Hornets fall to Wildcats in Lemont Cup consolation finals

By Steve Millar

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With no time to rest after its 3-1 Lemont Cup consolation semifinal win Saturday over Lincoln-Way East, Plainfield Central looked a little sluggish in the first half of the consolation championship tilt with Hinsdale South.

All the Wildcats needed, it turns out, was a little extra motivation.

“I did tell them that they get the day off from practice Monday if they win, so maybe I should use that tactic more often,” Plainfield Central coach Ken Schoen said, with a laugh.

“We definitely dominated play in the second half. It was a pretty even game in the first half then the second half was all us.”

The Wildcats rode the strong performance over the final 35 minutes to a 1-0 win over the Hornets.

Lauren Kulaga scored the lone goal with 14:05 left in the match. After several players fought for the ball in a scramble in the box off a corner kick, Kulaga got her foot on it and beat Hinsdale South keeper Paulina Noga.

It was the third corner kick in a three-minute span that finally paid off for Central (13-7-1).

“We had a lot of corners and I was just hoping I’d get on the end of one,” Kulaga said. “It was a perfect ball from Paige (Fuller) and I just wanted to get any part of me on the ball to get it in no matter what. I was really happy.”

Hinsdale South (6-12-2) never threatened to find the equalizer as the Wildcats dominated possession throughout the second half.

“For us, I think it really was about possessing,” Central freshman midfielder Deanna Dicristina said. “We talked a lot about stopping just sending the ball. We were tired, but we needed to possess the ball more and really just go hard to every ball.”

The increased intensity from the Wildcats was obvious from the get-go in the second half. Kulaga nearly scored in the opening moments after the break, sending a shot just high.

Central kept the pressure up to earn the string of corners.

“We were a lot more excited in the second half and went hard after every ball,” Kulaga said. “We talked at halftime about how we needed to go hard and we could beat this team. We knew we could play a lot better. We just stepped it up out there and talked to each other and helped each other out.”

In addition to the extra effort, Schoen saw his team improve technically in the second half as well.

“I thought we were just a little more patient,” he said. “Instead of going forward all the time, we started to use the width of the field and find open players. We started moving off the ball a little better and started playing some more 1-2 type soccer.”

While the Wildcats surged, a thinner Hinsdale South squad – coming off an emotional 2-1 win over Francis Parker in penalty kicks in the consolation semifinal – ran out of gas.

"They had a little deeper bench and we're just short of bodies now,” Hinsdale South coach Pat Wolf said. “We played Thursday and Friday and two games on Saturday. It's been tough but I think the girls gave it all that they had, we just ran out of legs today.”

The Hornets got the better of play for stretches in the first half and tested Central keeper Tiffany Lenza a couple times in the first 10 minutes.

Lenza made saves on long shots from Mary Claire Ladd and Jessica Koziol. The Hornets had another golden chance with just over 11 minutes left in the half, when Brenda Maugeri missed just wide.

“At times, we looked pretty good and passed the ball around,” Wolf said. “But, we're still young and I feel bad for our one senior (Carolanne Pilch) since she wants to be at the top of her game while it's a growing process for a lot of the other girls.”

Wolf saw plenty of positives throughout the tournament, which the Hornets opened with a 4-0 defeat to Waubonsie Valley in the quarterfinals.

"I think we've been getting better in every game, especially these last few days,” he said. “The girls keep playing hard and I don't think that we give up at all. Everyone is playing as best as they can but experience helps, and we don't have it.

"(Noga), our JV goalie, stepped in and did a nice job over the past four games. Elisabetta Bifero did a nice job in the back, (Maugeri) was making more runs up front and (Pilch) is steady and a competitor."

Schoen, meanwhile, saw strong play from Dicristina at center mid, among others.

“Deanna did a nice job filling in at center mid,” he said. “She hasn’t played a lot there, but she did a nice job.

“I thought Britney Lenza had a good second half. She was definitely moving off the ball well and played a lot of balls that were really nice. (Freshman) Paige Fuller did a really nice job keeping possession up top. She’s scrappy and I imagine when she gets a little older, she’ll get even scrappier.”

Schoen was also pleased with his back line’s performance throughout the match.

“I told the girls at halftime, the back line had been playing really well,” he said. “I said ‘I don’t really have anything for you guys at this point.’ I still don’t have anything for them. They did a good job, especially with the tired legs.”

Fuller, Britney Lenza and Shawna Watson scored for the Wildcats in the win over Lincoln-Way East.

Central opened the tournament Friday night with a 3-1 loss to Sandburg, getting a goal from Payton Woodall.

“I think we did pretty good,” Kulaga said. “It’s a hard tournament. We’ve played in it the last couple years and we know these teams are really good. I’m proud that we came out with two more wins at the end.”

“We know we have some tough games next week and then in the playoffs,” Dicristina added. “This is a good confidence booster.”

Central closes the regular season with matches at Niles West on Tuesday and home against Plainfield East on Thursday before opening the playoffs with a Class 3A Naperville Central Regional semifinal against Lockport on May 15.

Hinsdale South hosts Mother McAuley on Tuesday and travels Thursday to Downers Grove North. The Hornets kick off the postseason May 15 with a Class 3A York Regional semifinal vs. Fenwick.