Plainfield Central and Yorkville played about as even of a girls soccer game as possible Thursday afternoon for 40 minutes. Heck, the second 40 minutes were still highly competitive. It came down to one key play in the end.

Fortunately for Plainfield Central, that key play was made by them.

With 13:34 left on the clock, Lexi McCluskey took a corner kick that she managed to bend past Yorkville’s keeper and into the net to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. That was all they’d need to secure a victory.

Plainfield Central (7-6-1) has had a yo-yo season thus far. A 3-1-1 start was followed by a 3-3 stretch entering Thursday. Injuries have played a factor with the Wildcats missing up to five starters at times this season.

Against Yorkville, possession was mostly even in the first half playing against the wind. The second half saw the Foxes create some quality chances, too, but the time of possession clearly favored Plainfield Central.

“It was a good game by both sides,” Plainfield Central coach Ken Schoen said. “Obviously, wind played a factor. First half (Yorkville had the wind) and the second half we had them on their back foot. We were able to get that goal and take advantage.”

It also helped that keeper Maggie Lambert had yet another dominant day. She was sensational on Tuesday against Plainfield North until the final few minutes and made a number of key saves throughout Thursday yet again.

“She’s a great player,” Schoen said. “Honestly, the last couple of years I haven’t seen anyone better than her. We’ve always got top notch goal keeping which is a luxury for sure.”

It was McCluskey, though, who made the difference. While she said she was aiming to set up the assist, her magnificent bend on the ball gave the Wildcats the only score they needed.

“I just always look for a go ball into the middle,” McCluskey said. “If Ava (Lambert) or one of my teammates can get a good header in, I did my job.”

She, too, credited Lambert for another strong outing in the net and echoed Schoen’s thoughts that the wind played a factor. McCluskey credited her head coach’s halftime speech for motivating the Wildcats in the final 40 minutes.

“The wind definitely played a factor in the first half,” McCluskey said. “We had a good talk during halftime about being more competitive, going to the ball, working on connecting passes and getting up the field. That was a big help.”

As for Yorkville (7-3), Thursday snapped a five-game win streak. Still, coach Lauren Hoppensteadt was proud of the effort her team put forth on the day.

“I think we played really strong,” she said. “We played against a really physical team and we held our own. Sometimes. unfortunately, it’s going to happen where the ball just doesn’t go in for us.

“I think we played really strong and well. We possessed great throughout the midfield and dominated the whole game. It just didn’t end with a goal.”

Next up for the Foxes is a Tuesday home contest against Plainfield South while Plainfield Central will host Aurora East on Saturday. Schoen said the key will be maintaining health moving forward.

“Maintaining health is going to be key,” Schoen said. “We were down a center-midfielder going into the game and we lost a center-mid at halftime. Down two starting center-mids in the second half that was tough. I think the girls that went in filled in well and it was a good team win, so we’ll see.”