Undefeated Plainfield Central Wildcats Take SPC Soccer Title

Since the Southwest Prairie Conference was formed five years ago, only one boys soccer team has won the conference title each and every season–Plainfield Central.

The Wildcats capped off their third undefeated league season in the last four years by beating Plainfield North 3-0 Tuesday night at North.

Over the last five years, Plainfield Central is 33-2 in SPC contests.

The Wildcats are a school-record 19-4 overall and went 7-0 in the conference to win the title outright.

"We're excited because it's our fifth consecutive conference championship," Plainfield Central junior captain Edgar Chavez said. "It was pretty important to get this one because we didn't want to share it with Oswego or anyone else."

"Five championships in a row, best in school history, 19-4 on the season ... We've broken a lot of records this year and it feels pretty good right now," Planfield Central senior Giuliano DiNardo said.

"I'm happy for these guys because they earned it," Plainfield Central coach Kevin Fitzgerald said. "We always put a conference championship as our first goal. If you can win your league, it usually sets you up for success in the state tournament."

Plainfield Central is the No. 4 seed in the Naperville North Sectional and favored to win its first regional championship.

"After beating Oswego yesterday, it would have been easy for us to come in here and let down," Fitzgerald said. "But they played well and Plainfield North has a lot of skill in the midfield. They outnumber you in the midfield. It was good to get off to a fast start."

Goals by senior Tyler Gill and DiNardo in the first half staked the Wildcats to a 2-0 lead at the intermission. Eddie Trejo's goal midway through the second half finished the scoring.

Gill and sophomore Nick Castellucci were each credited with assists, while sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Badertscher tied a school record by posting his 12^th shutout.

"The Plainfield teams always save their best games for us," DiNardo said. "We still persevered. This was a good win and it's always fun beating one of your rivals."

Plainfield North lost its fourth straight and dipped to 7-8-2 overall and 2-5 in the SPC.

"I don't know if it's the excitement of beating Naperville Central, which was over a week ago, but we've completely changed as a team," Plainfield North coach Jim O'Hara said. "It's confidence. You can tell how different we are when we score the first goal. Right now, we're mentally weak and we need to change that pretty quickly."