Girls Soccer: Plainfield North exorcises demons to defeat Oswego East

OSWEGO – Plainfield North senior Sophie Carlos had one primary goal on Thursday.

The Wisconsin-Platteville recruit had a secondary objective, too.

On a summer-like afternoon at Oswego East, Carlos accomplished her main goal – and got her secondary one as well.

The Tigers entered their final regular-season game looking to gain some momentum for next week’s Class 3A playoffs. With 11 players committed to play in college, the Tigers are among the favorites to win the state championship.

But first, the Tigers had to exorcise some past demons before the playoffs started. In 2022, the Tigers dropped a 3-1 decision to Oswego East in the regular season. They also suffered another 3-1 defeat to the Wolves in 2021.

The Tigers and Wolves were all set to close out the regular season in a battle for the Suburban Prairie Conference title, but Oswego East tied with Minooka on Tuesday to give Plainfield North the outright league title.

Even so, Carlos said the Tigers had no issues with motivation against the defending conference champions.

“We have lost to Oswego East the last two years,” Carlos said. “This was very important.”

Plainfield North took a businesslike approach, scoring a goal in each half to post a 2-1 win over Oswego East on Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers (19-1-2, 11-0) copied the Wolves’ formula from last season, winning all 11 of their conference games. Carlos scored the lone goal by the Tigers in the second half. Plainfield North freshman reserve Katelyn Haiser notched the first goal of the game.

“It was nice to get a win after losing to them the last two years, especially since the field conditions weren’t the best,” Carlos said. “It was an adjustment playing on the grass, but we came together as a team and played good.”

Plainfield North coach Katie Monterosso called it a good way to end the regular season, especially after losing to the Wolves in each of the last two seasons.

“Oswego East is always a great team to play against,” she said. “The last year and year before, it has always been a great battle. We knew this was going to be a great test for us going into playoffs. They have a good group of girls. It was a hard-fought battle. Our mindset was the playoffs start now and let’s get tuned up and be ready to go. We treated this like a playoff game.”

The Tigers closed out the regular season with a flourish to send a notice for their opponents in the Class 3A playoffs. Before Thursday, the Wolves had allowed just four goals all season, with two being scored by defending Class 3A state champion Metea Valley in a 2-2 draw on a cold and windy night on March 21.

Oswego East junior midfielder Anya Gulbrandsen scored a goal on a penalty kick with 19:27 left to make things interesting. The Wolves had two shot attempts in the final 19 minutes to tie the game but came up empty.

“The victory for us is just knowing that we can compete with a team like Plainfield North,” Gulbrandsen said. “We know they are a top team in the state. We know they have top to bottom one of the best rosters in the state, and they work well together and have a great coach, so knowing we competed against a team like that is definitely a positive.

“I know they haven’t conceded a lot of goals. I think our team has only had one other PK all season. We haven’t practiced them … it felt good. I didn’t even celebrate because I knew there was still work to be done. I’m happy how we ended the regular season.”

With a loaded roster full of college-committed players, the Tigers enter the postseason with lofty goals.

The Tigers were awarded the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A East Aurora Sectional. They start the playoffs against No. 15 Bolingbrook in a Bolingbrook Regional semifinal at 5 p.m. on May 16.

The Tigers head into the playoffs with 118 goals and have just allowed five all season. They have won nine in a row. The team goal for the Tigers now shifts to making a long run in the state playoffs.

“We have been chasing a conference title since I took over the program,” Monterosso said. “We have been wanting to bring that back to Plainfield North. Being able to do that in the final year with the class that I started my coaching career at Plainfield North off with as freshmen is wonderful. For the seniors, this has been their goal since their freshman year, so for them to achieve that is a great accomplishment. This team is focused and ready to tackle whatever gets thrown at us. The playoffs are a different animal and mindset when you don’t have a ‘tomorrow’ to look at.”

Oswego East (11-6-2, 8-2-1) opens up the playoffs against Plainfield East in an East Aurora Regional semifinal on May 15.

“I knew we were going to be nervous about this game,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “We had nothing to lose, and all but experience to gain from this game. This was a good game for us to show them we are competitive and let the nerves go. I’m really proud of them.”