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PLAINFIELD NORTH TIGERS |
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Visiting Plainfield North knocks off WW South
That changed Tuesday night. The Tigers struck for two goals within a span of 1:47 early in the second half to knock off host Wheaton Warrenville South 2-0 on a cold, windy evening in Wheaton. WW South (1-1), which was coming off a 4-0 defeat of Batavia on Monday, had led eventual state champion Waubonsie Valley 1-0 at halftime of last year’s sectional final before losing 2-1. “It felt good to win,” Plainfield North junior Callie O’Donnell said. “At halftime we decided that because of the wind we needed to play the ball more on the ground, so I think we set out and did that. We just set out to score at the beginning because we knew that would finish them.” The speedy O’Donnell broke the scoreless tie at the 32:12 mark of the second half when she ran onto a long lead pass from Katie Cox just outside the right post. WW South goalie Kelsey Graham hesitated for a second before deciding to come out and O’Donnell slotted a nifty shot just inside the left post. That the Tigers (1-0-1) scored wasn’t a shock. North had tied Naperville Central 1-1 in their season opener on Saturday. But what happened next sure stunned the host side. Sophomore Ashley Handwork stole the ball 30 yards from the net and dribbled between two defenders toward the top of the box. This time Graham aggressively charged off her line and was able to sharply cut down the available angles, but Handwork ripped a 20-yard shot into the upper left corner for her second goal of the season. “I just got a fire inside of me, I guess,” Handwork said. “I was like, it’s cold and if we don’t score again – winning by one goal is great, but winning by another goal is better. I really wanted to win the game because we lost last year [to them] 2-1.” Handwork tallied 22 goals last season while O’Donnell potted 21. That gives Plainfield North a terrific 1-2 scoring punch up top, but it’s not just their finishing skills that make a difference. Their speed, along with that of many of their teammates, is what will give the Tigers an advantage over many foes. That was evident throughout against WW South (1-1), which is not exactly a slow-footed squad. The visitors controlled the action for the entire second half. “You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due,” WW South coach Guy Callipari said. “Certainly [Plainfield North] is well-coached, they’re well-organized and they have speed around the park. And when you’re not fit and you’re not willing to pick up and use your size…they’re just going to go around you. “I thought the game was in the balance in the first half and I thought that we had the greater scoring opportunities. We lost our legs. Certainly conditioning is a big factor. “The first goal I thought maybe was a little bit soft but certainly the second goal was worthy. [Handwork] shredded two defenders and finished with quality.” WW South had a slight edge in play in the first half and definitely had the better chances. Junior Katherine Fowee hit the left post on an 18-yard shot midway through the opening period, while sophomore Natalie Jensen came up empty on two quality chances, having the wind blow a 22-yard attempt from the right wing wide of the left post and a 25-yard drive stopped on one hop by Tigers goalie Emily Brodict, who made all three of her saves before intermission. Despite having just four seniors, only two of whom – Cox and defender Hayley Wegrzyn – are starters, Plainfield North is an experienced team, with 10 returning starters to go with another strong freshmen class that includes Handwork’s sister, Heather, a starting midfielder. “I’m really excited about how we’ve started off,” Ashley Handwork said. “I think now that we’ve played these two great teams that we can be really good in our conference. Now that we’ve got these games out of the way I think we’ll work better as a team because we had to get the flow of it.” Just how good can the Tigers be? “You know how it is in our sectional,” Plainfield North coach Jane Crowe said. “There are so many teams that can get through, but I think we have the talent to be one of those teams that’s contending for it. We showed today that we can beat some [top] teams. We played so much better today than we did Saturday.” Crowe likes how her squad appears to be solid in all areas, not just on offense. “I think Angie Dziedzic, our sweeper, has played two really good games, really stepped up, and then Ashley Auble in the middle was all over the place for us,” Crowe said. “She didn’t come out of the game. Everything kind of starts with her.” WW South also doesn’t lack for talent. Though the Tigers have only three returning starters, most of the roster saw significant playing time last spring as Callipari always likes to utilize his bench. Fowee, senior Hailey Gill and sophomores Kelly Langlas and Dana Miller all scored against Batavia, Peterson sees the doctor on April 2 and her status will be reassessed at that time, but the possibility remains that she might not play this year. “Dana is going to be a common dominator but she’s going to need support,” Callipari said. “But no complaints. It’s part of the learning curve early on in the year and we have to adjust appropriately and pick up our socks and get ready for Thursday. WW South hosts St. Francis on Thursday as it continues a six-game homestand to open the season. Plainfield North travels to Plainfield East the same day to open Southwest Prairie Conference action. PLAINFIELD NORTH 2011 PREVIEW 2010 Record: 20-5-1 (7-0 in conference) Outlook: Coach Jane Crowe: "We return 10 starters and 17 letterwinners from last year's team. We return our top 4 goal scorers from last year, so we are hoping to be very strong offensively again this year. We have some new young players that will be able to help both offensively and fill in some holes that we have on defense. We our hoping that our strong non-conference schedule will help prepare us for the post season." |
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Plainfield North won 37 games over the past two seasons, but the rapidly improving program still lacked a signature victory over a perennial power program.
with Miller recording four points. Miller especially will be relied on in the early going in the absence of junior forward Lexi Peterson, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in her kneed.