Joliet West vs. Plainfield South ends in a scoreless tie – Show Local

PLAINFIELD — It may not have been reflected on the scoreboard Thursday, but for Joliet West, a 0-0 tie with Southwest Prairie Conference rival Plainfield South meant It could be considered a victory.

“We've never beaten or tied Plainfield South,” a sodden West coach Alan Stewart said after a rain-soaked second half. “I'm going to take this as a sign that we're improving.”

The Tigers (11-4-2, 2-2-2) had the upper hand in the first half, but Plainfield South's last line combined with goaltender Hannah Folliard to keep the Tigers running back at every turn. Joliet West had at least nine shots on goal in the first half, but none of them found the net. Folliard made six saves in the first half, with several shots either going wide or over the goal.

In the first half, play was focused on the south end of the field, where defenders like Brianna Major, Kendall Pachowicz, Kaitlin Brayton, Arabella Guadiuso and Abigail Stepanek forced shots from farther than West would have liked. I let him hit it.

“This was a pretty even game between two teams,” South coach Thomas Blake said. “Our defense did a great job. We had a lot of games where we got compliments from the referees and opposing coaches on how we played defense as a team. Our back line and goalie are as good as anyone in the conference. .

“They may not be the quickest, but they play positionally well and can shift well. They do a good job of keeping the ball out of the middle of the field and forcing teams to attack from wide. So there's limited space in the goal that they can shoot from, and Hanna can stop just about anything.

Plainfield South (4-6-3, 1-3-2) was able to get a few shots off in the second half, but West goaltender Callie Blatty parried them all away. The Tiger midfielders and defenders, including Miley Aguirre, Anahi Pena, Sofia Padmolik, Mackenzie Mertes, Julia Martinez, Jovi Biancolosso, Mia Antomez and Stephanie Flores, kept the Cougars at bay.

“We're an even team,” Stewart said. “We controlled the ball well and had a number of shots on goal, but we just couldn't find the net. That's kind of been our MO lately. We've had a great six-game winning streak. However, the last two games were tied 0-0. Against Yorkville, they shot 6-for-16 on goal advantage, and it was probably the same today.

“The fact that we had a 6-foot goalkeeper with great hands down South had a lot to do with us not scoring, but sometimes we were shooting too far. We need to get the ball closer. I think our midfielders, especially Julia Martinez, played a great game and controlled us. We can continue to plug in and put the ball in the net. Sho.”

There was some turbulence late in the game, with West taking a direct kick at the 15-yard line near the left sideline, but Podmolik's shot was saved by Folliard. The Tigers had a direct kick by Abigail Bugteveen with 51 seconds left, but Folliard also made a save. Guadiuso took a direct kick from the Cougars' 34-yard line late in the game, but the rebound attempt was saved by Blatty.