Cougars get back on winning track against Wolves

 

 

By Curt Herron

On Monday, Plainfield South allowed an early score to Oswego which proved to be the difference in its first defeat of the season.

A similar scenario unfolded for the Cougars on Friday when they faced another side from that community, this time Oswego East.

But unlike the earlier effort against the Panthers, South responded to the early disadvantage by scoring not one, but two goals.

And the scores in each half proved to be the difference as the Cougars captured a 2-1 Southwest Prairie Conference win in Joliet.

South's victory over the Wolves in its home opener improved coach Dave Brown's squad to 4-1 on the campaign and 2-1 in the SPC.

A pair of players who came off of the bench during the match, Kailyn Haski and Alexis Mele, scored the goals for the winners.

Alex Truhlar set up Mele's eventual match-winner while Samantha Hlavac and Tabby Ortiz split time in the net for the Cougars.

"We knew that it was going to be two tough games this week with the two Oswego schools," Brown said. "Historically we've been very competitive with them as we've battled for position in this conference.

"The same thing happened at Oswego when we went down 1-0 early. I'm very proud of Kailyn and Alexis, who weren't starters today but stepped up and scored goals for us today to give us a lift. This was just a huge win for us today.

"We have talented players but it's just getting them all on the same page. That's been our issue in the past and why we haven't exactly clicked in every game. Some times we're on but it takes a little time to jell and move off the ball.

"You can't fault the girls' effort, One thing that I can expect from them every time out is that they're going to work hard, which is awesome as a coach to not have to worry about that. Today we made one more play than Oswego East did."

Following a first half which saw a balance in chances for the two teams, South definitely had more opportunities after the break.

Things started quickly when Truhlar sent a long free kick inside the box which Mayra Flores headed but the effort went just wide.

After new keeper Ortiz halted an attempt by Miranda Lambert, Abby Banks and Alex Goff countered with line drives for the Cougars.

Then Rachel Boros was stopped following a corner from Truhlar, who followed with a liner to cap the half's first quarter hour.

Things finally clicked again for South in the 67th minute when it strung together a play which required precision throughout.

The sequence started when Truhlar sent a perfect pass to Mele, who beat a defender and sent a shot over the onrushing keeper.

"It was a close game and a conference game so we kept fighting until the end," Mele said. "we wanted to finish off strong and it was a team effort. We made sure to fix our mistakes from the last game so we didn't have the same outcome.

"Our last goal was drawn out perfectly, starting with a good pass from Alex and then a little flick over the keeper. It was a good battle and both teams fought hard but we made sure that we finished our chances.

"We're having a good season and hoping that we play stronger as we finish things off. This is a strong team which has good chemistry and we all work really hard since we want that same goal, which is to win."

Fans may not have realized just how close that well-executed score nearly didn't happen, since Mele was about to be subbed out.

"I told Alexis that it was perfect timing on her goal since Kelsey Pruett was coming in for her at the next chance," Brown said. "After Alexis finished right before she came off of the field, we kind of had a little laugh about that.

During the final 10 minutes, Goff was thwarted and then Marisa Smith got in the way of a Megan Ross attempt on the opposite end.

Shortly after Pruett was denied on South's last good chance, Ortiz hauled in a try by Lambert to seal the victory for the hosts.

Just before the midway mark of the opening half, Boros made a nice play with a clearance after Lambert drove in toward the net.

East made the most of its next chance after a corner was cleared by Banks but Victoria Pecci fired in a shot in the 23rd minute.

A few minutes later, Lexus Ross sent in an attempt that went wide and originally ruled a goal kick but then changed to a corner.

That kept the ball on that side of the field and the Cougars eventually tied things up in the 30th minute on a shot from Haski.

"I had come off of the bench and they had just scored so you have that drive," Haski said. "That was the kind of shot that you mess around with in practice on and you hope to make them but that was kind of a lucky shot.

"Oswego East had the same outcome with Oswego as we did so we knew that we had to come out strong. We knew that it would be close so we had to come out with confidence and we worked well as a team and got the outcome that we wanted.

"We've been working on different plays and combinations in practice and you could tell that they were working well. We bond and work well as a team and that shows on the field. I like how close we all are and how we trust each other."

The Wolves had the only other good opportunity before the break but Hlavac was able to secure a liner from Anida Phetchanpheng.

South has a long break now before returning to action on April 17 and 18, when it travels to Morton and then Plainfield North.