North vs. South (of Plainfield)
Undefeated crosstown rivals meet
By Derek Wolff
Fresh off its first loss of the season in the finale of the Pepsi Showcase, host Plainfield North looks to press the reset button starting at 6:15 Tuesday night against rival Plainfield South.
Downed by New Trier 2-0 on Sunday, North (11-1-2) has a new purpose moving forward, coach Jane Crowe said.
“Sunday was an emotional loss against a great team, but we talked about it not being the end,” Crowe said. “We have some important games coming up, and a lot of soccer left to play.
"If nothing else, the game against New Trier should be big for our confidence. We played right with them and had good goal scoring opportunities. They were able to capitalize on our mistakes, and we weren’t able to do the same. We know that if we continue to play that way moving forward, we will get right back on track.”
The teams enter the game as two-thirds of a three-team race for first in the Southwest Prairie Conference. Each started conference play with identical 3-0-0 records.
After going undefeated in 13 games to start the season, fifth-ranked North acknowledged the rivalry but will treat the match like any other game, with more to play for throughout the season, Crowe said.
“All games against Plainfield schools mean a lot to the girls,” she said. “These are girls they grew up playing with, and many of the girls from our team play club with girls from South.
"One of our goals each year is to win the conference, so we approach each conference game with a lot of focus. Even though both of us are 3-0-0 in conference so far, there are still a lot of games to play, so we aren’t really thinking about the record of either team.”
Plainfield South (6-4-0) is currently riding high. The Cougars scored 12 goals and won two-straight games for the second time this season in what has been an up-and-down 2015 campaign.
South outscored opponents 29-1 in its wins this season, with five shutouts. On the opposite side of Plainfield, the Tigers have yielded just eight goals over 14 games.
“Our strength this year has been our defense,” Crowe said. “We are confident that if we can stay organized in the back, we will be able to limit their opportunities. Our middle of the field (Reyse Stirrett, Sam Elster, and Renae Blevins) have been outstanding as well, so if they can control things in the middle of the field, we will be able to keep the ball in our attacking third of the field.”
Undefeated crosstown rivals meet
By Derek Wolff
Fresh off its first loss of the season in the finale of the Pepsi Showcase, host Plainfield North looks to press the reset button starting at 6:15 Tuesday night against rival Plainfield South.
Downed by New Trier 2-0 on Sunday, North (11-1-2) has a new purpose moving forward, coach Jane Crowe said.
“Sunday was an emotional loss against a great team, but we talked about it not being the end,” Crowe said. “We have some important games coming up, and a lot of soccer left to play.
"If nothing else, the game against New Trier should be big for our confidence. We played right with them and had good goal scoring opportunities. They were able to capitalize on our mistakes, and we weren’t able to do the same. We know that if we continue to play that way moving forward, we will get right back on track.”
The teams enter the game as two-thirds of a three-team race for first in the Southwest Prairie Conference. Each started conference play with identical 3-0-0 records.
After going undefeated in 13 games to start the season, fifth-ranked North acknowledged the rivalry but will treat the match like any other game, with more to play for throughout the season, Crowe said.
“All games against Plainfield schools mean a lot to the girls,” she said. “These are girls they grew up playing with, and many of the girls from our team play club with girls from South.
"One of our goals each year is to win the conference, so we approach each conference game with a lot of focus. Even though both of us are 3-0-0 in conference so far, there are still a lot of games to play, so we aren’t really thinking about the record of either team.”
Plainfield South (6-4-0) is currently riding high. The Cougars scored 12 goals and won two-straight games for the second time this season in what has been an up-and-down 2015 campaign.
South outscored opponents 29-1 in its wins this season, with five shutouts. On the opposite side of Plainfield, the Tigers have yielded just eight goals over 14 games.
“Our strength this year has been our defense,” Crowe said. “We are confident that if we can stay organized in the back, we will be able to limit their opportunities. Our middle of the field (Reyse Stirrett, Sam Elster, and Renae Blevins) have been outstanding as well, so if they can control things in the middle of the field, we will be able to keep the ball in our attacking third of the field.”