Wildcats drop double-overtime heartbreaker to Cougars

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By Curt Herron

Sarah Johnson has certainly scored many nicer-looking goals than the one that she collected on Thursday.

But considering what the results of her latest goal were, the slow roller that went into the opposite side of the net was one of the senior's prettiest goals yet.

That's because Johnson's goal broke a scoreless tie and gave Plainfield South a 1-0 victory over host Plainfield Central in a Southwest Prairie Conference match.

The two squads battled for over 98 minutes before Johnson sent an attempt toward the net that seemed to be rolling along in slow motion.

When the ball finally found the goal with 1:37 left in the second overtime, the Cougars were able to end a long losing streak to the Wildcats.

Freshman Alex Truhlar made the pass that set up the winning score, which sent all the Cougars onto the field for a moment of celebration.

It was the fourth straight victory for the Cougars (7-3-2, 2-1), who also beat Oswego in overtime two days earlier in an SPC match.

"This was a great feeling," Johnson said. "Especially since we haven't been able to beat them during the past three years. So it was exciting to be one of the first teams here to do it.

"I knew that we had to score in the second half since we had the wind advantage. Alex played a beautiful ball, the sort I've been looking for all year, and I was able to beat the keeper."

Truhlar was pleased that her team was able to walk away with the victory following the hard-fought match.

"At the beginning it was difficult since the ball was bouncing everywhere and we couldn't get the right touch on it," Truhlar said.

"Then in the second half, we just couldn't find the net. After I made the pass to Sarah, I knew she was going to get it."

While South has collected three one-goal victories during its current winning streak, Central dropped its third straight one-goal defeat.

The heartbreaking loss was the latest tough pill to swallow for the Wildcats (3-6, 1-2), who have battled injury woes all season long.

"We worked hard the whole game and it was very unfortunate that they got that goal on us," said Wildcat senior Amanda Jensen, who hobbled off the field with a bag off ice on her leg.

"But we put everything on the field, so I can't complain with how we played. We started out slow and got stronger but we just couldn't find the open space to get the ball to the net."

The Wildcats had their best chance in the overtimes during the initial session when Kelsey Graefen had a short shot stopped by Taylor Schwebke, who posted her third straight shutout.

South had some good chances during the second overtime but its best opportunity was the final one of the match, when Truhlar found Johnson for the winning score.

Possessing a wind advantage in the second half, the Cougars had plenty of good scoring chances, but were unable to find the right combination.

After Central's Sami Jensen started things off with a liner to Schwebke in the opening 15 seconds of the new half, South had the upper hand for the next 20 minutes.

Truhlar and Sarah Parlich each sent shots toward Wildcat keeper Janna Pascente before Kaitlyn Kraz followed with a series of attempts which were also turned away.

The Wildcats nearly moved in front on their first good shot try of the second half with 18 minutes remaining in regulation play.

Carissa Silunas lined a shot from the side which bounced off of the crossbar, which kept things scoreless.

Jordan Leikel and Graefen were denied a short time later before Truhlar closed out the final 10 minutes of regulation with two good chances that were stopped.

"For the first time in a long time I think the teams were evenly-matched and we were as ready as we were going to be," Cougars coach Kevin Allen said. "We had the fight all the way until the end.

"Getting that goal with 1:37 left shows the character of our team. I told the seniors at halftime that they had never beaten Central so it was time to put the team on their backs and take it to them."

In the opening half, Krista Pezzopane sent a header toward Schwebke to get things started and South's Katie Hamilton had a short shot a few minutes later that was cleared by Melissa Del Sarto.

About 14 minutes in, Graefen sent in a long free kick and shortly after the midpoint of the opening half, Johnson bounced an attempt toward the net.

The two squads continued to exchange tries as Jessica Kaminski and Brittany McDaniel were each turned away a short time later.

Central had one more good chance just seconds before the break but Pezzopane was stopped on a short attempt by Schwebke.

"I'm sure the girls will have smiles on their faces tomorrow, but tonight's going to be a tough one," Wildcats coach Ken Schoen said.

"It was a well-fought game on both sides for almost 100 minutes. But that's what you expect to see in a conference game, especially with a rivalry between South and Central."

Both squads have Monday nonconference matches at 4:30 p.m. with the Cougars hosting Lincoln-Way Central and the Wildcats playing at Providence Catholic.

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