Plainfield N. PK takes down Plainfield S.
Tigers win crosstown SPC showdown 1-0 on Senior Night
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD – A night to celebrate Plainfield soccer had a great game to match.
Plainfield South and host Plainfield North engaged in a back-and-forth battle of big offensive chances and excellent defense and goaltending. The tug-of-war was only settled by a penalty kick.
With just 15 minutes left in a 0-0 match, Yousef Ismail sent a pass to the box towards a running Dilan Anweiler, who was tripped from behind in his pursuit of the ball.
Ismail drove home the ensuing PK (his fourth goal of 2018 to go with 10 assists) to provide the difference in a 1-0 win for the Tigers (11-8-1, 5-3-0).
“It’s all just confidence,” Ismail said of his PK strategy. “You just have to pick your side (of the net) and stay with it.”
For Plainfield South (8-8-4, 2-5-0), its strong match turned sour on one play.
“Tonight I thought we played really well on both sides of the ball,” Cougars coach Bryant Williams said. “It stinks to play this well and have the game come down to lose on a PK, but it was a good call, the right call.
“It’s just unfortunate. Our guy kind of tripped and wasn’t trying to take their guy (Anweiler) out, but it was a call that had to be made. It just stinks that that’s what decided the game.”
Besides that PK, the other deciding factor proved to be Plainfield North junior goalkeeper Alex Noser.
With the wind at their backs in the first half, Plainfield South blitzed the Tigers end of the field time and again.
Noser ended the first half with 10 saves, including a pair of big-time stops on Carlos Sogals (a diving stop on a 12-yard shot in the 10th minute, then an even better Noser high block of a Sogals 10-yard rocket 20 minutes in).
“I think that’s the most shots I’ve ever had,” Noser said. “I just tried to keep my composure, be settled, be calm, don’t get panicked, and try to control the back the best that I could.”
Plainfield South got passes from Anthony Marmolejo and Ernie Cortina set up Sagols’ big chance midway through the half.
How Sagols ended the night without a goal was a tribute to Noser’s efforts – especially on a play with just 8:15 left in the match and North up 1-0.
Marmolejo’s nice touch pass between defenders found Sagols free up the middle. His 15-yard liner deflected off a Tigers defender and would have settled in the open left corner of the net if not for Noser’s flying dive and fingertip grab that would make any IHSA Saves of the Year video.
“It deflected off a defender, and I just saw it at the last second, dove and luckily I got it,” said Noser, whose 13-save shutout earned him Man of the Match honors.
When it came to the Plainfield North defense, one name kept coming up.
“Alex was good, Alex was clean, Alex had a great game,” Tigers coach Steve Berry said. “He finished with a deflected ball that a lot of times finds the net. Today he was ready, and he was really good -- not only the saves, but his ability to not give up rebounds was a big thing for us.
“Obviously still with the lead you’re not disappointed if it goes in off a deflection, but he reacted extremely well because he anticipated the ball would be somewhere on frame. And he made a great save.”
Plainfield South’s defense was also excellent, capped by a big stand with 2:05 left.
Passes from Plainfield North's Ismail and Adan Juarez found Shea Bechtel attacking the end line. Bechtel’s nice cross connected with Ryan Kuffel near the open right post, but Cougars defender Fabian Alvarado made a goal-saving block near the goal line of Kuffel’s shot.
Alvarado’s great defensive match included a 1-v.-1 block and steal on a Tigers attack into the box with 12 minutes left. And South's 6-foot-5 sophomore goalkeeper Nick Beemster also excelled, especially with 29:30 left in the match.
With Bechtel speeding in off a nice Yousef pass, Beemster came off his line to smother Bechtel’s 10-yard shot and cover any potential rebound.
Berry praised both saver and scorer on the play.
“Shea was super good today,” Berry said. “He may be frustrated a little bit because their goalkeeper made a great save. But Shea was really good for us holding the ball, taking people on and dictating where the game was going to play.
“I know he’s frustrated he didn’t finish one, but the finishing isn’t as important as the way he competed today and held possession in the final third.”
Both defenses made finishes very difficult in another hard-fought battle in the crosstown series.
“When Plainfield South plays Plainfield North, it’s always a great game,” Cougars senior defender Justin McGuigan said. “It has the two creams of the crop in Plainfield I think.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into it. We had a lot of energy coming into it, and I think we maybe ran out of gas a little bit. They got that one call in the box. But it was a pretty even game, and I thought it was a great game.”
And also a great night off the field.
About 100 Plainfield youth soccer players formed a tunnel for players to run through during pregame introductions, and the presence of Chicago Fire mascot Sparky and a larger than usual crowd added another distinctive factor.
“It’s very special, with a lot of people here,” Ismail said. “We usually don’t have many people in our crowd, but when they do come it’s good.”
On top of all that, it was Senior Night for the Tigers.
“It was good to get the win on Senior Night,” Ismail said, “especially having all our parents here to support us.”
But the visitors did all they could to crash the commemorative party.
Max Treptow’s chip just over the net from a tough angle right of the goal marked the first Cougars threat of the game in the seventh minute.
Three minutes later came a metaphor for the night’s back-and-forth battle. On a two-man attack by North’s Ismail and Juarez, South’s Josue Jimenez made a nice tackle and clear to set up Sagols’ big counterattack that ended with a 12-yard shot denied by Noser’s diving stop.
As is customary on Senior Night, the hosts' had a starting lineup stuffed full of members from the Class of 2019.
“We started about six guys who usually don’t start,” Berry said, “So we knew we were going to give up a little bit going with that.”
But as usual, the rock-steady presence of one senior kept the Tigers on an even keel.
“Patrick Elster is so important to us,” Berry said, “not just in how he played tactically and technically, but what he does for his with his leadership. He’s driving guys, especially when we start a group that isn’t usually our starting lineup.
“Now it’s new guys, and he’s still driving people to stay organized, stay in spots and get to their positions.
“He’s just so important to us,” Berry added. “He dictates how we play, when to speed it up and slow it down.”
Between Plainfield South’s strong play and Senior Night, finding that equilibrium wasn’t easy.
“Nothing against the seniors, but it’s just not a normal way to start the game,” Berry said. “You’re out of your rhythm. But most of the (surrendered) shots weren’t difficult. They were very long and all saveable.”
Williams agreed that while first half possession and shot numbers were strong for the Cougars, more quality chances were needed.
“In the first half we played well,” Williams said. “We had some opportunities with the wind, and unfortunately we just weren’t able to convert.
“I felt like we settled for shots a little too early instead of taking another touch or two and getting a little closer. We kind of looked up and saw we had an open goal, and took the shot from maybe farther out than I would have liked. That’s something we’ve been working on, to be a little more patient with the ball on our foot.”
For the Tigers, the first 40 minutes became a matter of survival.
“We just wanted to deal with the wind in the first half,” Ismail said, “because we would have the advantage in the second half going with the wind. Especially since we have fast players like Shea and Dilan up-top. That helps us a lot.”
The Cougars domination of the first 30 minutes began to settle into more of a draw late in the half.
Beemster made a diving save to deny a Bechtel 22-yard shot in the 31st minute. Then three minutes later, McGuigan’s header block and clear of a 33-yard Ismail free kick set up a Sagols counterattack and shot on goal at the other end.
Dueling defense by North’s John Seeley (a header upfield of a South 50-yard free kick) and South’s Tom Pawlowski (steal inside midfield in the 39th minute) closed the first half.
“We were in the locker room (at the half) talking about things we needed to do,” Noser said, “like controlling the middle and not letting them play through so much.
“I think we did better in the second half and controlled the game more.”
After the break a Marcos Papakostas shot-block set up a counterattack, and Seeley shot wide with 33:20 left. But the Cougars defied the gusting elements to stand tall.
Alvarado and McGuigan made nice defensive plays to diffuse ensuing Tigers threats, and a nice offensive rush by Marmolejo and Sagols produced a shot wide with 31 minutes left.
In the 15-plus minutes between that sequence and the deciding Ismail PK, the Cougars had every answer for the Tigers – and vice versa.
After Beemster’s great save to deny Bechtel with 29:30 left, another Bechtel threat with 18:10 to play ended with a great Christian Gonzalez block and send that produced a Marmolejo counterattack and corner kick.
Another Marmolejo right side push with 16:40 left ended with a steal by North defender Kanon Woodill. A counter ensued that ended with a Seeley cross nabbed by Beemster.
“Plainfield South should feel extremely good about their ability to press us and be athletic,” Berry said. “We knew they were super athletic and that posed problems, but we stayed composed and generally gave up things that were predictable.”
Less than two minutes later, the PK chance tilted the final result in the Tigers’ favor.
“A lot of emotions going around, it was just a crazy game,” Noser said. “Everyone playing with passion, all their heart. It was a well-played game, a good game.”
One of those emotions on Senior Night involved Brian Bertoni, a Tigers senior co-captain who is sidelined for the season by a knee injury.
“It was a tough loss (Bertoni),” Noser said, “but I think a lot of players on our bench stepped up, and we’ve still done pretty well.”
Even through the disappointment of a 1-0 loss, the Cougars hardly felt defeated.
“We’ve been going in the right direction,” Williams said, “We won two in a row Monday and Tuesday, and felt like we were getting back on the right track.”
Even after Thursday’s battle, confidence hasn’t waned.
“We hit a little bit of a rough patch in the middle of the year,” McGuigan said, “but I think now we’re starting to push through it. I think we can use a game like this, kind of piggyback off a game like this and just take it into the playoffs.
“Now’s the time to get hot,” McGuigan added. “Now is when it matters. If we just catch a little adrenalin and energy, we’ll go really hard this next week in practice, and we’ll maybe make some moves in the playoffs.”
After a wild 80-minute battle Thursday, Berry summed up the impact.
“Our guys are honored (on Senior Night), their families are here, friends,” Berry said, “and we have the local (youth) soccer organization here.
“They (the Tigers players) did a good job staying focused on what they did, and to come out and not only get a win but to get a shutout against a conference team and a rival, it’s good.”
And as with every team, focus shifts to the playoffs -- the biggest challenge ahead.
“The bad part is we play again tomorrow (Friday) at Wheaton Academy,” Berry said. “But that’s why we put good teams on the schedule, so we get ready for when playoffs come in 12 days.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Nick Beemster
D: Justin McGuigan
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Josue Jimenez
D: Tyler Whitmire
M: Miki Derka
M: Carlos Sagols
M: Ernesto Cortina
M: Christian Gonzalez
F: Anthony Marmolejo
F: Max Treptow
Plainfield North
GK: Alex Noser
D: Colin Russell
D: Kanon Woodill
D: Brandon Wojtkiewicz
D: Tyler Young
M: John Seeley
M: Nick Franchi
M: Patrick Elster
M: Shea Bechtel
F: Adan Juarez
F: Yousef Ismail
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Noser, jr. GK, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
PN – Yousef Ismail (PK), 55th minute
Tigers win crosstown SPC showdown 1-0 on Senior Night
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD – A night to celebrate Plainfield soccer had a great game to match.
Plainfield South and host Plainfield North engaged in a back-and-forth battle of big offensive chances and excellent defense and goaltending. The tug-of-war was only settled by a penalty kick.
With just 15 minutes left in a 0-0 match, Yousef Ismail sent a pass to the box towards a running Dilan Anweiler, who was tripped from behind in his pursuit of the ball.
Ismail drove home the ensuing PK (his fourth goal of 2018 to go with 10 assists) to provide the difference in a 1-0 win for the Tigers (11-8-1, 5-3-0).
“It’s all just confidence,” Ismail said of his PK strategy. “You just have to pick your side (of the net) and stay with it.”
For Plainfield South (8-8-4, 2-5-0), its strong match turned sour on one play.
“Tonight I thought we played really well on both sides of the ball,” Cougars coach Bryant Williams said. “It stinks to play this well and have the game come down to lose on a PK, but it was a good call, the right call.
“It’s just unfortunate. Our guy kind of tripped and wasn’t trying to take their guy (Anweiler) out, but it was a call that had to be made. It just stinks that that’s what decided the game.”
Besides that PK, the other deciding factor proved to be Plainfield North junior goalkeeper Alex Noser.
With the wind at their backs in the first half, Plainfield South blitzed the Tigers end of the field time and again.
Noser ended the first half with 10 saves, including a pair of big-time stops on Carlos Sogals (a diving stop on a 12-yard shot in the 10th minute, then an even better Noser high block of a Sogals 10-yard rocket 20 minutes in).
“I think that’s the most shots I’ve ever had,” Noser said. “I just tried to keep my composure, be settled, be calm, don’t get panicked, and try to control the back the best that I could.”
Plainfield South got passes from Anthony Marmolejo and Ernie Cortina set up Sagols’ big chance midway through the half.
How Sagols ended the night without a goal was a tribute to Noser’s efforts – especially on a play with just 8:15 left in the match and North up 1-0.
Marmolejo’s nice touch pass between defenders found Sagols free up the middle. His 15-yard liner deflected off a Tigers defender and would have settled in the open left corner of the net if not for Noser’s flying dive and fingertip grab that would make any IHSA Saves of the Year video.
“It deflected off a defender, and I just saw it at the last second, dove and luckily I got it,” said Noser, whose 13-save shutout earned him Man of the Match honors.
When it came to the Plainfield North defense, one name kept coming up.
“Alex was good, Alex was clean, Alex had a great game,” Tigers coach Steve Berry said. “He finished with a deflected ball that a lot of times finds the net. Today he was ready, and he was really good -- not only the saves, but his ability to not give up rebounds was a big thing for us.
“Obviously still with the lead you’re not disappointed if it goes in off a deflection, but he reacted extremely well because he anticipated the ball would be somewhere on frame. And he made a great save.”
Plainfield South’s defense was also excellent, capped by a big stand with 2:05 left.
Passes from Plainfield North's Ismail and Adan Juarez found Shea Bechtel attacking the end line. Bechtel’s nice cross connected with Ryan Kuffel near the open right post, but Cougars defender Fabian Alvarado made a goal-saving block near the goal line of Kuffel’s shot.
Alvarado’s great defensive match included a 1-v.-1 block and steal on a Tigers attack into the box with 12 minutes left. And South's 6-foot-5 sophomore goalkeeper Nick Beemster also excelled, especially with 29:30 left in the match.
With Bechtel speeding in off a nice Yousef pass, Beemster came off his line to smother Bechtel’s 10-yard shot and cover any potential rebound.
Berry praised both saver and scorer on the play.
“Shea was super good today,” Berry said. “He may be frustrated a little bit because their goalkeeper made a great save. But Shea was really good for us holding the ball, taking people on and dictating where the game was going to play.
“I know he’s frustrated he didn’t finish one, but the finishing isn’t as important as the way he competed today and held possession in the final third.”
Both defenses made finishes very difficult in another hard-fought battle in the crosstown series.
“When Plainfield South plays Plainfield North, it’s always a great game,” Cougars senior defender Justin McGuigan said. “It has the two creams of the crop in Plainfield I think.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into it. We had a lot of energy coming into it, and I think we maybe ran out of gas a little bit. They got that one call in the box. But it was a pretty even game, and I thought it was a great game.”
And also a great night off the field.
About 100 Plainfield youth soccer players formed a tunnel for players to run through during pregame introductions, and the presence of Chicago Fire mascot Sparky and a larger than usual crowd added another distinctive factor.
“It’s very special, with a lot of people here,” Ismail said. “We usually don’t have many people in our crowd, but when they do come it’s good.”
On top of all that, it was Senior Night for the Tigers.
“It was good to get the win on Senior Night,” Ismail said, “especially having all our parents here to support us.”
But the visitors did all they could to crash the commemorative party.
Max Treptow’s chip just over the net from a tough angle right of the goal marked the first Cougars threat of the game in the seventh minute.
Three minutes later came a metaphor for the night’s back-and-forth battle. On a two-man attack by North’s Ismail and Juarez, South’s Josue Jimenez made a nice tackle and clear to set up Sagols’ big counterattack that ended with a 12-yard shot denied by Noser’s diving stop.
As is customary on Senior Night, the hosts' had a starting lineup stuffed full of members from the Class of 2019.
“We started about six guys who usually don’t start,” Berry said, “So we knew we were going to give up a little bit going with that.”
But as usual, the rock-steady presence of one senior kept the Tigers on an even keel.
“Patrick Elster is so important to us,” Berry said, “not just in how he played tactically and technically, but what he does for his with his leadership. He’s driving guys, especially when we start a group that isn’t usually our starting lineup.
“Now it’s new guys, and he’s still driving people to stay organized, stay in spots and get to their positions.
“He’s just so important to us,” Berry added. “He dictates how we play, when to speed it up and slow it down.”
Between Plainfield South’s strong play and Senior Night, finding that equilibrium wasn’t easy.
“Nothing against the seniors, but it’s just not a normal way to start the game,” Berry said. “You’re out of your rhythm. But most of the (surrendered) shots weren’t difficult. They were very long and all saveable.”
Williams agreed that while first half possession and shot numbers were strong for the Cougars, more quality chances were needed.
“In the first half we played well,” Williams said. “We had some opportunities with the wind, and unfortunately we just weren’t able to convert.
“I felt like we settled for shots a little too early instead of taking another touch or two and getting a little closer. We kind of looked up and saw we had an open goal, and took the shot from maybe farther out than I would have liked. That’s something we’ve been working on, to be a little more patient with the ball on our foot.”
For the Tigers, the first 40 minutes became a matter of survival.
“We just wanted to deal with the wind in the first half,” Ismail said, “because we would have the advantage in the second half going with the wind. Especially since we have fast players like Shea and Dilan up-top. That helps us a lot.”
The Cougars domination of the first 30 minutes began to settle into more of a draw late in the half.
Beemster made a diving save to deny a Bechtel 22-yard shot in the 31st minute. Then three minutes later, McGuigan’s header block and clear of a 33-yard Ismail free kick set up a Sagols counterattack and shot on goal at the other end.
Dueling defense by North’s John Seeley (a header upfield of a South 50-yard free kick) and South’s Tom Pawlowski (steal inside midfield in the 39th minute) closed the first half.
“We were in the locker room (at the half) talking about things we needed to do,” Noser said, “like controlling the middle and not letting them play through so much.
“I think we did better in the second half and controlled the game more.”
After the break a Marcos Papakostas shot-block set up a counterattack, and Seeley shot wide with 33:20 left. But the Cougars defied the gusting elements to stand tall.
Alvarado and McGuigan made nice defensive plays to diffuse ensuing Tigers threats, and a nice offensive rush by Marmolejo and Sagols produced a shot wide with 31 minutes left.
In the 15-plus minutes between that sequence and the deciding Ismail PK, the Cougars had every answer for the Tigers – and vice versa.
After Beemster’s great save to deny Bechtel with 29:30 left, another Bechtel threat with 18:10 to play ended with a great Christian Gonzalez block and send that produced a Marmolejo counterattack and corner kick.
Another Marmolejo right side push with 16:40 left ended with a steal by North defender Kanon Woodill. A counter ensued that ended with a Seeley cross nabbed by Beemster.
“Plainfield South should feel extremely good about their ability to press us and be athletic,” Berry said. “We knew they were super athletic and that posed problems, but we stayed composed and generally gave up things that were predictable.”
Less than two minutes later, the PK chance tilted the final result in the Tigers’ favor.
“A lot of emotions going around, it was just a crazy game,” Noser said. “Everyone playing with passion, all their heart. It was a well-played game, a good game.”
One of those emotions on Senior Night involved Brian Bertoni, a Tigers senior co-captain who is sidelined for the season by a knee injury.
“It was a tough loss (Bertoni),” Noser said, “but I think a lot of players on our bench stepped up, and we’ve still done pretty well.”
Even through the disappointment of a 1-0 loss, the Cougars hardly felt defeated.
“We’ve been going in the right direction,” Williams said, “We won two in a row Monday and Tuesday, and felt like we were getting back on the right track.”
Even after Thursday’s battle, confidence hasn’t waned.
“We hit a little bit of a rough patch in the middle of the year,” McGuigan said, “but I think now we’re starting to push through it. I think we can use a game like this, kind of piggyback off a game like this and just take it into the playoffs.
“Now’s the time to get hot,” McGuigan added. “Now is when it matters. If we just catch a little adrenalin and energy, we’ll go really hard this next week in practice, and we’ll maybe make some moves in the playoffs.”
After a wild 80-minute battle Thursday, Berry summed up the impact.
“Our guys are honored (on Senior Night), their families are here, friends,” Berry said, “and we have the local (youth) soccer organization here.
“They (the Tigers players) did a good job staying focused on what they did, and to come out and not only get a win but to get a shutout against a conference team and a rival, it’s good.”
And as with every team, focus shifts to the playoffs -- the biggest challenge ahead.
“The bad part is we play again tomorrow (Friday) at Wheaton Academy,” Berry said. “But that’s why we put good teams on the schedule, so we get ready for when playoffs come in 12 days.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Nick Beemster
D: Justin McGuigan
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Josue Jimenez
D: Tyler Whitmire
M: Miki Derka
M: Carlos Sagols
M: Ernesto Cortina
M: Christian Gonzalez
F: Anthony Marmolejo
F: Max Treptow
Plainfield North
GK: Alex Noser
D: Colin Russell
D: Kanon Woodill
D: Brandon Wojtkiewicz
D: Tyler Young
M: John Seeley
M: Nick Franchi
M: Patrick Elster
M: Shea Bechtel
F: Adan Juarez
F: Yousef Ismail
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Noser, jr. GK, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
PN – Yousef Ismail (PK), 55th minute