Plainfield N. GKs make instant impact
Fox excellence, Cangilla PK save key 2-0 opening win
By Dave Owen
ROMEOVILLE -- It was a great debut times two in the net for Plainfield North.
Senior Brandon Fox excelled in the Tigers’ 2-0 shutout win at Romeoville Tuesday in his varsity netminding debut, and received an unexpected incredible boost in the effort from backup Cal Cangilla.
With his team up 2-0 in the seventh minute of the second half, Fox was called for a yellow card for tripping Romeoville’s Mickey Flores on a breakaway in the box. That forced Cangilla to enter the game cold for the ultimate challenge for a goalkeeper – a penalty kick.
But senior Cangilla rose to the challenge, making a diving stop to his right of David Cahue’s PK – then calmly regained his feet to cover the rebound.
“Cal’s amazing,” Fox said. “He comes through at the best times. He’s a great backup to have, and he saved the game. Without that save, they get the momentum and they might win. That’s a game-saver right there.”
Cangilla chalked up credit for his moment of glory to the Plainfield North coaches.
“I just came on, and my coaches gave me good advice to go right,” he said. “I just went right and got it.”
And as for the other 79 minutes of play: “Brandon did a great job today – he was unbelievable,” Cangilla said. “And this just gives the team confidence because, they know we (as goalkeepers) can bail them out when something goes wrong. And if they go and score goals for us, it just makes our job a lot easier.”
Oliver Fisher had a goal and assist to lead the Tigers’ offense.
“They (the goalkeepers) played a huge part,” Fisher said. “Without them who knows what the score would be. So I feel like they won the game for us.”
It didn’t start out easy for the Tigers, as senior-dominated Romeoville came out charging.
In the 13th minute of play, Yael Pereda took a pass from Diego Hernandez and lined a left side 18-yard drive off the right side of the crossbar -– inches from giving his team a 1-0 lead.
Romeoville’s bounce off the crossbar was followed by a better carom for Plainfield North.
With 23:07 left in the first half, Adan Juarez’s 25-yard shot deflected off a Spartans defender, changing direction enough to sail inside the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 Tigers lead.
Romeoville nearly answered with 16:15 left in the half, when Pereda deftly dribbled around the defense to create an open try near the left post – only to have his chance cleared from the crease by Fisher.
Then late in the half, Fisher’s offensive skills took the spotlight.
Freshman Sean Bechtel made an offensive zone steal and was tripped right of the box, setting up a free kick 4:06 before the half.
Fisher delivered a picture-perfect restart, rocketing an unstoppable 20-yard laser just under the crossbar to put his team up 2-0.
“I guess (my strategy) is just hit it hard and over the wall,” Fisher said of his goal.
“I’ve been kicking them for the last few years. I like to think I’m OK.”
Fisher’s “OK” was perfect this time, and his role as a senior on the Tigers’ young defensive back was also a key to the win.
“We had a good formation and were good talking to each other,” he said. “We were able to pass the ball off each other -- just good chemistry.”
Plainfield North coach Steve Berry was also impressed by his new-look defense’s debut performance.
“Obviously when you’re playing against a good team like Romeoville, with players that are on the ball, we knew we had to stay organized,” Berry said.
“We have two new goalkeepers and a freshman (Kanon Woodill) starting at center back, so a lot of organization was happening,” Berry said. “Our goalkeepers made saves, and the penalty (kick). Coming off the bench we talked to Cal as he put his (gloves) on, gave him a couple pointers, and he applied that information he took and he made a great save. Probably the play of the game.
“And with Brandon coming in as a senior goalkeeper, it was amazing for us. Some of his saves aren’t tough, but it’s his anticipation and response. He showed presence in the box.
“Even when he stopped the breakaway, a yellow card’s a yellow card to save a goal,” Berry added. “That’s why we took another senior in Cal. He stepped up, and he does what a sub does. He does his part.”
Fox’s great instincts had him in the right place most of the day. He made a nice low grab of an Ediberto Morua cross to the crease 15:35 before halftime, then came off his line to grab a well-struck 25-yard free kick by Christian Galvan three minutes later.
“I really had to think on my feet because the team’s very new, with a lot of players that haven’t played together,” Fox said. “We still have some work to do on the defense. I really have to communicate a lot to get people where they need to be. My defense did a great job, and I was able to clean up the ones that happened to get through.
“And our freshmen are really talented this year – we really haven’t had that before.”
While midfielder Patrick Elster and forward Brian Bertoni didn’t score, their impact was huge.
“Our best player is Pat (Elster),” Berry said. “He runs everything. He organized. And we lean on Brian up-front. Those two are captains who lead us in different phases of the game, whether it be technically, structurally or finding ways to encourage some of our youth.
“And John (Seeley) was very good for us, moving to center back. John and Kanon played really well.
“To me, we live and die with those guys,” Berry said. “It’s not always the goals and assists but the soccer and the smarts, the gritty stuff.”
After two early second half scares (Fox’s nice chest-high save of a Flores drive with 35:40 left in the match, then the PK save), Fox again came up big with a great save on a Cahue shot with 22:05 to go. Then with 18 minutes left, Michael Silvar’s point-blank header off a corner kick was again grabbed by Fox.
His team’s day of frustrating near-misses left Romeoville coach Nick Cirrincione with a range of feelings.
“I told them it’s the best worst game I’ve ever coached,” he said. “Best because I thought they played great, worst because we didn’t get the results. But we’re moving forward.
“We had opportunities, but if you don’t score goals you don’t win. They had chances and scored off theirs, and we had the penalty kick miss and others. But I’m excited overall for the start. We have 12 seniors who have done well over four years, so it’s building.
“Our seniors are our core, and they all played a good game. Yael Pereda off the bench played well, and it was a good team effort.”
Plainfield North’s second-half offensive effort was led by Bertoni. The Tigers striker sent a Dilan Anweiler cross just wide with 31:10 left. Then with 16 minutes to go, his initial shot was denied by Spartans goalkeeper Alegandro Gutierrez before Bertoni sent the rebound over the net.
Fox’s diving cover of a dangerous Cahue cross to the front with 5:30 left was the final threat to the Plainfield North shutout.
“For our first game we did a lot of good stuff, and we’re growing,” Berry said. “We’re going to grow as a group each half. We’re happy where we are.
“We played five freshmen today. We had to replace a lot of key players from last year, and we know we have to do that on the fly.”
The Tigers also had to dive right into conference play, and on the road against a veteran Romeoville team that won 12 games last year.
“This is a great start for us, and a great conference start,” Berry said. “We had to move some games around because of the tournaments we’re in. Now we turn around and play again tomorrow (at Glenbard West). It’s a tough situation.
“Tomorrow we’ll see a lot of guys who didn’t play much today. We can’t play 160 minutes in 30 hours, so there will be a lot of different guys on the field in different roles.”
For now, the Tigers have a strong conference start to build on.
“It’s a good win, and it’s a conference game,” Juarez said. “We wanted to get off to a good start, not only in conference but the season, and we’re going in the right direction.”
Said Fox: “This shows we’re really strong, and when we come out strong there’s no stopping us. We’ll be at it hard, and as soon as we play together more we’ll definitely be able to compete with the best teams in the state.”
One game into the season, Romeoville is focused on the much bigger picture.
“It’s a big one out of the gate, playing Plainfield North,” Cirrincione said. “To have a tough challenge at the beginning is a good test for us.
“We have a lot of games left to play. It’s a good group of guys.
“I tell the guys we’re building for one game, the state tournament,” Cirrincione added. “It’s all practice up until then, getting them to believe in the process of working hard, building and peaking at the right time.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Brandon Fox
D Colin Russell
D John Seeley
D Kanon Woodill
D Oliver Fisher
M Patrick Elster
M Nathan Green
M Yousef Ismail
F Adan Juarez
F Brian Bertoni
F Ryley Burich
Romeoville
GK Alegandro Gutierrez
D Edwin Nava
D Brannon Castro
D Arturo Escot
D Anthony Duarte
M Sebastian Arguello
M Michael Silvar
M Mickey Flores
M David Cahue
F Christian Galvan
F Ediberto Morua
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brandon Fox, GK, Plainfield North
Fox excellence, Cangilla PK save key 2-0 opening win
By Dave Owen
ROMEOVILLE -- It was a great debut times two in the net for Plainfield North.
Senior Brandon Fox excelled in the Tigers’ 2-0 shutout win at Romeoville Tuesday in his varsity netminding debut, and received an unexpected incredible boost in the effort from backup Cal Cangilla.
With his team up 2-0 in the seventh minute of the second half, Fox was called for a yellow card for tripping Romeoville’s Mickey Flores on a breakaway in the box. That forced Cangilla to enter the game cold for the ultimate challenge for a goalkeeper – a penalty kick.
But senior Cangilla rose to the challenge, making a diving stop to his right of David Cahue’s PK – then calmly regained his feet to cover the rebound.
“Cal’s amazing,” Fox said. “He comes through at the best times. He’s a great backup to have, and he saved the game. Without that save, they get the momentum and they might win. That’s a game-saver right there.”
Cangilla chalked up credit for his moment of glory to the Plainfield North coaches.
“I just came on, and my coaches gave me good advice to go right,” he said. “I just went right and got it.”
And as for the other 79 minutes of play: “Brandon did a great job today – he was unbelievable,” Cangilla said. “And this just gives the team confidence because, they know we (as goalkeepers) can bail them out when something goes wrong. And if they go and score goals for us, it just makes our job a lot easier.”
Oliver Fisher had a goal and assist to lead the Tigers’ offense.
“They (the goalkeepers) played a huge part,” Fisher said. “Without them who knows what the score would be. So I feel like they won the game for us.”
It didn’t start out easy for the Tigers, as senior-dominated Romeoville came out charging.
In the 13th minute of play, Yael Pereda took a pass from Diego Hernandez and lined a left side 18-yard drive off the right side of the crossbar -– inches from giving his team a 1-0 lead.
Romeoville’s bounce off the crossbar was followed by a better carom for Plainfield North.
With 23:07 left in the first half, Adan Juarez’s 25-yard shot deflected off a Spartans defender, changing direction enough to sail inside the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 Tigers lead.
Romeoville nearly answered with 16:15 left in the half, when Pereda deftly dribbled around the defense to create an open try near the left post – only to have his chance cleared from the crease by Fisher.
Then late in the half, Fisher’s offensive skills took the spotlight.
Freshman Sean Bechtel made an offensive zone steal and was tripped right of the box, setting up a free kick 4:06 before the half.
Fisher delivered a picture-perfect restart, rocketing an unstoppable 20-yard laser just under the crossbar to put his team up 2-0.
“I guess (my strategy) is just hit it hard and over the wall,” Fisher said of his goal.
“I’ve been kicking them for the last few years. I like to think I’m OK.”
Fisher’s “OK” was perfect this time, and his role as a senior on the Tigers’ young defensive back was also a key to the win.
“We had a good formation and were good talking to each other,” he said. “We were able to pass the ball off each other -- just good chemistry.”
Plainfield North coach Steve Berry was also impressed by his new-look defense’s debut performance.
“Obviously when you’re playing against a good team like Romeoville, with players that are on the ball, we knew we had to stay organized,” Berry said.
“We have two new goalkeepers and a freshman (Kanon Woodill) starting at center back, so a lot of organization was happening,” Berry said. “Our goalkeepers made saves, and the penalty (kick). Coming off the bench we talked to Cal as he put his (gloves) on, gave him a couple pointers, and he applied that information he took and he made a great save. Probably the play of the game.
“And with Brandon coming in as a senior goalkeeper, it was amazing for us. Some of his saves aren’t tough, but it’s his anticipation and response. He showed presence in the box.
“Even when he stopped the breakaway, a yellow card’s a yellow card to save a goal,” Berry added. “That’s why we took another senior in Cal. He stepped up, and he does what a sub does. He does his part.”
Fox’s great instincts had him in the right place most of the day. He made a nice low grab of an Ediberto Morua cross to the crease 15:35 before halftime, then came off his line to grab a well-struck 25-yard free kick by Christian Galvan three minutes later.
“I really had to think on my feet because the team’s very new, with a lot of players that haven’t played together,” Fox said. “We still have some work to do on the defense. I really have to communicate a lot to get people where they need to be. My defense did a great job, and I was able to clean up the ones that happened to get through.
“And our freshmen are really talented this year – we really haven’t had that before.”
While midfielder Patrick Elster and forward Brian Bertoni didn’t score, their impact was huge.
“Our best player is Pat (Elster),” Berry said. “He runs everything. He organized. And we lean on Brian up-front. Those two are captains who lead us in different phases of the game, whether it be technically, structurally or finding ways to encourage some of our youth.
“And John (Seeley) was very good for us, moving to center back. John and Kanon played really well.
“To me, we live and die with those guys,” Berry said. “It’s not always the goals and assists but the soccer and the smarts, the gritty stuff.”
After two early second half scares (Fox’s nice chest-high save of a Flores drive with 35:40 left in the match, then the PK save), Fox again came up big with a great save on a Cahue shot with 22:05 to go. Then with 18 minutes left, Michael Silvar’s point-blank header off a corner kick was again grabbed by Fox.
His team’s day of frustrating near-misses left Romeoville coach Nick Cirrincione with a range of feelings.
“I told them it’s the best worst game I’ve ever coached,” he said. “Best because I thought they played great, worst because we didn’t get the results. But we’re moving forward.
“We had opportunities, but if you don’t score goals you don’t win. They had chances and scored off theirs, and we had the penalty kick miss and others. But I’m excited overall for the start. We have 12 seniors who have done well over four years, so it’s building.
“Our seniors are our core, and they all played a good game. Yael Pereda off the bench played well, and it was a good team effort.”
Plainfield North’s second-half offensive effort was led by Bertoni. The Tigers striker sent a Dilan Anweiler cross just wide with 31:10 left. Then with 16 minutes to go, his initial shot was denied by Spartans goalkeeper Alegandro Gutierrez before Bertoni sent the rebound over the net.
Fox’s diving cover of a dangerous Cahue cross to the front with 5:30 left was the final threat to the Plainfield North shutout.
“For our first game we did a lot of good stuff, and we’re growing,” Berry said. “We’re going to grow as a group each half. We’re happy where we are.
“We played five freshmen today. We had to replace a lot of key players from last year, and we know we have to do that on the fly.”
The Tigers also had to dive right into conference play, and on the road against a veteran Romeoville team that won 12 games last year.
“This is a great start for us, and a great conference start,” Berry said. “We had to move some games around because of the tournaments we’re in. Now we turn around and play again tomorrow (at Glenbard West). It’s a tough situation.
“Tomorrow we’ll see a lot of guys who didn’t play much today. We can’t play 160 minutes in 30 hours, so there will be a lot of different guys on the field in different roles.”
For now, the Tigers have a strong conference start to build on.
“It’s a good win, and it’s a conference game,” Juarez said. “We wanted to get off to a good start, not only in conference but the season, and we’re going in the right direction.”
Said Fox: “This shows we’re really strong, and when we come out strong there’s no stopping us. We’ll be at it hard, and as soon as we play together more we’ll definitely be able to compete with the best teams in the state.”
One game into the season, Romeoville is focused on the much bigger picture.
“It’s a big one out of the gate, playing Plainfield North,” Cirrincione said. “To have a tough challenge at the beginning is a good test for us.
“We have a lot of games left to play. It’s a good group of guys.
“I tell the guys we’re building for one game, the state tournament,” Cirrincione added. “It’s all practice up until then, getting them to believe in the process of working hard, building and peaking at the right time.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Brandon Fox
D Colin Russell
D John Seeley
D Kanon Woodill
D Oliver Fisher
M Patrick Elster
M Nathan Green
M Yousef Ismail
F Adan Juarez
F Brian Bertoni
F Ryley Burich
Romeoville
GK Alegandro Gutierrez
D Edwin Nava
D Brannon Castro
D Arturo Escot
D Anthony Duarte
M Sebastian Arguello
M Michael Silvar
M Mickey Flores
M David Cahue
F Christian Galvan
F Ediberto Morua
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brandon Fox, GK, Plainfield North