Plainfield North edges Wheaton North

Plainfield North’s pressure eventually found a way to defeat Wheaton North.

Tigers sophomore Ashley Handwork scored her ninth goal in five games to edge Wheaton North 2-1 on Friday afternoon in Wheaton.

The teams played despite a constant rain that mixed with snow at times.

“It was coming down pretty good the first half,” Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly said. “Those snowflakes were crazy too. They were like half-dollar size. But overall both teams still played pretty good soccer despite the weather. Still finding targets and attacking. It wasn’t a pretty day, but the kids didn’t give in to it on either side.”

Plainfield North took a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute when Ashley Auble stepped up to a loose ball a few yards outside the Falcons’ penalty area and drilled the ball into the net.

“We were putting a lot of pressure on them and then the ball just came right out to Ashley and she just put it perfectly in the corner,” Plainfield North coach Jane Crowe said. “It was a great shot. It was hard to tell from here just how far in the corner it was, but it looked like the keeper didn’t have much of a chance. So that really got us kind of going.”

The Tigers had a hard time putting the ball where Falcons goalkeeper Emily Barry couldn’t get it. The freshman finished with 8 saves to keep her team in the game and frustrate the Tigers.

“What (the Tigers) do a really good job of is, whoever they put up top, they don’t stop moving,” McEvilly said. “They’re expecting mistakes, they’re anticipating those things, and they gobble them up quickly. That’s why they’ve got kids who score so many goals, because they’re always looking to put the ball in the back of the net.

“Emily had to be on her game with a couple of those reaction saves to save our rear end, that’s for sure.”

The Falcons evened the score in the 45th minute when junior Tiffany Traxinger curled in a corner kick from the right of Tigers goalkeeper Emily Brodict just inside the far post.

“There’s nothing you can do about that other than not give them the corner kick,” Crowe said.

“That ball just continued to curl,” McEvilly said. “She hit it tight enough and it just curled in on the backhand side.”

Just six minutes later Handwork found got loose behind the Wheaton North defense down the right side and dribbled in on Barry, scoring on a well-struck shot.

“She’s scored in every game we’ve played, so we know that eventually she’ll get one,” Crowe said.