a corner and to score off of a free kick," Williams said. "We took advantage of our set pieces, which the other team didn't do. Even though they scored we kept our heads up, because we knew that there was time left. It was good to score three goals pretty quick, because then we had all of the momentum throughout the rest of the game.
"East is one of our biggest rivals, so it's always great to beat them. We had two new people score their first goals of the season, Ryan and Dylan, so that's always great.
“And our defense of Brady (Harwood), Noah (Horner), Aidan (Smith) and Mathew (Hipolito) were all solid in the back. As the season has progressed our bond has gotten so much stronger, and we're really becoming a whole team now."
After giving up three goals in the first 42 minutes, the Tigers defense found its groove and shut down Plainfield East the rest of the way. The Bengals got good attempts from Benjamin Basta and Ibarra, but keeper Peyton Meyers stopped everything that was sent his way.
Beside scoring the goal that put his team ahead for good, Smith also handed out an assist to Cooper Allen in the 78th minute. The goal equaled the season high in a game for the Tigers, who beat Plainfield South by an identical score Sept. 28.
"We were down when they scored (3-2), but I think we came back well," Smith said. "Any time we can get a free goal, like on a penalty or a free kick played in the box, we have to take advantage, because that can change a game.
"This feels great and to show them what we're made of means a lot. I like that when we're winning, we all fit together well. And when we score a goal, we're loving it, like a family."
Plainfield North caught its first big break in the match when Allen was fouled in the box in the fifth minute, and Harwood fired in the subsequent penalty.
The hosts fought back with good attempts from Luis Orizaba, Ibarra and Barriga, but Meyers turned them away while his teammates Allen and Williams delivered two of the best early chances for the Tigers.
Plainfield East tied things at 1-1 in the 31st minute, when Barriga directed a pass inside and Armando Velasquez was there to head the ball into the net.
After the visitors went back in front after Williams connected with Gustafson on the corner kick in the 34th minute, the Bengals evened things when Ibarra evened things with his first goal of the game.
Both sides had late first half chances. Plainfield North saw a short try by Bechtel stopped and Williams' free kick deflect off a defender. Plainfield East watched Meyers stop Ibarra’s try.
After seeing his team collect more than 40 percent of their goals this season in their last five matches, coach Lukasz Majewski is upbeat about the Tigers as they enter the postseason.
Plainfield North is the eight-seed in its sectional and will play nine-seed Bolingbrook on Sept. 19 in the Bolingbrook Regional. The winner faces top-seeded Naperville North on Sept. 22 for the championship.
"It's always nice to beat a rival school," Majewski said. "They're obviously a very good team that's well-organized. We've been watching them with a little bit of envy, because they took care of a bunch of teams in conference that we either tied or didn't play to the best of our potential.
“So, it was a big game for us. And going into the playoffs, we're treating these games like it's a playoff atmosphere.
"We've said all year long that if we can put the ball in the back of the net with a little more consistency that we'll be very dangerous. You see the results. Hopefully we're turning the corner.
"We've been working on set pieces and have had some luck off of corner kicks and things of that nature. Having a weapon like Ryan's throw-ins, we've preached from the beginning of the season that we should be able to do something. It wasn't often, but it all happened in one game."
Plainfield East played without their usual full uniforms. Instead the Bengals wore purple t-shirts in recognition of Night of Nets, a charity that provides bed nets to families in sub-Saharan Africa to prevent the spread of malaria.
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
G Peyton Meyers
D Brady Harwood
D Noah Horner
D Aidan Smith
D Mathew Hipolito
M Sean Elster
M Justin Williams
M Ryan Mauder
M Dylan Gustafson
F Ryan Bechtel
F Cooper Allen
Plainfield East
G Braxton Francis
D Matthew Manzella
D Alejandro Barriga
D Peter Basta
D Tyler Hill
M Erik Tapia
M Yandel Reyes
M Maximiliano Ibarra
M Alan Saldivar
F Bryant Tchoffa
F Luis Orizaba
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Ryan Bechtel, jr., F, Plainfield North; Justin Williams, jr., MF, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
PN: Harwood (PK), 5th minute
PE: Velasquez (Barriga), 31st minute
PN: Gustafson (Williams), 34th minute
PE: Ibarra (Barriga), 38th minute
Second half
PE: Ibarra (unassisted), 42nd minute
PN: Williams (free kick), 45th minute
PN: Smith (Bechtel), 46th minute
PN: Mauder (Bechtel), 50th minute
PN: Allen (Smith), 78th minute