Cougars hold off Providence to claim 15th victory

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By Curt Herron

Plainfield South entered Monday's match at Providence Catholic on a roll after having won seven of its last eight.

Meanwhile, the host Celtics have been struggling and had just four wins, compared to 14 for the visiting Cougars.

But South coach Kevin Allen, a 2001 Providence graduate, figured that his alma mater would give his team a battle.

And as it turned out, he was all too correct, as the Celtics gave the Cougars all they could handle and then some.

Despite scoring five goals, South had to hold off a late Providence comeback effort to claim a 5-4 win in New Lenox.

Brittany McDaniel scored three goals while Sarah Johnson chipped in with a pair of scores for the Cougars (15-5-2).

Kaitlyn Kraz, Katie Hamilton, Danni Dame and McDaniel had assists for South, who plays at Oswego East on Thursday.

Providence's hopes were boosted by Chris Reed, who joined McDaniel as a three-goal scorer during the match.

After falling behind early, the Cougars scored three straight goals to seemingly establish control.

But the Celtics closed to within 3-2 shortly before the break after making a PK following a hand ball in the box.

McDaniel scored two goals early in the second half to give South a 5-2 lead but the hosts responded with two scores.

That led to some tense moments for the Cougars, who had to hold the Celtics off for over 18 minutes to get the win.

But the victory may have been a costly one since a pair of seniors had to leave the match with injuries.

Kraz exited early in the second half and left the field on crutches while McDaniel limped off in the final minutes.

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The Celtics grabbed the early advantage when Reed connected just 9:24 into the match but South quickly responded.

Alex Truhlar nearly tied things up 20 seconds later when she lined an attempt that was deflected away.

But South was able to find the net for the first time less than three minutes after the hosts had moved in front.

With 27:39 remaining in the opening half, Johnson was stopped on a short shot attempt.

But the rebound went right to McDaniel, who passed the ball back to Johnson, who this time scored from close range.

The next 22 minutes featured a variety of good scoring chances from both squads, but neither team was able to connect.

Lindsey Zagar, McDaniel, Truhlar and Kraz all put good attempts on the Celtic goal, but all of the tries were halted.

Meanwhile, South keeper Taylor Schwebke also was very busy, stopping Reed on at least three different occasions.

The Cougars finally broke the scoring drought with 4:49 left before the break to move in front for good.

McDaniel came up with a loose ball and got past defenders as she drove toward the net to collect the go-ahead score.

South added to its lead with just 3:42 later when Kraz sent a pass to Johnson, who put a shot just inside of the post.

It looked like the Cougars would take a two-goal advantage into halftime but the Celtics capitalized on a big break.

The Cougars were called for a hand ball in the box with 34 seconds left and Reed made the subsequent penalty kick.

While there were less scoring chances during the final 40 minutes, there was still plenty of drama remaining.

Things looked up for South after it scored just 1:42 into the new half and added another goal not long afterward.

South went up 4-2 when Hamilton sent a perfect pass to McDaniel, who moved downfield to collect her second goal.

During the next eight minutes, the Cougars received good chances from McDaniel, Johnson, Truhlar and Zagar.

But some of the enthusiasm dimmed after Kraz got hurt and spent much of the rest of the match on the host's bench.

The Cougars added to their lead with 27:58 left when McDaniel scored her third goal, off of an assist from Dame.

Reed scored her third goal with 21:05 remaining and Emma Lagone scored just 2:31 later to make it a 5-4 game.

That prompted the return of the Cougars' starters, and following a few scary moments, the visitors got the win.

One down note came with just 2:51 left when McDaniel went down with an injury and had to be helped off the field.

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