Jimenez takes shot, Plainfield S. gets result
Defender makes most of opportunity in 1-0 Windy City win
By Steve Millar
BURBANK - Josue Jimenez is the backbone of Plainfield South’s defense, but Cougars coach Bryant Williams doesn’t mind if the junior abandons his post if he sees a chance to make something happen on the other end of the field.
“I give Josue the green light,” Williams said. “If he sees an opportunity to make a run, he can go ahead and get off that backline and go. He certainly did it at a great time (Saturday).”
Jimenez scored with 13:18 left in the match, then went back to dominating defensively to help Plainfield South close out a 1-0 win over University (Chicago) in a Windy City Ram Classic quarterfinal at Reavis.
The Cougars (3-0-0) will meet Bolingbrook in a semifinal set for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
For the second-straight year, Williams' squad is one victory away from playing at Toyota Park in the championship game of the 32-team tournament.
Last season, Plainfield South fell 3-2 to eventual champion Bremen in the semifinals.
“We were all pretty upset about that loss last year, so we want to redeem ourselves this year,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, dashed down the middle of the field unmarked, took a pass from Anthony Marmolejo and buried his shot for the game’s only goal.
Marmolejo delivered a brilliant assist, dashing 40 yards with the ball and drawing the defense away from Jimenez.
“We got the ball out of the back, and I knew I could count on Anthony to keep going with it and not lose possession, so I went forward,” Jimenez said. “Once he got past the defense, I told him to get the ball to me. I knew he’d give me a good ball, and I finished it.
“That’s how I like playing. I like attacking. If I can help the offense, I love that.”
The score was the culmination of a strong second half surge for the Cougars.
After a first half that saw few chances for either side, Plainfield South turned up its attack over the final 35 minutes.
Goalkeeper Jamison Miller made a strong save for University (2-1-0) to deny Christian Gonzalez on a free kick from 25 yards just over two minutes into the second half.
Marmolejo fired just high on a good look from 30 yards a few minutes later.
“In the second half, I felt like our midfield play really stepped up,” Williams said. “In the first half, we weren’t connecting many passes. I challenged them at the half.
“Defensively, we got tighter with our marks in the second half, and I think that pressure really caused some problems for (University).”
Fabian Alvarado, Ryan Kabaker and Justin McGuigan turned in big efforts defensively for the Cougars, along with Jimenez.
Nick Beemster made two saves to record the shutout.
University didn’t go down without a fight. The Maroons generated some of their best chances of the game in the final two minutes.
Zachary Leslie fired wide and Alexandre Bal missed just high. Miller, meanwhile, came out of his net and joined the attack. He got his body on a cross from a teammate but directed the shot just wide.
“It was a battle getting out here on a hot day against a really good Plainfield South team,” University coach Josh Potter said. “We threw a lot of guys out there. We played a lot of young guys; we played guys out of position. It was great to get them that experience that they need.
“Hats off to Plainfield South. They came to play, and I congratulate them for moving forward because they deserved to.”
Universitym a Class A team, beat Cristo Rey and Reavis to reach the quarterfinals.
“I was hoping we’d get smacked around by one of these bigger schools, so we could learn from it,” Potter said. “Now we can say, ‘OK, we’re not who we thought we were. We’re not as good as we thought we were.’
“We can watch the film, see the gaps in our midfield, see that we weren’t moving the ball fast enough, stuff like that, and learn from that.”
Miller made five saves for the Maroons.
His counterpart, Beemster, was impressive for the Cougars. While he wasn’t tested often with shots on goal, he was aggressive coming off his line to prevent chances.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore, who made his varsity debut in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Argo, has his coach excited about the future as well as the present.
“Nick played with the JV team as a freshman and kind of stepped away this summer,” Williams said. “He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to continue with soccer, but fortunate for us he came back and said he’s ready to get back into it this fall.
“He’s got great tools, great size, great hands. He’s a kid that’s going to do nothing but get better. In a couple years, by his senior year, I see him being one of the elite goalies in the area, if not the state.”
Beemster said he’s starting to develop a comfort level in the net.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but if you push through it you’ll do fine,” he said. “I was a little less nervous (Saturday) than I was Thursday.
“I know if I’m not there, the defense will clear it for me. They’re my backbone, and they really support me.”
After an 8-1 rout over IC Catholic Prep in the first round, the Cougars have won two straight one-goal games.
Williams has been pleased with how his team has remained poised in tight contests.
“Mental toughness been so much of a focus for us that it gets to the point where the guys almost joke about it, because I talk about it so much. But, it’s something that we lost a bit last year. We picked up a lot of yellow cards in situations we didn’t need to do.
“This year, we’re preaching mental toughness. Bad calls are going to happen, things are going to go against us sometimes. We just have to play through it and focus on the task at hand. We’ve done a really good job with that so far.”
Williams knows his group is hungry to get to Toyota Park.
“Last year, we got so close against a really good Bremen team,” he said. “This year, we have the same opportunity against another really good team in Bolingbrook.
“The guys are excited to get another chance. The inspiration is definitely going to be there. It’s just a matter of getting it done on the field against a tough team.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Nick Beemster
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Josue Jimenez
D: Ryan Kabaker
D: Justin McGuigan
M: Anthony Marmolejo
M: Vincent Nirchi
M: Gabe Sandoval
M: Christian Gonzalez
F: Max Treptow
F: Ernesto Cortina
University
GK: Jamison Miller
D: Connor Smith
D: Nolan Issa
D: Julian Mondragon
D: Zachary Leslie
M: Stanley Shapiro
M: Jacob Beiser
M: Michael Claffey
M: Miles Rochester
F: Jaden Lynch
F: Tyler Pomposelli
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Josue Jimenez, jr., D, Plainfield South
Scoring summary
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield South: Josue Jimenez (Anthony Marmolejo), 57th minute
Defender makes most of opportunity in 1-0 Windy City win
By Steve Millar
BURBANK - Josue Jimenez is the backbone of Plainfield South’s defense, but Cougars coach Bryant Williams doesn’t mind if the junior abandons his post if he sees a chance to make something happen on the other end of the field.
“I give Josue the green light,” Williams said. “If he sees an opportunity to make a run, he can go ahead and get off that backline and go. He certainly did it at a great time (Saturday).”
Jimenez scored with 13:18 left in the match, then went back to dominating defensively to help Plainfield South close out a 1-0 win over University (Chicago) in a Windy City Ram Classic quarterfinal at Reavis.
The Cougars (3-0-0) will meet Bolingbrook in a semifinal set for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
For the second-straight year, Williams' squad is one victory away from playing at Toyota Park in the championship game of the 32-team tournament.
Last season, Plainfield South fell 3-2 to eventual champion Bremen in the semifinals.
“We were all pretty upset about that loss last year, so we want to redeem ourselves this year,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, dashed down the middle of the field unmarked, took a pass from Anthony Marmolejo and buried his shot for the game’s only goal.
Marmolejo delivered a brilliant assist, dashing 40 yards with the ball and drawing the defense away from Jimenez.
“We got the ball out of the back, and I knew I could count on Anthony to keep going with it and not lose possession, so I went forward,” Jimenez said. “Once he got past the defense, I told him to get the ball to me. I knew he’d give me a good ball, and I finished it.
“That’s how I like playing. I like attacking. If I can help the offense, I love that.”
The score was the culmination of a strong second half surge for the Cougars.
After a first half that saw few chances for either side, Plainfield South turned up its attack over the final 35 minutes.
Goalkeeper Jamison Miller made a strong save for University (2-1-0) to deny Christian Gonzalez on a free kick from 25 yards just over two minutes into the second half.
Marmolejo fired just high on a good look from 30 yards a few minutes later.
“In the second half, I felt like our midfield play really stepped up,” Williams said. “In the first half, we weren’t connecting many passes. I challenged them at the half.
“Defensively, we got tighter with our marks in the second half, and I think that pressure really caused some problems for (University).”
Fabian Alvarado, Ryan Kabaker and Justin McGuigan turned in big efforts defensively for the Cougars, along with Jimenez.
Nick Beemster made two saves to record the shutout.
University didn’t go down without a fight. The Maroons generated some of their best chances of the game in the final two minutes.
Zachary Leslie fired wide and Alexandre Bal missed just high. Miller, meanwhile, came out of his net and joined the attack. He got his body on a cross from a teammate but directed the shot just wide.
“It was a battle getting out here on a hot day against a really good Plainfield South team,” University coach Josh Potter said. “We threw a lot of guys out there. We played a lot of young guys; we played guys out of position. It was great to get them that experience that they need.
“Hats off to Plainfield South. They came to play, and I congratulate them for moving forward because they deserved to.”
Universitym a Class A team, beat Cristo Rey and Reavis to reach the quarterfinals.
“I was hoping we’d get smacked around by one of these bigger schools, so we could learn from it,” Potter said. “Now we can say, ‘OK, we’re not who we thought we were. We’re not as good as we thought we were.’
“We can watch the film, see the gaps in our midfield, see that we weren’t moving the ball fast enough, stuff like that, and learn from that.”
Miller made five saves for the Maroons.
His counterpart, Beemster, was impressive for the Cougars. While he wasn’t tested often with shots on goal, he was aggressive coming off his line to prevent chances.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore, who made his varsity debut in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Argo, has his coach excited about the future as well as the present.
“Nick played with the JV team as a freshman and kind of stepped away this summer,” Williams said. “He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to continue with soccer, but fortunate for us he came back and said he’s ready to get back into it this fall.
“He’s got great tools, great size, great hands. He’s a kid that’s going to do nothing but get better. In a couple years, by his senior year, I see him being one of the elite goalies in the area, if not the state.”
Beemster said he’s starting to develop a comfort level in the net.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but if you push through it you’ll do fine,” he said. “I was a little less nervous (Saturday) than I was Thursday.
“I know if I’m not there, the defense will clear it for me. They’re my backbone, and they really support me.”
After an 8-1 rout over IC Catholic Prep in the first round, the Cougars have won two straight one-goal games.
Williams has been pleased with how his team has remained poised in tight contests.
“Mental toughness been so much of a focus for us that it gets to the point where the guys almost joke about it, because I talk about it so much. But, it’s something that we lost a bit last year. We picked up a lot of yellow cards in situations we didn’t need to do.
“This year, we’re preaching mental toughness. Bad calls are going to happen, things are going to go against us sometimes. We just have to play through it and focus on the task at hand. We’ve done a really good job with that so far.”
Williams knows his group is hungry to get to Toyota Park.
“Last year, we got so close against a really good Bremen team,” he said. “This year, we have the same opportunity against another really good team in Bolingbrook.
“The guys are excited to get another chance. The inspiration is definitely going to be there. It’s just a matter of getting it done on the field against a tough team.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK: Nick Beemster
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Josue Jimenez
D: Ryan Kabaker
D: Justin McGuigan
M: Anthony Marmolejo
M: Vincent Nirchi
M: Gabe Sandoval
M: Christian Gonzalez
F: Max Treptow
F: Ernesto Cortina
University
GK: Jamison Miller
D: Connor Smith
D: Nolan Issa
D: Julian Mondragon
D: Zachary Leslie
M: Stanley Shapiro
M: Jacob Beiser
M: Michael Claffey
M: Miles Rochester
F: Jaden Lynch
F: Tyler Pomposelli
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Josue Jimenez, jr., D, Plainfield South
Scoring summary
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield South: Josue Jimenez (Anthony Marmolejo), 57th minute