Soccer Game Preview: Naperville Central vs. Plainfield East

The Naperville Central Redhawks will square off against the Plainfield East Bengals at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Naperville Central knows how to get goals on the board -- the team has finished with four goals or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Plainfield East likes a good challenge.

Naperville Central barely beat Waubonsie Valley the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Redhawks blew past the Warriors 4-1 on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for Naperville Central, who have now won nine matches by three goals or more so far this season.

Minooka typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday Plainfield East proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Indians, sneaking past 2-1. The victory was all the more spectacular given Plainfield East's disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois soccer rankings (they are ranked 216th, while Minooka are ranked 13th).

Tristan Rosas and Jairo Gomez scored both of Plainfield East's goals, bringing their combined season tally to four goals.

Naperville Central's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 27 goals over those five matchups. As for Plainfield East, their win bumped their record up to 7-13.

Everything went Naperville Central's way against Plainfield East in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, as Naperville Central made off with a 3-0 victory. Do the Redhawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bengals turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.