Plainfield North put itself in position to make program history with a conference title when it knocked off seven-time defending Southwest Prairie champion Plainfield Central on Saturday, but the Tigers knew it could all slip away with a down effort Tuesday night against Minooka.
“We knew we had to come out with the same mentality as before,” North’s Austin Collier said. “We couldn’t let up. We made sure we came out hard from the start.”
Collier scored two first-half goals to get the host Tigers going and North fought off Minooka’s second half comeback efforts for a 4-2 win.
The Indians (8-6-2, 2-3) drew within 2-1 when Kyle Sparks scored off a Mason Messina pass with 35:11 to go.
“They scored and they had all the momentum,” Plainfield North (13-2-2, 4-1) coach Jim O’Hara said. “We’ve been in that position before. We’ve learned. We stay composed and we don’t freak out.”
Freshmen Nick Anweiller provided the huge insurance goal, putting home a cross from Jordan Schure off a corner kick with 23:45 left.
“We run through our set plays daily,” Anweiller said. “We always want to be first to the ball on them. I had a good effort there and just put it in.”
Matt Farley scored off an Austin Hansen assist for a late three-goal lead.
Collier came up huge early. In the fourth minute, Garrett Gathman took a deep throw and sent it across to the far post, where Collier one-timed it past Minooka goalie Alex Singletary (6 saves).
The two hooked up again late in the first half, Collier heading home a well-placed ball from Gathman off a free kick.
North has two conference matches remaining, hosting Plainfield South and visiting Oswego East.
“When you give up three goals on restarts, that’s hard to overcome,” Minooka coach Chris Brolley said. “We need to work on defending set pieces and get back to the basics.”
Ryan Bozue scored the second goal for Minooka.
