Oswego grinds out win at Plainfield South
Carreno scores brace to lead Panthers to 2-1 win
By Steve Nemeth
PLAINFIELD -- Pride was the common denominator in the Southwest Prairie Conference and regular season finale between Plainfield South and Oswego on Thursday.
The sides, who have struggled with the win and loss columns this season, each displayed plenty of examples of that trait. Visiting Oswego was the team that gained a measure of relief with a 2-1 win over Plainfield South.
The host Cougars (6-13-0, SPC 2-7-0) battled to the very end in the match that was rescheduled from Oct. 6 due to weather issues, but it was Oswego that claimed some positive momentum for the postseason.
One could argue the win provided good vibes for the 2017 season as well -- both goals came from Omar Carreno, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match recognition recipient who will top the list of the team's returning starters for next year.
The Panthers (4-13-1, SPC 2-7-0) tied for eighth place with Plainfield South in the first year of a new 10-school line-up after winning two of its last three league and regular season matches. Now Oswego – seeded 17th among 18 schools in the Bolingbrook Sectional -- has some success to use as fuel for Saturday’s 11 a.m. Class 3A regional quarterfinal match at 16th-seeded Batavia.
Revenge can also be a motivation against the Bulldogs for a 2-1 season-opening setback – the first of seven one-goal defeats. A win would earn the Panthers home field advantage in the regional they host and a date to try to slay a giant in a semifinal against top seed Naperville North – ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Opening the match with a Senior Night lineup, Plainfield South’s Enrique Avitia had a golden opportunity 9:29 in on a 1-v.-1 from the left win off a stellar cross, but Oswego goalie Nick Kearns made a phenomenal save.
Two minutes later, the Panthers grabbed the lead when Julian Ibarra found Carreno open in the middle for a 17-yard laser inside the left post.
“When I first received the ball I just wanted to get control to get the best possible strike,” Carreno explained. “I just wanted a solid enough shot to get enough power so it didn’t matter what the goalie did.”
Kearns kept his team up in the 26th minute when he raced to the top of the penalty box to boot the ball the opposite way on a potential Cougar breakaway.
As the clock ticked under four minutes left in the opening half, Plainfield South goalie Francisco Lomeli body blocked a Ryan Baumann blast and the Cougars Jair Moreno made a defensive clear on a putback attempt.
On Oswego’s next attack, Jessie Corneliusen’s chip pass became the junior defender’s first assist of the year as Carreno tracked the pass before slotting a 10-yarder inside the near right post with 1:16 remaining before intermission.
“Noticing the way he played it over the defender, I followed the ball and got the right touch on the shot to get it past the keeper but inside the post,” Carreno said of his team-best eighth goal of the year and fourth game-winner. “It’s really a great feeling whenever you help the team win. For me, it’s exciting enough to make me want to keep scoring more.”
Plainfield South then appeared to advance the theory that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer.
The Cougars counterattacked despite the countdown to halftime. A strong service wasn’t quite cleared and the follow-up ricocheted among players to the left wing from where Anthony Marmolejo parked a 14-yard scorcher into the right side netting as the clock showed 12 seconds until the halftime horn.
“Out of the corner of my eye I saw the goalie coming toward the post to my left and I powered it far side,” Marmolejo noted. “In contrast to goals in a practice, a goal in a game feels really great, but in this case that much nicer giving us momentum for the second half.”
“We could have packed it in thinking we’d try to figure it out in the second half, but instead kept battling,” Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams said. “I’m so proud of the way we finished that first half. This is the third time we’ve gotten a goal in the last one and half minutes of a half, and I think that says a lot about our intensity.”
The Cougars opened the second half with that same intensity and Marmolejo nearly got a breakaway in the first minute. Just over four minutes in, Oswego’s Ibarra was on the left wing and his blast sailed wide of the right post. Less than a minute later it was Panthers keeper Kearns racing out to cover a dangerous counter.
There was 26:51 still to play when Plainfield South got a corner-kick that produced the kind of cannon volley that took the wind out of Corneliusen on a chest block -- but the follow-up try went wide left.
Oswego had a soft header saved at the other end shortly before Christian Gonzalez gambled from left of center only to have Kearns come up big again.
With just over six minutes left, the Panther keeper made another of his six saves as the hosts pressed for an equalizer. A Plainfield South corner-kick went to Jeff Mickow, but the Cougars senior’s header missed the left post. On a final counter, Oswego’s Ibarra put a fast break try from the right side off the left post with six seconds left.
“We finally have one bounce our way,” Oswego coach Brian Falli said following the win. “Jesse had a great assist as did Julian on the first goal. In both cases, Omar finished strong, and we’ve fed off his energy in many games.
“We had one mental mistake and their sophomore hit an absolute rocket that we knew would give them energy for the second half,” Falli added. “However, we held our own, and Nick made several big saves. Defensively, we may have bent, but we didn’t break.”
In addition to Corneliusen, senior Ryan Rathman also had a noteworthy save on the goal line to preserve Oswego’s one-goal advantage.
“The most important thing is clearing the ball, make sure you relieve the pressure and don’t give the opponent a second option,” Rathman explained. “It always feels good to win, but in this case we played well as a team, and I think the last two wins should bump our spirits up.”
Despite a fourth-straight loss and the fourth time absorbing a one-goal defeat, tri-captain Mickow stayed bullish in his assessment of Plainfield South.
“We never give up and always work hard. Some teams may have more talent, but we have a lot of heart,” Mickow said. “We hate losing, and it’s not part of our team mentality.”
Williams certainly concurred with this team description.
“We might make some mistakes, but we never quit. We haven’t always had the outcomes we desire, but one thing I can’t fault anyone on, all 25 guys always give effort,” Williams said.
“Kevin (Garcia) is a good example of a guy stepping up. We switched him from outside-mid to forward and the transition was tough at first, but he’s gotten stronger.
“There might only be six wins, but Francisco has had a lot of good saves. Our defense hasn’t always played up to expectations, so as a sophomore he’s withstood a lot of extra tests.”
Plainfield South, an 18-seed, travels to no. 15-seed Plainfield Central with a state tournament opening game upset on its mind at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Starting lineups
Oswego
GK Nick Kearns
D Ozzie Urbina
D Jesse Corneliusen
D Ryan Rathman
D Riley Martin
M Danny Gaytan
M Johnny Kraemer
M Blake Biery
M Nolan Flaherty
F Julian Ibarra
F Omar Carreno
Plainfield South
GK Francisco Lomeli
D David Chavez
D Jair Moreno
D Reid Childs
D Matthew Walker
M Enrique Avitia
M Jeff Mickow
M Jose Guzman
M Juan Guzman
F Keelan Lothian-Williams
F Kevin Garcia
Man of the Match: Omar Carreno, MF, Oswego
Referees: Chris Pease (center), Nenad Rosic, Kristina McAndrew
Game summary
Oswego 2, Plainfield South 1
Oswego 2 0 --- 2
Plainfield South 1 0 --- 1
Scoring
O – Carreno 17-yard blast from middle inside left post (Ibarra assist), 11th minute
O – Carreno 10-yarder tucked inside near right post off chip pass (Corneliusen assist), 38th minute
PS – Marmolejo 14-yarder from left wing inside far right post (unassisted), 40th minute
Shots
O 10 – 9 --- 19
PS 4 – 12 --- 16
Shots on goal
O 7 – 5 --- 12
PS 2 – 7 --- 9
Saves (goalie)
O (Kearns) 1 – (Kearns 5, defenders 2) 7 --- 8
PS (Lomeli 4, 1 by defender) 5 – 5 --- 10
Carreno scores brace to lead Panthers to 2-1 win
By Steve Nemeth
PLAINFIELD -- Pride was the common denominator in the Southwest Prairie Conference and regular season finale between Plainfield South and Oswego on Thursday.
The sides, who have struggled with the win and loss columns this season, each displayed plenty of examples of that trait. Visiting Oswego was the team that gained a measure of relief with a 2-1 win over Plainfield South.
The host Cougars (6-13-0, SPC 2-7-0) battled to the very end in the match that was rescheduled from Oct. 6 due to weather issues, but it was Oswego that claimed some positive momentum for the postseason.
One could argue the win provided good vibes for the 2017 season as well -- both goals came from Omar Carreno, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match recognition recipient who will top the list of the team's returning starters for next year.
The Panthers (4-13-1, SPC 2-7-0) tied for eighth place with Plainfield South in the first year of a new 10-school line-up after winning two of its last three league and regular season matches. Now Oswego – seeded 17th among 18 schools in the Bolingbrook Sectional -- has some success to use as fuel for Saturday’s 11 a.m. Class 3A regional quarterfinal match at 16th-seeded Batavia.
Revenge can also be a motivation against the Bulldogs for a 2-1 season-opening setback – the first of seven one-goal defeats. A win would earn the Panthers home field advantage in the regional they host and a date to try to slay a giant in a semifinal against top seed Naperville North – ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Opening the match with a Senior Night lineup, Plainfield South’s Enrique Avitia had a golden opportunity 9:29 in on a 1-v.-1 from the left win off a stellar cross, but Oswego goalie Nick Kearns made a phenomenal save.
Two minutes later, the Panthers grabbed the lead when Julian Ibarra found Carreno open in the middle for a 17-yard laser inside the left post.
“When I first received the ball I just wanted to get control to get the best possible strike,” Carreno explained. “I just wanted a solid enough shot to get enough power so it didn’t matter what the goalie did.”
Kearns kept his team up in the 26th minute when he raced to the top of the penalty box to boot the ball the opposite way on a potential Cougar breakaway.
As the clock ticked under four minutes left in the opening half, Plainfield South goalie Francisco Lomeli body blocked a Ryan Baumann blast and the Cougars Jair Moreno made a defensive clear on a putback attempt.
On Oswego’s next attack, Jessie Corneliusen’s chip pass became the junior defender’s first assist of the year as Carreno tracked the pass before slotting a 10-yarder inside the near right post with 1:16 remaining before intermission.
“Noticing the way he played it over the defender, I followed the ball and got the right touch on the shot to get it past the keeper but inside the post,” Carreno said of his team-best eighth goal of the year and fourth game-winner. “It’s really a great feeling whenever you help the team win. For me, it’s exciting enough to make me want to keep scoring more.”
Plainfield South then appeared to advance the theory that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer.
The Cougars counterattacked despite the countdown to halftime. A strong service wasn’t quite cleared and the follow-up ricocheted among players to the left wing from where Anthony Marmolejo parked a 14-yard scorcher into the right side netting as the clock showed 12 seconds until the halftime horn.
“Out of the corner of my eye I saw the goalie coming toward the post to my left and I powered it far side,” Marmolejo noted. “In contrast to goals in a practice, a goal in a game feels really great, but in this case that much nicer giving us momentum for the second half.”
“We could have packed it in thinking we’d try to figure it out in the second half, but instead kept battling,” Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams said. “I’m so proud of the way we finished that first half. This is the third time we’ve gotten a goal in the last one and half minutes of a half, and I think that says a lot about our intensity.”
The Cougars opened the second half with that same intensity and Marmolejo nearly got a breakaway in the first minute. Just over four minutes in, Oswego’s Ibarra was on the left wing and his blast sailed wide of the right post. Less than a minute later it was Panthers keeper Kearns racing out to cover a dangerous counter.
There was 26:51 still to play when Plainfield South got a corner-kick that produced the kind of cannon volley that took the wind out of Corneliusen on a chest block -- but the follow-up try went wide left.
Oswego had a soft header saved at the other end shortly before Christian Gonzalez gambled from left of center only to have Kearns come up big again.
With just over six minutes left, the Panther keeper made another of his six saves as the hosts pressed for an equalizer. A Plainfield South corner-kick went to Jeff Mickow, but the Cougars senior’s header missed the left post. On a final counter, Oswego’s Ibarra put a fast break try from the right side off the left post with six seconds left.
“We finally have one bounce our way,” Oswego coach Brian Falli said following the win. “Jesse had a great assist as did Julian on the first goal. In both cases, Omar finished strong, and we’ve fed off his energy in many games.
“We had one mental mistake and their sophomore hit an absolute rocket that we knew would give them energy for the second half,” Falli added. “However, we held our own, and Nick made several big saves. Defensively, we may have bent, but we didn’t break.”
In addition to Corneliusen, senior Ryan Rathman also had a noteworthy save on the goal line to preserve Oswego’s one-goal advantage.
“The most important thing is clearing the ball, make sure you relieve the pressure and don’t give the opponent a second option,” Rathman explained. “It always feels good to win, but in this case we played well as a team, and I think the last two wins should bump our spirits up.”
Despite a fourth-straight loss and the fourth time absorbing a one-goal defeat, tri-captain Mickow stayed bullish in his assessment of Plainfield South.
“We never give up and always work hard. Some teams may have more talent, but we have a lot of heart,” Mickow said. “We hate losing, and it’s not part of our team mentality.”
Williams certainly concurred with this team description.
“We might make some mistakes, but we never quit. We haven’t always had the outcomes we desire, but one thing I can’t fault anyone on, all 25 guys always give effort,” Williams said.
“Kevin (Garcia) is a good example of a guy stepping up. We switched him from outside-mid to forward and the transition was tough at first, but he’s gotten stronger.
“There might only be six wins, but Francisco has had a lot of good saves. Our defense hasn’t always played up to expectations, so as a sophomore he’s withstood a lot of extra tests.”
Plainfield South, an 18-seed, travels to no. 15-seed Plainfield Central with a state tournament opening game upset on its mind at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Starting lineups
Oswego
GK Nick Kearns
D Ozzie Urbina
D Jesse Corneliusen
D Ryan Rathman
D Riley Martin
M Danny Gaytan
M Johnny Kraemer
M Blake Biery
M Nolan Flaherty
F Julian Ibarra
F Omar Carreno
Plainfield South
GK Francisco Lomeli
D David Chavez
D Jair Moreno
D Reid Childs
D Matthew Walker
M Enrique Avitia
M Jeff Mickow
M Jose Guzman
M Juan Guzman
F Keelan Lothian-Williams
F Kevin Garcia
Man of the Match: Omar Carreno, MF, Oswego
Referees: Chris Pease (center), Nenad Rosic, Kristina McAndrew
Game summary
Oswego 2, Plainfield South 1
Oswego 2 0 --- 2
Plainfield South 1 0 --- 1
Scoring
O – Carreno 17-yard blast from middle inside left post (Ibarra assist), 11th minute
O – Carreno 10-yarder tucked inside near right post off chip pass (Corneliusen assist), 38th minute
PS – Marmolejo 14-yarder from left wing inside far right post (unassisted), 40th minute
Shots
O 10 – 9 --- 19
PS 4 – 12 --- 16
Shots on goal
O 7 – 5 --- 12
PS 2 – 7 --- 9
Saves (goalie)
O (Kearns) 1 – (Kearns 5, defenders 2) 7 --- 8
PS (Lomeli 4, 1 by defender) 5 – 5 --- 10