Boys Soccer: Plainfield East tops Plainfield South in two OTs
By Logan Malloy For Sun-Times Media September 18, 2012 11:12PM
Plainfield East's Isaias Marquez (30) makes a save in front of Plainfield South's Adam Burt (21). | Larry Kane~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 20, 2012 6:15AM
Before Plainfield East opened its season, coach Walter Flores believed his team had the pieces in place to compete for a Southwest Prairie Conference title.
After a 2-1 double-overtime victory Tuesday over Plainfield South, the belief is becoming a reality for Flores and the Bengals.
“People in the area judge you by how you do in the SPC,” Flores said. “I think we have the tools to be in the conversation for a top place.
“Now we have to get used to playing with a little bit of a target on our back.”
Oscar Yepez played hero for East (6-1-4, 2-1), netting the game-winning goal on a through pass from Christian Rodriguez (2 assists) with seven minutes left in the second overtime.
“That’s a play we work on a lot,” Yepez said. “It was a bit of a funky play; there was a lot going on there. I’m glad I was able to finish it.”
It was a back-and-forth affair that saw East take a 1-0 lead on a goal from Mike Brazinski 22 minutes into the first half. Brazinski outraced the South defense on a chip from Rodriguez and blasted the ball just past the outreached arms of goalie Tyler Olsen (4 saves).
South (8-3-2, 2-1) responded after intermission on 60-foot goal from Manny Sanchez with 21 minutes left in the second half.
From there, South couldn’t capitalize on any scoring opportunities, mostly the result of two plays by East defender Reid Mitchell.
Mitchell headed out a sure-fire goal with four minutes left in regulation, and saved another attempt with four minutes left in the first overtime on a strike from Cesar Bautista.
Both teams played short-handed: South was without top player Rodrigo Garcia, while East played minus top striker Ryan Olans.
“Garcia was our leading scorer,” South coach Dave Brown said. “We’ve been scrambling a little bit to find people to put at the net, and we’re going to keep looking for people to step up.”
