Late Waubonsie goal dooms Plainfield S.
Warriors win 2-1 over Cougars in Plainfield Classic opener
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD – Javy Gonzalez’s offensive breakthrough couldn’t have come at a better time for Waubonsie Valley.
Gonzalez’s first two goals of 2019, including the game-winner with 6:45 left, earned the Warriors a 2-1 win over host Plainfield South (2-5-0) in the opening round of the Plainfield Classic.
“I’m really happy for Javy,” Waubonsie coach Jose Garcia said. “He’s been working really hard, and he’s new to the program (from club soccer).
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get him last year, but he’s been a really big part of our program this season. I’m really proud of him to get two goals in a game – I knew he had it in him. It’s just a matter of putting him in the right spot, and he made it happen.”
Both Gonzalez goals came on identical plays – perfectly-touched serves up the middle by Noah Glorioso. Then Gonzalez used his speed to reach the ball first and chip the shot past the goalkeeper.
“Those plays I just saw a quick one-two, and the goalie was coming out,” Gonzalez said. “I knew he was going to dive to the right, so I decided to shoot it to the left.
“I’m not used to midfield – it’s my first season playing mid. So this (two-goal game) is just going to boost my momentum.”
The go-ahead goal came on the heels of a great strike by Plainfield South just 62 seconds earlier, which seemingly had shifted that critical momentum into the Cougars’ camp.
Down 1-0, Plainfield South changed things in a flash when Carlos Sagols dribbled from left side towards the middle. With open space, Sagols rocketed a 30-yard shot into the upper right corner to tie the game 1-1.
“Rocco (Rizzi), our outside left back, I think won the ball,” Sagols said. “He looked up and passed it to me, and I just went for it (the long shot) to tie the game.”
Said Waubonsie Valley’s Garcia: “I have to give him credit. That was a great shot, a perfect shot. It caught (goalkeeper) Bryan (Grimaldo) by surprise, which is surprising also. But it was such a forceful shot and so well placed that there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Sagols’ fourth goal of the season added to his strong recent play.
“Carlos Sagols has really been playing well since we went with a new formation that basically has the forwards stacked on top,” Cougars coach Bryant Williams said.
“Carlos is a kid that just needs room to maneuver, and that’s one of the reasons I did that (formation), to give him more room.
“He can really play either one of the forward positions,” Williams added, “as the target guy or the guy who sits back in the slot and makes the runs. And he scored the goal today at center mid. So he’s multi-talented. He’s the guy we’re looking at lately as our go-to guy.”
But as quickly as Plainfield South drew even, Waubonsie went back to work.
Speedy Warriors forward Milan Erastus-Obilo re-entered the match after the tying goal, and Glorioso lined a short-hop 20-yard shot on goal with 7:15 left.
Then just 30 seconds later, Glorioso’s touch pass from 30 yards out sprung Gonzalez on a rush towards the net for an eventual 10-yard putaway.
“We had to make a couple adjustments to get back the momentum,” Garcia said, “and that’s what they did. I’m glad we got back on track.”
A similar Glorioso pass up the middle with 27:07 left had sprung a sprinting Gonzalez for a 15-yard chip past charging Cougars goalkeeper Robin Coetzee for a 1-0 Warriors lead.
“Javy with two great finishes on basically the same goal,” Glorioso said.
“Basically after the way we started (a 0-0 halftime tie), I pulled back into the center mid position, and we put Milan up-top,” Glorioso added. “The goal was basically to get Milan the ball, have him lay it off to me and have Javy or Zach (Yench) running through. And that’s exactly what happened. It worked out perfectly.”
Up 2-1, the Warriors guarded the lead well. Goalkeeper Bryan Grimaldo just beat Cougars junior Haris Pabedinskas to a long send to the box with 5:50 left.
Then after an Owen O’Shea 30-yard shot wide left with three minutes to go, Waubonsie wound down the clock with a 90-second dribbling and passing game of keep away.
Plainfield South’s only mild threats in the final 40 seconds were denied by Teague Stotlar, with a header upfield from 35 yards out and then a win of a Cougars midfield free kick with 10 seconds to go.
“Defensively we’ve been playing really well,” Garcia said. “And I think Teague Stotlar and Adrien Mehra have been a powerhouse back there. They’re smart, great on the ball, and they really just lock you down back there. The whole backline right now is one of the best we’ve had in the program.”
Both backlines had to be on their toes all day, as probably 80 percent of the match was played in the final third of the field.
Plainfield South had the first salvo, a Max Treptow 30-yard shot grabbed by a diving Grimaldo at the left post six minutes in.
The Warriors answered one minute later, as nice passes by Dan Morgan and Glorioso (cross) set up a Jerry Perez deflection in-front that went just wide.
Many more chances would follow the rest of the first half.
In the 16th minute, an Erastus-Obilo initial attack would be denied by Zachary Kolb – a play that ended with Gonzalez’s 20-yard shot just wide.
Then in the 18th minute, a 47-yard Cougars free kick created danger. Fabian Alvarado’s long send in the air found Josue Jimenez, whose six-yard header went just over the crossbar.
Six minutes later, a 50-second sequence epitomized the end-to-end half.
The sequence began with a corner kick by Plainfield South’s Ernie Cortina. Grimaldo’s near-post block denied a Miki Derka header, and a Gonzalez clear ignited a counterattack and a Warriors corner kick of their own.
That Waubonsie restart would end with a Mehra shot deflected wide, and a second straight Warriors corner across the box and out.
A similar reversal of tide would come off a Warriors 25-yard free kick in the 29th minute. A Cougars block of that send would produce a counterattack that ended with a Cortina 25-yard liner over the net.
The Warriors would have the last two high-quality chances of the first half – redirects in front just wide of the net by Diego Carrillo (30th minute) and Perez (32nd minute).
“I feel like it was a pretty equal game,” Sagols said. “We were both pressuring each other and at each others’ necks. It’s just a matter of who wanted it more at the end.”
After a back-and-forth first half, Waubonsie began to turn up the heat after the break.
Coetzee’s save of a Glorioso 12-yarder 1:50 into the half was followed by good defense by Plainfield South’s Tyler Whitmire and Kolb on a pair of ensuing threats.
“I think Tyler Whitmire in the middle does a really nice job of stepping up and stopping the ball back there,” Williams said. “But as well as we play (defensively), we have that one breakdown that allows a goal to score.”
Both goalkeepers followed with nice saves – Grimaldo on a a low Jimenez shot with 33:30 left, then Coetzee’s block at the right post of a great Erastus-Obilo bid with 31:15 to go.
“We just had to keep our calm and keep trying,” Glorioso said of the Warriors’ offensive zone attack. “Eventually it was going to work.”
Four minutes later, the Warriors broke through. But the Cougars responded well.
A great Cougars threat came with 19:55 left. A Mehra block of Fabian Alvarado’s left-side rush produced a corner kick – a Treptow send that Grimaldo grabbed at the near post.
Grimaldo made another save with 13:45 to go, on an O’Shea 20-yard shot. Then came Sagols’ perfectly placed rocket, and the Cougars were back even 1-1.
“Right after they scored it obviously brings us down a little bit,” Glorioso said, “and we haven’t been scored on that much this year. It’s been on a lot of restarts for us.
“But we just have to bounce back, that was our mentality. We have to keep going, keep grinding. After we got one goal we know we can get another.”
In a matter of a minute, it was a ride from elation to deflation for Plainfield South.
“We were just trying to get back into the game, and we didn’t have much time left,” Sagols said of his goal.
“We tried to get a win and unfortunately that wasn’t the case, but that (Waubonsie) is a very good team. They play hard; they play tight mark. We just had to move the ball around a lot faster.”
For Williams, strong Warriors’ play didn’t reduce the sting.
“Today is a credit to them for putting the ball in the back of the net when we gave them the chance,” Williams said, “but I really didn’t think we worked hard enough to make them earn both of the chances they had.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed in the outcome. It’s kind of a broken record right now – we’re playing well against really good programs, and we’re just coming up short. We’re trying to get so-called signature win against somebody and kind of get over the hump, but we just have that breakdown at a key moment that costs us.”
The Cougars’ 2-5-0 record is painfully deceiving.
“We’ve only had one game that we lost by more than a goal,” Williams said, “and we’ve been on the wrong end of two shootouts.
“We’re right there – we can’t get frustrated. We can’t just look at the record, but where are we coming from last year. This year the schedule is much tougher, and if we want to get to that next level we have to play the better teams.”
But being so close only fuels hope for much better things.
“We’re getting there,” Williams said. “It’s just the mental game of knowing that we have to stay with it, and eventually the wins will come.
“I told the boys, this is a game that almost demands perfection. That has to come through in everything we do, from practice to game warmup to being on the field. Against really great programs like Waubonsie Valley, you make those mistakes and those teams will jump on them.”
The Warriors’ endless energy doesn’t make it easy on opponents.
“The work rate is unbelievable,” Garcia said. “In the end that’s all I really ask for. If they’re not working hard that’s when I have to get on them a little bit, but they’ve never disappointed me.”
And the results are starting to show.
“We started off a little slow,” Glorioso said, “but we’ve picked it up the last few games. We won against York, a great team, and this (win Saturday) is giving us more confidence to keep going and keep winning.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley:
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D: Teague Stotlar
D: Adrian Mehra
D: Zach Stanley
D: Daniel Fritz
M: Noah Glorioso
M: Dan Morgan
M: Brandon Garduno
M: Javi Gonzalez
F: Jerry Perez
F: Milan Erastus-Obilo
Plainfield South
GK: Robin Coetzee
D: Thomas Garner
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Tyler Whitmire
D: Zachary Kolb
M: Haris Pabedinskas
M: Josue Jimenez
M: Ernie Cortina
M: Owen O’Shea
F: Miki Derka
F: Max Treptow
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Javy Gonzalez, jr. M, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
WV- Javi Gonzalez (Noah Glorioso), 53rd min
PS- Carlos Sagols, 73rd min
WV- Gonzalez (Glorioso), 74th min
Warriors win 2-1 over Cougars in Plainfield Classic opener
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD – Javy Gonzalez’s offensive breakthrough couldn’t have come at a better time for Waubonsie Valley.
Gonzalez’s first two goals of 2019, including the game-winner with 6:45 left, earned the Warriors a 2-1 win over host Plainfield South (2-5-0) in the opening round of the Plainfield Classic.
“I’m really happy for Javy,” Waubonsie coach Jose Garcia said. “He’s been working really hard, and he’s new to the program (from club soccer).
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get him last year, but he’s been a really big part of our program this season. I’m really proud of him to get two goals in a game – I knew he had it in him. It’s just a matter of putting him in the right spot, and he made it happen.”
Both Gonzalez goals came on identical plays – perfectly-touched serves up the middle by Noah Glorioso. Then Gonzalez used his speed to reach the ball first and chip the shot past the goalkeeper.
“Those plays I just saw a quick one-two, and the goalie was coming out,” Gonzalez said. “I knew he was going to dive to the right, so I decided to shoot it to the left.
“I’m not used to midfield – it’s my first season playing mid. So this (two-goal game) is just going to boost my momentum.”
The go-ahead goal came on the heels of a great strike by Plainfield South just 62 seconds earlier, which seemingly had shifted that critical momentum into the Cougars’ camp.
Down 1-0, Plainfield South changed things in a flash when Carlos Sagols dribbled from left side towards the middle. With open space, Sagols rocketed a 30-yard shot into the upper right corner to tie the game 1-1.
“Rocco (Rizzi), our outside left back, I think won the ball,” Sagols said. “He looked up and passed it to me, and I just went for it (the long shot) to tie the game.”
Said Waubonsie Valley’s Garcia: “I have to give him credit. That was a great shot, a perfect shot. It caught (goalkeeper) Bryan (Grimaldo) by surprise, which is surprising also. But it was such a forceful shot and so well placed that there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Sagols’ fourth goal of the season added to his strong recent play.
“Carlos Sagols has really been playing well since we went with a new formation that basically has the forwards stacked on top,” Cougars coach Bryant Williams said.
“Carlos is a kid that just needs room to maneuver, and that’s one of the reasons I did that (formation), to give him more room.
“He can really play either one of the forward positions,” Williams added, “as the target guy or the guy who sits back in the slot and makes the runs. And he scored the goal today at center mid. So he’s multi-talented. He’s the guy we’re looking at lately as our go-to guy.”
But as quickly as Plainfield South drew even, Waubonsie went back to work.
Speedy Warriors forward Milan Erastus-Obilo re-entered the match after the tying goal, and Glorioso lined a short-hop 20-yard shot on goal with 7:15 left.
Then just 30 seconds later, Glorioso’s touch pass from 30 yards out sprung Gonzalez on a rush towards the net for an eventual 10-yard putaway.
“We had to make a couple adjustments to get back the momentum,” Garcia said, “and that’s what they did. I’m glad we got back on track.”
A similar Glorioso pass up the middle with 27:07 left had sprung a sprinting Gonzalez for a 15-yard chip past charging Cougars goalkeeper Robin Coetzee for a 1-0 Warriors lead.
“Javy with two great finishes on basically the same goal,” Glorioso said.
“Basically after the way we started (a 0-0 halftime tie), I pulled back into the center mid position, and we put Milan up-top,” Glorioso added. “The goal was basically to get Milan the ball, have him lay it off to me and have Javy or Zach (Yench) running through. And that’s exactly what happened. It worked out perfectly.”
Up 2-1, the Warriors guarded the lead well. Goalkeeper Bryan Grimaldo just beat Cougars junior Haris Pabedinskas to a long send to the box with 5:50 left.
Then after an Owen O’Shea 30-yard shot wide left with three minutes to go, Waubonsie wound down the clock with a 90-second dribbling and passing game of keep away.
Plainfield South’s only mild threats in the final 40 seconds were denied by Teague Stotlar, with a header upfield from 35 yards out and then a win of a Cougars midfield free kick with 10 seconds to go.
“Defensively we’ve been playing really well,” Garcia said. “And I think Teague Stotlar and Adrien Mehra have been a powerhouse back there. They’re smart, great on the ball, and they really just lock you down back there. The whole backline right now is one of the best we’ve had in the program.”
Both backlines had to be on their toes all day, as probably 80 percent of the match was played in the final third of the field.
Plainfield South had the first salvo, a Max Treptow 30-yard shot grabbed by a diving Grimaldo at the left post six minutes in.
The Warriors answered one minute later, as nice passes by Dan Morgan and Glorioso (cross) set up a Jerry Perez deflection in-front that went just wide.
Many more chances would follow the rest of the first half.
In the 16th minute, an Erastus-Obilo initial attack would be denied by Zachary Kolb – a play that ended with Gonzalez’s 20-yard shot just wide.
Then in the 18th minute, a 47-yard Cougars free kick created danger. Fabian Alvarado’s long send in the air found Josue Jimenez, whose six-yard header went just over the crossbar.
Six minutes later, a 50-second sequence epitomized the end-to-end half.
The sequence began with a corner kick by Plainfield South’s Ernie Cortina. Grimaldo’s near-post block denied a Miki Derka header, and a Gonzalez clear ignited a counterattack and a Warriors corner kick of their own.
That Waubonsie restart would end with a Mehra shot deflected wide, and a second straight Warriors corner across the box and out.
A similar reversal of tide would come off a Warriors 25-yard free kick in the 29th minute. A Cougars block of that send would produce a counterattack that ended with a Cortina 25-yard liner over the net.
The Warriors would have the last two high-quality chances of the first half – redirects in front just wide of the net by Diego Carrillo (30th minute) and Perez (32nd minute).
“I feel like it was a pretty equal game,” Sagols said. “We were both pressuring each other and at each others’ necks. It’s just a matter of who wanted it more at the end.”
After a back-and-forth first half, Waubonsie began to turn up the heat after the break.
Coetzee’s save of a Glorioso 12-yarder 1:50 into the half was followed by good defense by Plainfield South’s Tyler Whitmire and Kolb on a pair of ensuing threats.
“I think Tyler Whitmire in the middle does a really nice job of stepping up and stopping the ball back there,” Williams said. “But as well as we play (defensively), we have that one breakdown that allows a goal to score.”
Both goalkeepers followed with nice saves – Grimaldo on a a low Jimenez shot with 33:30 left, then Coetzee’s block at the right post of a great Erastus-Obilo bid with 31:15 to go.
“We just had to keep our calm and keep trying,” Glorioso said of the Warriors’ offensive zone attack. “Eventually it was going to work.”
Four minutes later, the Warriors broke through. But the Cougars responded well.
A great Cougars threat came with 19:55 left. A Mehra block of Fabian Alvarado’s left-side rush produced a corner kick – a Treptow send that Grimaldo grabbed at the near post.
Grimaldo made another save with 13:45 to go, on an O’Shea 20-yard shot. Then came Sagols’ perfectly placed rocket, and the Cougars were back even 1-1.
“Right after they scored it obviously brings us down a little bit,” Glorioso said, “and we haven’t been scored on that much this year. It’s been on a lot of restarts for us.
“But we just have to bounce back, that was our mentality. We have to keep going, keep grinding. After we got one goal we know we can get another.”
In a matter of a minute, it was a ride from elation to deflation for Plainfield South.
“We were just trying to get back into the game, and we didn’t have much time left,” Sagols said of his goal.
“We tried to get a win and unfortunately that wasn’t the case, but that (Waubonsie) is a very good team. They play hard; they play tight mark. We just had to move the ball around a lot faster.”
For Williams, strong Warriors’ play didn’t reduce the sting.
“Today is a credit to them for putting the ball in the back of the net when we gave them the chance,” Williams said, “but I really didn’t think we worked hard enough to make them earn both of the chances they had.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed in the outcome. It’s kind of a broken record right now – we’re playing well against really good programs, and we’re just coming up short. We’re trying to get so-called signature win against somebody and kind of get over the hump, but we just have that breakdown at a key moment that costs us.”
The Cougars’ 2-5-0 record is painfully deceiving.
“We’ve only had one game that we lost by more than a goal,” Williams said, “and we’ve been on the wrong end of two shootouts.
“We’re right there – we can’t get frustrated. We can’t just look at the record, but where are we coming from last year. This year the schedule is much tougher, and if we want to get to that next level we have to play the better teams.”
But being so close only fuels hope for much better things.
“We’re getting there,” Williams said. “It’s just the mental game of knowing that we have to stay with it, and eventually the wins will come.
“I told the boys, this is a game that almost demands perfection. That has to come through in everything we do, from practice to game warmup to being on the field. Against really great programs like Waubonsie Valley, you make those mistakes and those teams will jump on them.”
The Warriors’ endless energy doesn’t make it easy on opponents.
“The work rate is unbelievable,” Garcia said. “In the end that’s all I really ask for. If they’re not working hard that’s when I have to get on them a little bit, but they’ve never disappointed me.”
And the results are starting to show.
“We started off a little slow,” Glorioso said, “but we’ve picked it up the last few games. We won against York, a great team, and this (win Saturday) is giving us more confidence to keep going and keep winning.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley:
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D: Teague Stotlar
D: Adrian Mehra
D: Zach Stanley
D: Daniel Fritz
M: Noah Glorioso
M: Dan Morgan
M: Brandon Garduno
M: Javi Gonzalez
F: Jerry Perez
F: Milan Erastus-Obilo
Plainfield South
GK: Robin Coetzee
D: Thomas Garner
D: Fabian Alvarado
D: Tyler Whitmire
D: Zachary Kolb
M: Haris Pabedinskas
M: Josue Jimenez
M: Ernie Cortina
M: Owen O’Shea
F: Miki Derka
F: Max Treptow
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Javy Gonzalez, jr. M, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
WV- Javi Gonzalez (Noah Glorioso), 53rd min
PS- Carlos Sagols, 73rd min
WV- Gonzalez (Glorioso), 74th min