Plainfield South breaks through for first victory of the season over Streator

For as much pressure as the Plainfield South Cougars boys soccer team was applying to the Streator Bulldogs for most of Tuesday evening’s nonconference meeting at Streator’s James Street Recreation Area, it took the visitors 37 minutes – and a fortunate bounce – to finally get on the scoreboard.

Xavier Martinez received a ricocheted line-drive pass from teammate Caden Pachowica right in front of the goal and sent it home to break a scoreless match just 3:05 before halftime. Plainfield South’s Manuel Mejia added a pair of highly-skilled second-half goals, and keeper Aldo Tamayo finished off a shutout with 12 saves in the Cougars’ 3-0 win over the host Bulldogs.

“A goal gives us confidence,” Mejia said. “Just seeing that, if we score a goal, then we’re going all out for whatever time’s