Plainfield North shuts out Waubonsie Valley
Reserve Bailey scores only goal in Tigers’ victory
By Steve Millar
PLAINFIELD – Junior Colin Bailey embraces every opportunity he gets when he comes off the bench for Plainfield North.
“I’m looking to make an impact on the field right away when I get in,” Bailey said. “I want to be able to give something that maybe the guys that get tired can’t give anymore. I try to give us some energy.”
Bailey certainly did that Saturday, scoring the only goal in the Tigers’ 1-0 win over Waubonsie Valley in a nonconference game in Plainfield.
“It’s tough for some of the kids that aren’t starting the game, because they know they have to be ready at any moment,” Plainfield North coach Lukasz Majewski said. “When the opportunity came, Colin did what he had to do. It’s his second game-winner. He had one a couple weeks ago in a very similar situation – back post, right spot.”
Bailey’s goal in the 62nd minute broke the deadlock and ended a frustrating run of missed chances for the Tigers (8-1-1), who are averaging 4.4 goals a game but struggled to get the offense in gear against Waubonsie Valley (1-5-1).
Plainfield North’s star senior midfielder, Shea Bechtel, set up the score on a quick counter off a Waubonsie Valley corner kick.
Bechtel got the ball in a one-on-one situation 30 yards from the goal, beat the defender with a quick move down the left side of the box, drew goalkeeper Alex Miller out. He slipped a pass to Bailey at the far post, and the midfielder Bailey hammered it home for his second goal of the season.
“I saw Shea take it wide,” Bailey said. “They were giving me tons of space, so I made the run down the lane. No one was marking me. He played the ball across, and I just put it in.
“Having Shea in the middle is big for us. He makes a lot of things happen. Then we have forwards who can finish, and we have guys who can come off the bench and help a lot, too.”
It was an unfortunate goal to concede for Waubonsie Valley, which had a couple players down in the box on the opposite side of the field after they collided during the preceding corner kick chance.
“They got us in that pretty quick transition,” Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. “Our defenders were down here laying on the ground after that corner kick. They tried to get up and get back in the play, but that’s part of the game. They did a good job finishing that opportunity.
“Shea Bechtel is such a dynamic player. He’s one you have to double mark. You have to have a solid defense against him. We did a good job the whole game, but they got us that one time.”
The Tigers, who rank 24th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, made sure that would be enough, getting a strong defensive performance from Lloyd Quezada, Brady Harwood and Ryan Mauder on the back line.
Plainfield North fended off nine Waubonsie Valley corner kicks.
“Defensively, we’ve been pretty organized,” Majewski said. “We’re missing a couple players back there, but it’s nice to have Brady and Lloyd back there to solidify things and keep things calm. We have an experienced keeper in Miguel (Rodriguez). They did what they had to do to keep the shutout.”
Rodriguez, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, wasn’t tested too often, but came up huge a few times while the match was still scoreless.
He made four saves to record the shutout, including three in the second half.
Rodriguez caught Alan Sanchez’s shot on a good look from 25 yards in the 48th minute and made another nice save on a hard shot from 30 yards from Aaron Griffith four minutes later.
On Waubonsie Valley’s best opportunity of the game, in the 61st minute, Griffith ripped a line drive from 25 yards that seemed ticketed for the top of the net. Rodriguez leaped to tip it over the crossbar.
That led to the corner-kick sequence that resulted in the Plainfield North goal on the other end.
“I didn’t want to catch it, because it was moving side-to-side against the wind, and I knew it would dip,” Rodriguez said of the clutch save. “I’m confident in my catching, but I didn’t want to risk it. So hitting it over the bar is the best bet.
“We have a great defense. I don’t get a lot of shots through to me. In most games, it’s maybe three or four. When there is a shot on me, I have to be ready to play my part and make the save.”
Bailey and Rodriguez’s heroics ensured Plainfield North would get out of the match with a victory despite what the Tigers universally proclaimed as a bit of a lackluster performance.
“We got the win, but I’m definitely not thrilled with the way we played and our execution on offense,” Majewski said. “We’re a much better team. The boys know that. We’ve been playing some pretty soccer lately, but sometimes it’s not your day. The good news is we still found a way to win. The bad news is we can do much better.
“Good teams find a way to win even on their bad days, and we’re hoping that’s what happened to us today.”
Rodriguez echoed those sentiments.
“This wasn’t our best game, but when we play our best game, we’re easily the best team in the (Southwest Prairie) conference,” he said. “We have to understand that (Saturday) wasn’t our best game, and we have to play better. I think we’ll be good going forward.”
Plainfield North’s only nonconference games in the pandemic half-season were against DuPage Valley Conference squads. Previously the Tigers tied Naperville Central 0-0 a week earlier when they were unranked and the Redhawks were slotted at no. 18.
Waubonsie Valley got strong defensive performances from Callum Keller, Spyros Christolsoulou, Javi Gonzalez and Zach Stanley.
Bryan Grimaldo made six saves in the first half. Second half keeper Miller made two.
“Overall, I thought our boys played well, and it was a pretty even game between two very talented teams,” Garcia said. “We created some chances. They also did. I think both our keepers played well.”
The Warriors had some good and bad to take away offensively. Earning nine corner kicks was a positive, but coming up empty on all of them was a negative.
“We need to utilize our tall players like Javi, me and Callum,” Stanley said. “We have to find their heads. It’s difficult because they have some quality defenders on their team. We just didn’t get lucky.
“We were moving the ball well in the midfield. There was sort of a disconnect between our midfielders and our forwards, but for the most part, we were working well together. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the net.”
Still, there were positive signs for the Warriors.
“We’re finally getting up there,” Garcia said. “I think this is the game where we had the most opportunities on goal. That is something for us to build on, looking forward to the future. Now, we can say we’re finally developing that offensive attack.”
In the end, it was a third-straight 1-0 defeat for Waubonsie Valley.
“We have good momentum, but we’ve had the unluckiest season,” Garcia said. “There are these little things that happen that put us in a tying position or a losing position. It’s a little disappointing, but at the same time, we’ve been playing well.
“Sometimes it’s about soccer, but sometimes it’s about luck, too. Luck just hasn’t been on our side the last couple games.”
Stanley said the Warriors will continue to battle.
“We have the drive, and we have the players,” he said. “If we can just keep putting some more pieces of the puzzle together, we can get some wins.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK - Bryan Grimaldo
D - Callum Keller
D - Spyros Christolsoulou
D - Javi Gonzalez
D - Zach Stanley
MF - Gean Riberio Scarpell
MF - Aaron Griffith
MF - Alan Sanchez
MF - Yahir Rodriguez
F - Diego Carillo
F - Angel Gallegos
Plainfield North
GK – Miguel Rodriguez
D - Ryan Mauder
D - Brady Harwood
D - Lloyd Quezada
MF - Ryan Bechtel
MF - Shea Bechtel
MF - Sean Elster
MF - Jake Gruben
MF - Justin Williams
F - Timi Usikalu
F - Cooper Allen
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Miguel Rodriguez, sr., GK, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield North – Colin Bailey (S. Bechtel), 62nd minute
Reserve Bailey scores only goal in Tigers’ victory
By Steve Millar
PLAINFIELD – Junior Colin Bailey embraces every opportunity he gets when he comes off the bench for Plainfield North.
“I’m looking to make an impact on the field right away when I get in,” Bailey said. “I want to be able to give something that maybe the guys that get tired can’t give anymore. I try to give us some energy.”
Bailey certainly did that Saturday, scoring the only goal in the Tigers’ 1-0 win over Waubonsie Valley in a nonconference game in Plainfield.
“It’s tough for some of the kids that aren’t starting the game, because they know they have to be ready at any moment,” Plainfield North coach Lukasz Majewski said. “When the opportunity came, Colin did what he had to do. It’s his second game-winner. He had one a couple weeks ago in a very similar situation – back post, right spot.”
Bailey’s goal in the 62nd minute broke the deadlock and ended a frustrating run of missed chances for the Tigers (8-1-1), who are averaging 4.4 goals a game but struggled to get the offense in gear against Waubonsie Valley (1-5-1).
Plainfield North’s star senior midfielder, Shea Bechtel, set up the score on a quick counter off a Waubonsie Valley corner kick.
Bechtel got the ball in a one-on-one situation 30 yards from the goal, beat the defender with a quick move down the left side of the box, drew goalkeeper Alex Miller out. He slipped a pass to Bailey at the far post, and the midfielder Bailey hammered it home for his second goal of the season.
“I saw Shea take it wide,” Bailey said. “They were giving me tons of space, so I made the run down the lane. No one was marking me. He played the ball across, and I just put it in.
“Having Shea in the middle is big for us. He makes a lot of things happen. Then we have forwards who can finish, and we have guys who can come off the bench and help a lot, too.”
It was an unfortunate goal to concede for Waubonsie Valley, which had a couple players down in the box on the opposite side of the field after they collided during the preceding corner kick chance.
“They got us in that pretty quick transition,” Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. “Our defenders were down here laying on the ground after that corner kick. They tried to get up and get back in the play, but that’s part of the game. They did a good job finishing that opportunity.
“Shea Bechtel is such a dynamic player. He’s one you have to double mark. You have to have a solid defense against him. We did a good job the whole game, but they got us that one time.”
The Tigers, who rank 24th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, made sure that would be enough, getting a strong defensive performance from Lloyd Quezada, Brady Harwood and Ryan Mauder on the back line.
Plainfield North fended off nine Waubonsie Valley corner kicks.
“Defensively, we’ve been pretty organized,” Majewski said. “We’re missing a couple players back there, but it’s nice to have Brady and Lloyd back there to solidify things and keep things calm. We have an experienced keeper in Miguel (Rodriguez). They did what they had to do to keep the shutout.”
Rodriguez, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, wasn’t tested too often, but came up huge a few times while the match was still scoreless.
He made four saves to record the shutout, including three in the second half.
Rodriguez caught Alan Sanchez’s shot on a good look from 25 yards in the 48th minute and made another nice save on a hard shot from 30 yards from Aaron Griffith four minutes later.
On Waubonsie Valley’s best opportunity of the game, in the 61st minute, Griffith ripped a line drive from 25 yards that seemed ticketed for the top of the net. Rodriguez leaped to tip it over the crossbar.
That led to the corner-kick sequence that resulted in the Plainfield North goal on the other end.
“I didn’t want to catch it, because it was moving side-to-side against the wind, and I knew it would dip,” Rodriguez said of the clutch save. “I’m confident in my catching, but I didn’t want to risk it. So hitting it over the bar is the best bet.
“We have a great defense. I don’t get a lot of shots through to me. In most games, it’s maybe three or four. When there is a shot on me, I have to be ready to play my part and make the save.”
Bailey and Rodriguez’s heroics ensured Plainfield North would get out of the match with a victory despite what the Tigers universally proclaimed as a bit of a lackluster performance.
“We got the win, but I’m definitely not thrilled with the way we played and our execution on offense,” Majewski said. “We’re a much better team. The boys know that. We’ve been playing some pretty soccer lately, but sometimes it’s not your day. The good news is we still found a way to win. The bad news is we can do much better.
“Good teams find a way to win even on their bad days, and we’re hoping that’s what happened to us today.”
Rodriguez echoed those sentiments.
“This wasn’t our best game, but when we play our best game, we’re easily the best team in the (Southwest Prairie) conference,” he said. “We have to understand that (Saturday) wasn’t our best game, and we have to play better. I think we’ll be good going forward.”
Plainfield North’s only nonconference games in the pandemic half-season were against DuPage Valley Conference squads. Previously the Tigers tied Naperville Central 0-0 a week earlier when they were unranked and the Redhawks were slotted at no. 18.
Waubonsie Valley got strong defensive performances from Callum Keller, Spyros Christolsoulou, Javi Gonzalez and Zach Stanley.
Bryan Grimaldo made six saves in the first half. Second half keeper Miller made two.
“Overall, I thought our boys played well, and it was a pretty even game between two very talented teams,” Garcia said. “We created some chances. They also did. I think both our keepers played well.”
The Warriors had some good and bad to take away offensively. Earning nine corner kicks was a positive, but coming up empty on all of them was a negative.
“We need to utilize our tall players like Javi, me and Callum,” Stanley said. “We have to find their heads. It’s difficult because they have some quality defenders on their team. We just didn’t get lucky.
“We were moving the ball well in the midfield. There was sort of a disconnect between our midfielders and our forwards, but for the most part, we were working well together. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the net.”
Still, there were positive signs for the Warriors.
“We’re finally getting up there,” Garcia said. “I think this is the game where we had the most opportunities on goal. That is something for us to build on, looking forward to the future. Now, we can say we’re finally developing that offensive attack.”
In the end, it was a third-straight 1-0 defeat for Waubonsie Valley.
“We have good momentum, but we’ve had the unluckiest season,” Garcia said. “There are these little things that happen that put us in a tying position or a losing position. It’s a little disappointing, but at the same time, we’ve been playing well.
“Sometimes it’s about soccer, but sometimes it’s about luck, too. Luck just hasn’t been on our side the last couple games.”
Stanley said the Warriors will continue to battle.
“We have the drive, and we have the players,” he said. “If we can just keep putting some more pieces of the puzzle together, we can get some wins.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK - Bryan Grimaldo
D - Callum Keller
D - Spyros Christolsoulou
D - Javi Gonzalez
D - Zach Stanley
MF - Gean Riberio Scarpell
MF - Aaron Griffith
MF - Alan Sanchez
MF - Yahir Rodriguez
F - Diego Carillo
F - Angel Gallegos
Plainfield North
GK – Miguel Rodriguez
D - Ryan Mauder
D - Brady Harwood
D - Lloyd Quezada
MF - Ryan Bechtel
MF - Shea Bechtel
MF - Sean Elster
MF - Jake Gruben
MF - Justin Williams
F - Timi Usikalu
F - Cooper Allen
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Miguel Rodriguez, sr., GK, Plainfield North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Plainfield North – Colin Bailey (S. Bechtel), 62nd minute