Girls soccer: Plainfield North tops Waubonsie Valley for first regional title since 2015

BOLINGBROOK — All season long, Plainfield North has been putting up numbers that straddle the line between very good and unbelievable.

The Tigers tied a school record Friday by recording their 21st win of the season in a 7-0 victory over Waubonsie Valley in the Class 3A Bolingbrook Regional title game. It was also North’s 20th shutout of the season and put their season goal differential at 131-6. For good measure, it was the program’s third regional championship ever, and first since 2015.

With 15 seniors on the roster, the Tigers have been waiting for this season to roll around, and they haven’t disappointed. They also wasted little time establishing dominance Friday, as Jessica Stewart scored off a corner kick from Gabriella Mattio with 33:45 to play in the first half. And with the play of defenders and midfielders such as Mattio, Stewart, Grier Isaacson, Georgia Liapis, Sophie Carlos and keepers Hannah Bukowski and Jenna Bearden, the lead was in good hands.

But North, which takes on Naperville North on Tuesday in the semifinals of the East Aurora Sectional, kept adding to the lead.

First, Tessa Fagerson scored off a beautiful feed from Mia Davis that found its way between two defenders. Maddio then assisted on a goal by Lauren Mrugala before converting a goal of her own from a seemingly impossible angle from the left off the inside of the right goal post to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead at halftime.

“I am more than happy to set up my teammates for goals,” Mattio said. “That’s more of my job, and I am happy to pass. But when I am able to drive to the goal, I have gotten pretty good at attacking with my left foot, and I was able to get one in tonight.

“With the defense we have, we can take a few more chances on offense, because we know the defense will have our backs. There were a couple plays where a girl got past me, but Grier [Isaacson] was able to make a couple of tackles and hold them up until I could get back there.”

Fagerson had nothing but praise for the pass she got from Davis, and for the play of the rest of her teammates.

“This [winning a regional] was a goal that has been on the whiteboard for the last few years,” she said. “It’s our last year together, and we know we have to fight every day to keep our season going. It’s nice to know that we only need to score one or two goals and we have a real good chance to win. We know the defense will keep the other team from scoring very often.

“On my first goal, Mia just made a perfect pass. I don’t know how she got it through, but all I had to do was just tap it in. Those are my favorite kinds of goals. I didn’t have to do much.”

In the second half, freshman Katelyn Haiser scored off a rebound of a Mattio shot before Mattio scored again. Fagerson added the final goal with 18:27 left, which cut the remaining time in half.

“We know each other really well,” Mattio said. “We have played together for a long time. Me, Sophie [Carlos], Jesse [Stewart], Taylor [Green] and Lauren [Mrugala] have been playing together for about 10 years. We all know where everyone is going to be.

“We’re excited to keep going. We don’t want to celebrate too much yet. We still feel like we have some unfinished business.”

North coach Kate Monterosso enjoyed what she saw from her team.

“We played a very good game,” she said. “This is a great group to work with. There are always different girls stepping up in different games, and that has been nice to see. Katelyn Haiser is only a freshman, so for her to get in there and get a goal in a regional championship is nothing but great experience for her.

“Winning a regional has been up on the board for a few years. But this is only Step 1. We have a few more steps to take to get to where we want to be. Now, we have to focus on Naperville North in the first game of the sectional and not worry about anything else.

“We are taking it one game at a time, and we just want to survive and advance.”