Wildcats use first goal to capture initial win in SPC opener

 

 

By Curt Herron

A team's initial goal of a season often times isn't really that big of a deal.

But when a squad doesn't score in its first two matches and is blanked in the opening half of its next contest, that first goal is significant.

And when it results in the only tally in a conference opener, then it's certainly something to get excited about.

Such was the case for Plainfield Central as it took on rival Plainfield East in Thursday's Southwest Prairie Conference debut.

The Wildcats went 216 1/2 minutes before they were able to find the back of the next for the first time this season.

And Shawna Watson's goal following a perfectly-placed corner kick from Deanna DiCristina was the combination that clicked in the 57th minute.

Thanks to that score, as well as a second-consecutive shutout, Central was able to kick off SPC play with a 1-0 victory at East.

Keeper Tiffany Lenza stopped the few tries that the Bengals sent in her direction, including the best scoring chance of the first 40 minutes.

She was supported by center backs Jessica Munkvold and Jen Ziegler, outside backs Lisa Schroeder and DiCristina and defensive center mid Maddie Conroy.

After seeing his squad improve to 1-1-1 on the season, Wildcat coach Ken Schoen was understandably pleased with the performance.

"It's not the pace of the game or how much you control possession, all that matters is the end result," Schoen said. "I told them at halftime that I thought that we were the better team but that doesn't mean much if we don't win the game so I said that we had to start scoring. Deanna made a great cross on that corner and Shawna buried it in the back of the net.

"We talked about having better composure with the ball and I thought that we had that today. We got possession, looked at the field and started hitting the open players. Our outside mids were doing a great job of making runs down the line and just opening the field up. Melissa Del Sarto did a great job of creating chances.

"Things are little different from the beginning of the year on defense. We moved Deanna to outside back in our last game so it's not like we've had lots of practice but it worked last game and our defense has been pretty solid. We've had two close games in a row and we definitely have a lot of confidence now in defending."

After Lenza hated an East try early in the second half and Watson was denied a short time later, Central finally connected following a corner kick.

DiCristina placed the effort right in the box and Watson promptly connected for what proved to be the only scoring of the match.

"I just happened to be on the end of Deanna's corner kick," Watson said. "Luckily I was able to get it in to give us a lead. It's unfortunate that we didn't score any more but we also didn't let them score back.

"Not scoring before that was very frustrating, but we've been working on getting up top and scoring some goals. We had a hard time connecting in their 18 in the first half but we talked about what we needed to do at halftime and finished.

"On and off the field this team has a very strong bond and we have a lot of good friendships. We pass the ball well and also have a really strong defense. It's a pretty good feeling to get this victory."

The Wildcats kept up the attack after that score as Wendy Flores saw a shot thwarted a bit later and DiCristina saw a long free kick halted.

In the final 10 minutes of the match, East threatened but Jessica Munkvold cleared a close-range attempt and Lenza hauled in a free kick.

The Bengals had one more opportunity with about half a minute left but Lenza came out of the net to prevent the hosts from forcing overtime.

There weren't many good chances for either side in the first half, but perhaps the best was a late liner by the Bengals that Lenza stopped.

After her squad posted its second straight clean sheet and she set up the initial goal in their first win, DiCristina had plenty of reasons to be excited.

"I thought that we did a pretty good job of not letting down and staying strong through the whole game," DiCristina said. "We had little bursts of energy and were finally able to finish.

"We talked at halftime about relaxing since it was going to come. We work hard on our set plays since they're a big deal in games and are a huge opportunity. Shawna got a good look at it and put it in and it was a good goal.

"We seem to have a lot of skill and a lot of strong players on the team this year. I think the thing that we need to work on is getting more comfortable playing together. But that will eventually come with the more practices and games that we have."

Central plays its first home match on Saturday against Niles West and then it hosts rival Plainfield North in an SPC match on Wednesday.