Wildcats win 1-0 over Addison Trail
By Dave Owen

With top scorers Paige Fuller and Jen Ziegler both sidelined, Plainfield Central’s season-long battle with injuries has now put a big hurt on the Wildcats’ offense.

But Deanna Dicristina used creative means to save the day in a regular season-ending 1-0 win Wednesday at Addison Trail.

With 13:55 left in the first half, Dicristina’s corner kick to the near post deflected off the Addison Trail goalkeeper’s hands and into the net for the sophomore’s first goal of the season.

“I was basically just looking to cross the ball in,” Dicristina said. “I happened to go front post and the goalie went up to catch it and kind of wobbled with it.”

Beyond that fortunate bounce, Plainfield Central (8-12-2) had very little luck on numerous bids to finish scoring chances. Six offsides calls against the Wildcats in just the first 25 minutes set the tone for an erratic offensive afternoon.

“We were getting a little anxious, which was probably why we were getting offsides so much,” Dicristina said. “I’m proud we had a lot of opportunities, but we have to look to put them away.”
The frustration level over missed chances was even higher from the sidelines.

“You’ve just got to be aware,” Wildcats’ coach Ken Schoen said of the offside epidemic. “It’s like we’re not paying attention to what’s going on around us. Obviously we can’t be so focused on just looking at the ball. We have to see where everyone is at.

 “We were sluggish from the get go and never got our legs under us. We have a few injuries – three of our top players are out today (including defender Maddie Conroy), but we have enough talent that we still should be able to perform well.”

Wednesday’s win gave the Wildcats a 4-2-1 record in their last seven games, but the missing star power was bound to have an impact.

“Maddie is our center back, Paige is our top goal scorer and Jen is the second top goal scorer,” Schoen said. “It couldn’t come at a worse time, but I think two of them will get back (for regionals).”
The return of Fuller by next week is more uncertain, as she suffered a concussion Tuesday in a 2-0 loss to Oswego.

Fitting for the medical theme of the Wildcats’ season, Dicristina missed the first half of the season with injury and goalkeeper Tiffany Lenza (who earned the shutout Wednesday) also was briefly sidelined in mid-April.

“We’ve had plenty of injuries this year,” Dicristina said. “It’s been rough, but we have a pretty talented team and we’re confident that all 11 field players are excellent players.

“It’s not good to have so many injuries, but we’re trying to make the most of it. We have a lot of sophomores and freshmen on the team, and we’re getting a lot of playing time.”

Standout defender Lisa Schroeder, midfielder Melissa Del Sarto, Sami Jensen and Jessica Munkvold are the Wildcats’ only seniors. More than half of Wednesday’s starting lineup (Erin Mihelich, Jessie Birchall, McKenna Young, Emily Harmon, Lenza and Dicristina) were freshmen or sophomores, and all three sidelined standouts are also sophomores.

Two of the Wildcats’ underclassmen corps nearly teamed up to convert in the 21st minute. Set up by junior defender Angie Menefee’s block of a clearing attempt, Dicristina sent a 30-yard shot on goal that was dropped by the Blazers’ goalkeeper. Young sent the ensuing rebound just wide.

Jensen, junior Shawna Watson and Munkvold also were stopped on first-half shot attempts inside of 18 yards, the first two chances coming in the opening four minutes of the match.

But after Dicristina’s goal, Lenza faced the biggest tests in the waning moments of the first half.
With 1:10 left, Addison Trail’s Lexy Paleothodoros slipped behind the defense and sent a shot off the left post. Then 15 seconds before the half, Lenza made a big save on Maria Koulogeorgas’ low 12-yard breakaway shot to keep her team ahead.

“She (Lenza) has been playing really well,” Schoen said.

Those late threats and two Addison Trail corner kicks in the first four minutes of the second half prompted a change in strategy for the Wildcats, which quickly cooled any momentum for the Blazers.

“Once we brought Sami Jensen and Shawna Watson back to center back, we did fine,” Schoen said. “Because we were missing our leading goal scorers, we started out in a 3-4-3, but obviously we were giving up too much in back.

“We went to four in back maybe five or 10 minutes into the second half, and then the game got a lot cleaner. But we still need to look for an attack. We even had open looks and either didn’t take the shot or didn’t strike the ball the best and were off target.”

Wildcats’ sophomore Jackie Geib generated multiple near misses. She had her 20-yard shot stopped with 30:40 left in the game, then her high 18-yard shot off a Haley McLain cross six minutes later deflected off the reaching goalkeeper’s fingertips and just over the crossbar.

A Lisa Schroeder throw-in with 7:50 left generated another great chance, as Harmon lofted a high 20-yard shot that eluded the Blazers’ goalkeeper – only to be cleared out of the crease by an Addison Trail defender.

As in the first half, Lenza had to be on her toes for two late threats.

On a Blazer corner kick with 1:30 to play, Lenza raced off the goal line to swat the cross attempt away from a crowd in front. Then as time expired, she fielded a rolling desperation 35-yard attempt to complete her shutout.

The Wildcats now prepare for an immediate postseason challenge, facing host Metea Valley at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinals. A healthy lineup would help Plainfield Central in the admittedly uphill challenge, as would a more opportunistic offense.

“We need to work on putting away our chances,” Dicristina said. “We seem to be possessing the ball a little better, but we need to learn to put them away.”