Frosh Mortonson strikes late
to lift Lyons over Oswego East
Lions gain Naperville invitational semifinal berth with 2-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – “Bring out the freshman!”
That was the call on the Lyons bench following the Lions’ 2-1 victory over Oswego East at the Naperville Invitational quarterfinals Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
Rookie forward Caroline Mortonson, who scored the game-winning goal, was summoned to meet the press. She’s the only freshman on the roster for Lyons, which is ranked no. 1 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
What’s it like playing for an undefeated team that finished second in state last season?
“It was really intimidating,” Mortonson said. “I was nervous in my first two games. but they were really inclusive and helped me play better.”
And Mortonson is playing better and better as the season progresses. She has scored seven goals, none bigger than the one she potted with 5:29 remaining in the second half Thursday.
Taking a great lead pass from Air Force-bound captain Eleanor Musgrove, Mortonson got past a defender just outside the box and beat Oswego East goalkeeper Sam McPhee with a clinical finish.
It was the final shot of the game and turned out to be Mortonson’s first career game-winning goal. It also snapped no. 7 Oswego East’s 11-game winning streak. The Wolves only previous loss came against Naperville Invitational semifinalist and second-ranked Naperville Central on a second half PK in their season-opener March 15.
Lyons (13-0-0) will play third-ranked Naperville North (12-1-2), which beat Oak Park and River Forest 2-0, in a tournament semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium. It’s a rematch of the 4th annual Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic semifinal that saw Lions won in a six-round shootout after a 1-1 regulation tie on April 16.
No. 2 Naperville Central (12-0-1) takes on Barrington (13-1-0) in the first semifinal at 5 p.m.
“It was really exciting,” Mortonson said. “I saw (Musgrove) dribbling, and I started running towards the goal. She played a perfect ball to my feet. I wanted to kick it to the far corner (of the net).”
Mortonson did so, enabling the Lions to finally put away the Wolves (11-2-0), who had tied the game 1-1 on Riley Gumm’s penalty kick at the 36:52 mark of the second half.
“That was a great ball from Eleanor,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. “She found that seam.
“Caroline plays with a lot of poise, and I think the camaraderie on the team helps her play with a little confidence, too.”
Indeed, Musgrove is one of the team leaders who has shown Mortonson the ropes. What advice did she give to Mortonson?
“I think just being open to the process,” Musgrove said. “I know it can be daunting at first, but we’re a super fun and inclusive team, and she just fit right in with everyone.
“She’s just taken every obstacle and challenge perfectly.”
Breaking down Oswego East’s defense proved to be a challenge. Junior forward Katie O’Malley was able to do it with 17:43 to go in the first half, dribbling down the left wing and into the box before roofing a left-footed shot over McPhee’s head into the upper 90 to open the scoring.
O’Mally nearly scored again 11 minutes later but saw her 28-yard shot hit the top of the crossbar. Josie Pochocki similarly pinged the pipe on a 20-yard shot with 6:00 left in the second half.
But shortly after, the Lions won the ball back in the midfield, and Musgrove spotted Mortonson in position to exploit a seam. Her resulting diagonal ball was perfectly placed.
“I would say throughout the game they did a really good job defending the wide, so there was always that inside through-ball available,” Musgrove said. “Caroline made that run in front of the defender, and I saw her going and just hit her on that ball. It was a great finish.”
Oswego East coach Juan Leal agreed, though it wasn’t the finish he wanted to see. His team came reasonably close to pulling the upset of the year.
“That would have been an enormous win on a big scale,” Leal said. “The first half we were beaten in the 50/50s by them. They beat us in the run of play here and there.
“We made some adjustments in the second half. I think we challenged them way more in the second half 50/50 wise, and we started making better passes, connecting more.”
Indeed, the Wolves put some pressure on the Lions with Gumm, Chloe Noon, Taylor English, Erika Smiley and Anya Gulbrandsen combining to keep the play going at a fast pace.
Lanspeary was impressed.
“Oh, my gosh, they were really good,” Lanspeary said. “They were so dangerous in their attack, but our backline did a really nice job, I thought, negating and limiting things.
“Our midfield had to track all day long, because they played so fast, and their keeper made some real nice saves too.
“You play in this tournament you know you’re going to play some really good teams, and that’s why you’re in it.”
The win advanced the Lions to the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2011; they lost to Neuqua Valley in the championship game.
Oswego East, meanwhile, saw its inspiring run come to an end. They were first invited to the prestigious tournament in 2019 and this was their first quarterfinal appearance.
“We created good opportunities for ourselves,” Leal said. “We picked it up in the second half, and I really felt like we played some good soccer there.
“We were making them make adjustments and making them reorganize themselves.
Teams are starting to take notice of the Wolves and praising their play.
“That’s really nice,” Leal said. “The girls are training every day. They work their butts off, and they know that it’s got to come out here on the field, so they don’t take any days off in practice.
“They’re really starting to get their engine going. We only put one away today but against a defensive team that’s strong in the air, there’s no getting through their defense.
“You’ve got to really make something special happen and their keeper (Illinois recruit Izzy Lee, who made one save), we weren’t able to test her too much, but I know she’s a phenomenal keeper.
“Our girls are just going to keep working. Today’s game was a good litmus test for us to know where we’re at. We competed with the no. 1 ranked team in the state and last year’s runner-up. For us to only lose to them 2-1, our girls have a lot to be proud of. We’re very proud of how they played today.”
Leal wasn’t the only one who had a feeling of pride. Musgrove had similar feelings about Mortonson.
“I’m super proud,” Musgrove said. “She does an awesome job as such a young player.
“She’s super mature, and she just does a really good job on the ball. I think that she is growing every game with more and more experience. It really showed today when she scored that goal.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Izzy Wirtz
D Ava Pike
D Kaite Fulscher
D Brennan Israel
M Caroline McKenna
M Josie Pochocki
M Eleanor Musgrove
F Caroline Mortonson
F Katie O’Malley
F Riley Wengerd
Oswego East
GK Sam McPhee
D Emma Rosenthal
D Morgan Dick
D Abigail Triska
D Erin Fleisher
M Anya Gulbrandsen
M Mikayla Lambert
M Chloe Noon
M Riley Gumm
M Taylor English
F Erika Smiley
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Mortonson, fr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons – Katie O’Malley 17:14 remaining
Second half
Oswego East – Riley Gumm (PK) 36:52 remaining
Lyons – Caroline Mortonson (Eleanor Musgrove) 5:29 remaining
to lift Lyons over Oswego East
Lions gain Naperville invitational semifinal berth with 2-1 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – “Bring out the freshman!”
That was the call on the Lyons bench following the Lions’ 2-1 victory over Oswego East at the Naperville Invitational quarterfinals Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
Rookie forward Caroline Mortonson, who scored the game-winning goal, was summoned to meet the press. She’s the only freshman on the roster for Lyons, which is ranked no. 1 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
What’s it like playing for an undefeated team that finished second in state last season?
“It was really intimidating,” Mortonson said. “I was nervous in my first two games. but they were really inclusive and helped me play better.”
And Mortonson is playing better and better as the season progresses. She has scored seven goals, none bigger than the one she potted with 5:29 remaining in the second half Thursday.
Taking a great lead pass from Air Force-bound captain Eleanor Musgrove, Mortonson got past a defender just outside the box and beat Oswego East goalkeeper Sam McPhee with a clinical finish.
It was the final shot of the game and turned out to be Mortonson’s first career game-winning goal. It also snapped no. 7 Oswego East’s 11-game winning streak. The Wolves only previous loss came against Naperville Invitational semifinalist and second-ranked Naperville Central on a second half PK in their season-opener March 15.
Lyons (13-0-0) will play third-ranked Naperville North (12-1-2), which beat Oak Park and River Forest 2-0, in a tournament semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium. It’s a rematch of the 4th annual Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic semifinal that saw Lions won in a six-round shootout after a 1-1 regulation tie on April 16.
No. 2 Naperville Central (12-0-1) takes on Barrington (13-1-0) in the first semifinal at 5 p.m.
“It was really exciting,” Mortonson said. “I saw (Musgrove) dribbling, and I started running towards the goal. She played a perfect ball to my feet. I wanted to kick it to the far corner (of the net).”
Mortonson did so, enabling the Lions to finally put away the Wolves (11-2-0), who had tied the game 1-1 on Riley Gumm’s penalty kick at the 36:52 mark of the second half.
“That was a great ball from Eleanor,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. “She found that seam.
“Caroline plays with a lot of poise, and I think the camaraderie on the team helps her play with a little confidence, too.”
Indeed, Musgrove is one of the team leaders who has shown Mortonson the ropes. What advice did she give to Mortonson?
“I think just being open to the process,” Musgrove said. “I know it can be daunting at first, but we’re a super fun and inclusive team, and she just fit right in with everyone.
“She’s just taken every obstacle and challenge perfectly.”
Breaking down Oswego East’s defense proved to be a challenge. Junior forward Katie O’Malley was able to do it with 17:43 to go in the first half, dribbling down the left wing and into the box before roofing a left-footed shot over McPhee’s head into the upper 90 to open the scoring.
O’Mally nearly scored again 11 minutes later but saw her 28-yard shot hit the top of the crossbar. Josie Pochocki similarly pinged the pipe on a 20-yard shot with 6:00 left in the second half.
But shortly after, the Lions won the ball back in the midfield, and Musgrove spotted Mortonson in position to exploit a seam. Her resulting diagonal ball was perfectly placed.
“I would say throughout the game they did a really good job defending the wide, so there was always that inside through-ball available,” Musgrove said. “Caroline made that run in front of the defender, and I saw her going and just hit her on that ball. It was a great finish.”
Oswego East coach Juan Leal agreed, though it wasn’t the finish he wanted to see. His team came reasonably close to pulling the upset of the year.
“That would have been an enormous win on a big scale,” Leal said. “The first half we were beaten in the 50/50s by them. They beat us in the run of play here and there.
“We made some adjustments in the second half. I think we challenged them way more in the second half 50/50 wise, and we started making better passes, connecting more.”
Indeed, the Wolves put some pressure on the Lions with Gumm, Chloe Noon, Taylor English, Erika Smiley and Anya Gulbrandsen combining to keep the play going at a fast pace.
Lanspeary was impressed.
“Oh, my gosh, they were really good,” Lanspeary said. “They were so dangerous in their attack, but our backline did a really nice job, I thought, negating and limiting things.
“Our midfield had to track all day long, because they played so fast, and their keeper made some real nice saves too.
“You play in this tournament you know you’re going to play some really good teams, and that’s why you’re in it.”
The win advanced the Lions to the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2011; they lost to Neuqua Valley in the championship game.
Oswego East, meanwhile, saw its inspiring run come to an end. They were first invited to the prestigious tournament in 2019 and this was their first quarterfinal appearance.
“We created good opportunities for ourselves,” Leal said. “We picked it up in the second half, and I really felt like we played some good soccer there.
“We were making them make adjustments and making them reorganize themselves.
Teams are starting to take notice of the Wolves and praising their play.
“That’s really nice,” Leal said. “The girls are training every day. They work their butts off, and they know that it’s got to come out here on the field, so they don’t take any days off in practice.
“They’re really starting to get their engine going. We only put one away today but against a defensive team that’s strong in the air, there’s no getting through their defense.
“You’ve got to really make something special happen and their keeper (Illinois recruit Izzy Lee, who made one save), we weren’t able to test her too much, but I know she’s a phenomenal keeper.
“Our girls are just going to keep working. Today’s game was a good litmus test for us to know where we’re at. We competed with the no. 1 ranked team in the state and last year’s runner-up. For us to only lose to them 2-1, our girls have a lot to be proud of. We’re very proud of how they played today.”
Leal wasn’t the only one who had a feeling of pride. Musgrove had similar feelings about Mortonson.
“I’m super proud,” Musgrove said. “She does an awesome job as such a young player.
“She’s super mature, and she just does a really good job on the ball. I think that she is growing every game with more and more experience. It really showed today when she scored that goal.”
Starting lineups
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Izzy Wirtz
D Ava Pike
D Kaite Fulscher
D Brennan Israel
M Caroline McKenna
M Josie Pochocki
M Eleanor Musgrove
F Caroline Mortonson
F Katie O’Malley
F Riley Wengerd
Oswego East
GK Sam McPhee
D Emma Rosenthal
D Morgan Dick
D Abigail Triska
D Erin Fleisher
M Anya Gulbrandsen
M Mikayla Lambert
M Chloe Noon
M Riley Gumm
M Taylor English
F Erika Smiley
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Caroline Mortonson, fr., F, Lyons
Scoring summary
First half
Lyons – Katie O’Malley 17:14 remaining
Second half
Oswego East – Riley Gumm (PK) 36:52 remaining
Lyons – Caroline Mortonson (Eleanor Musgrove) 5:29 remaining