Girls soccer: Joliet West cruises past Joliet Central for 7-0 win on senior night

JOLIET – Regardless of the outcome, Tuesday’s Southwest Prairie Conference match between Joliet West and Joliet Central was always going to be about West’s seniors.

It was, after all, senior night for the Tigers, and they had seven of them to celebrate.

With that being said, you won’t hear anyone on West’s side complain about the final result.

Senior Julia Martinez scored 24 seconds into the match, and it was all Tigers from there as Joliet West honored their seniors in style with a 7-0 win over Central.

Joliet West (14-5-2, 4-2-2) has had a season of peaks with a couple valleys along the way. A 4-1 start was followed by three losses in four games. The Tigers responded to that adversity with a six-game winning streak before back-to-back scoreless draws, a win, a loss and another win.

Tuesday’s victory made it three wins in four games and has the Tigers feeling confident.

“We did some things really well today,” Joliet West coach Alan Stewart said. “Our passing has been strong all season, and I think our ability to pass the ball well was really the difference in the game today. Playing good through balls, getting touches in the box and being able to score was key. Central always plays tough and they played really well. We still have to go out there and win the game”

Again, the day was about celebrating the seniors. Stewart was grateful for their efforts, particularly Martinez.

“She was the only freshman we brought up to varsity the year she was a freshman,” Stewart said. “We’ve had ups and downs coming out of COVID and stuff like that. Our senior class has stuck with it, and we try to reward them by starting all our seniors today. We want to reward them for everything they’ve given to the program.”

Martinez was appreciative for the opportunity Tuesday. She ended up with two goals.

“It felt really good,” she said. “Joliet Central is always a fun game to play, especially on senior night. It was fun to get the win and get to score on my senior night.”

It only took 24 seconds for Martinez to make the senior presence felt as she scored to make it 1-0. It was a possession battle for the next 23 minutes, with Central appearing to get an equalizer in the 14th minute only for it to be waved off on an offsides penalty. Abigail Vugteveen gave the Tigers some additional distance with a goal in the 23rd minute to make it 2-0.

While it was senior night, no one told freshman Alicia Casillas, who scored two goals 20 seconds apart in the 34th minute to make it 4-0.

Ninety seconds after that, Casillas made it a hat trick and advanced the lead to 5-0 at halftime.

The second half saw junior Patricia Vilalpando get in on the action with a goal right in front of the net to make it 6-0 in the 48th minute. With 20 minutes remaining, Martinez made it a brace for herself and moved the contest to 7-0.

For Central (2-12, 0-9), which still is seeking it’s first win in conference play, it was another rough result.

Still, there were bright spots. The Steelmen held the Tigers scoreless after the first goal for 23 minutes and were pretty even in possession time for much of the first half.

Joliet West visits West Aurora at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Joliet Central plays at Plainfield North at 6 p.m. Thursday.