Wildcats claim conference title

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:24PM

Depending on one's point of view, Plainfield Central was head and shoulders above Oswego in notching a 3-1 victory Monday in a matchup of the Southwest Prairie Conference's last two unbeaten teams.

From the Plainfield Central perspective, that translates into claiming at least a share of the SPC crown for the fifth consecutive year although the Wildcats (18-4-0, 6-0-0) are more interested in claiming sole ownership of the title with a Tuesday victory against Plainfield North.

From the Oswego (7-9-2, 5-1-0) point of view, that initial statement simply means the Wildcats have - and utilized - a height advantage.

"They're physical and they're tall, so it's no surprise they played to their strengths," Oswego coach Travis Carlisle said. "They're so good on set pieces and that's what they did today, they scored from set pieces.

"They're used to playing in close games so they don't panic and they play composed soccer. I certainly don't feel bad about our performance. I thought we outplayed them in several phases. We outpassed them, we possessed the ball, we just need to be better in the final third of the field."

Plainfield Central gained a 1-0 halftime lead when Josh Rosenbaum's cross led to an eight-yard header inside the left post by Jon Rosenbaum with 1:55 left on the clock. The Wildcats upped their lead just 5:42 into the second half when Jon Rosenbaum's pass led to a six-yard finish by John Hurley.

But Oswego responded a shade over two minutes later as Curtis Grysiewicz assisted on Adam Udy's 11-yard strike from the right side. Plainfield Central's Tyler Gill rocketed a direct free kick with 14:17 still to play that Panther keeper Luis Gallardo stopped and the Oswego sophomore also came up big with 7:43 remaining on a solid header by Gill.

"Luis is a phenomenal goalie," Carlisle said. "It's nice knowing we've got him and that his backup (Ryan Totsch) is not much different. It's great that they both have two more years, but circumstances (injury to senior Elliot Totsch) make it necessary for one of them to play in the field."

There wasn't much Gallardo could do late in the contest when PC's Nick Castellucci was able to track down a loose ball for a nine-yard blast from the left wing with 2:43 left to give the Wildcats an insurance tally. Oswego journeys to Romeoville Tuesday to close the SPC and regular season, and then hosts Plainfield East in an Oct. 16 regional prelim that could give the Panthers a semifinal rematch (Oct. 20) with the Wildcats.

"It feels pretty awful to be honest," Oswego senior tri-captain Nathan Kyes said about Monday's loss. "Winning a conference title was one of our team goals, but we take care of business in the first round, we'll get another chance at them."

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