Oswego East holds serve at Oswego
Wolves maintain perfect roll in Southwest Prairie
By Curt Herron
OSWEGO -- A lot of teams would be thrilled to have three seniors playing in the central midfield who also were on their squad as freshmen.
Oswego East figures to be one of the few teams in the state that has that going for it. Two in the middle of the park have been playing together for three seasons and the other is back this year.
Seniors Mikayla Lambert, Chloe Noon and Taylor English all were members of the Wolves 2019 team that went 6-14-1. Lambert and Noon, who are captains, helped lead their team to an historic 2021 campaign while English returned this season after playing with a developmental club.
So, it's not surprising that the trio again played a major role in helping the Wolves remain unbeaten in Southwest Prairie Conference play and improve to 13-2-0 overall after claiming a 3-0 road victory over School District 308 rival Oswego on Monday.
The Wolves moved to 8-0-0 in the league and won their 19th-consecutive conference match. The win sets them up for a key showdown Tuesday afternoon when they host Plainfield East, which is 7-0-0 in the Southwest Prairie and has won 11 matches in a row since losing its opening two games of the season.
Oswego East, which is ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, wraps up conference play at West Aurora on Thursday and hosts Minooka on May 10.
Sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen scored off of an assist from Lambert in the eighth minute, English connected following an assist from junior Emma Rosenthal in the 18th minute, and junior Erika Smiley tallied thanks to an assist from Gulbrandsen in the 26th minute as the Wolves scored three or more goals for the ninth time this season.
Junior Sam McPhee came up with several big stops both just before the break and then throughout the final half to give the Wolves their eighth shutout of the season. Coach Juan Leal's squad has outscored opponents by a 61-8 margin. They have allowed goals in seven matches and only once surrendered two goals.
Fourteen of 21 players returned from a squad that allowed just 10 goals last season when they went 13-0-0 in the regular-season and won the program's first conference title. The Wolves aremore battle-tested this year, thanks to a much tougher nonconference schedule than was possible in 2021.
After falling 1-0 to current no. 4 Naperville Central in its opener, Oswego East won its next 11 matches before losing 2-0 to then top-ranked Lyons on April 28. Four of the other goals that the Wolves have allowed came against the five-ranked teams that they've beaten: no. 13 St. Charles North; no. 14 Benet Academy; no. 16 Plainfield North; no. 17 Oak Park and River Forest; and no. 23 Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Wolves' impressive resume helped them to once-again helped them secure a three-seed for sectionals, this season in the rugged Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional.
Oswego (9-7-1, 4-1-1) also got respect by claiming the sixth seed, so if both teams win their regional openers on May 17, they'll play for the East Aurora Regional championship on May 20. The Wolves hope to advance deeper in the playoffs this year after seeing their successful 2021 season come to an end when sixth-seed Neuqua Valley upset them in the second round.
Oswego East took control against their cross-town rival when Lambert sent a pass to Gulbrandsen, who fired a long liner that glanced off the crossbar and went in during the eighth minute.
"I think that we've been playing pretty well," Lambert said. "No one expected us to come out this strong and win as many games as we have. Our chemistry is just very good from the back to the front, and we have talented players. It's been a dream playing with these girls, it's amazing.
"Me and Chloe started from the bottom, so building this to its best has been incredible to be a part of. I like the bonds and the chemistry. We all have such good memories that we've made, and we all get along so well. I think that it's very important on a team to all get along so that we play good on the field together."
Shortly after sophomore Riley Gumm fired in another liner that was deflected by Panthers goalie Margaret Leger, the Wolves went up 2-0 in the 18th minute when Rosenthal found English in front of the net and she connected for a short attempt.
"Me, Mik (Mikayla) and her played our freshman year, and it's great having her back and she's been a great addition to our midfield," Noon said of playing again with English. "We were the three freshmen so it's kind of cool to have it come full circle for us three to play again, especially in the middle and working so close together. It's been really cool.
"It's been awesome, especially just to watch and to be able to help the program grow from my freshman year to this year. It's a huge change. It's been an amazing experience.
“We don't have a history behind us like the Naperville schools so I think that this shows that we're a bunch of girls that just love to play soccer and love to play for each other. I like our chemistry on and off the field. The fact that we're so close off the field definitely helps us perform on the field. It's been awesome."
Gumm was denied a bit later and then McPhee turned away a try by Natalie Braun before the visitors increased their lead to 3-0 in the 26th minute when Gulbrandsen connected with Smiley, who placed a shot over the goalie from about 10 yards.
After taking the 3-0 lead, the Wolves looked for more as the opening half wound down. Leger stopped senior Hannah Chval, Gumm and Lambert on good attempts. On the other end of the field, McPhee came up with a nice deflection on a threatening close-range shot from Anna Johnson shortly before the break.
In the final half, the Wolves focused on securing another shutout. They accomplished their mission thanks to the work of starters senior Erin Fleisher, junior Rosenthal and sophomores Morgan Dick and Abigail Triska. McPhee faced limited threats in the second half.
Oswego’s Johnson had several good opportunities while Natasha Lopez also applied pressure but the Wolves' keeper was able to hold off the hosts through the final 40 minutes.
"Last year in my freshman year, for us to automatically bond so well and learn to play together kind of makes it feel like we've been playing together for a lot longer than we have," Triska said. "Coming off of our final loss to Neuqua and then knowing we had Naperville Central first kind of freaked us out. But we had nothing to lose and started our season with a bang, even though we lost.
"And mostly building on that, because every time we come onto the field we learn something. We've just been able to develop that into our play. We have threats from all angles, and we don't just have a strong offense; we all have strong aspects in each part of the field. And when we all play together, we're going to fight. I like our chemistry. All of the girls love each other, and it's all about making each other better and figuring out how we can play better together."
Oswego started the season 1-3-1 while shorthanded against the likes of ranked Metea Valley, Batavia, St. Charles East and Plainfield North. The Panthers had gone 8-3-1 prior to falling to the Wolves. Despite not having all of his players available at times, coach Gaspar Arias likes a lot of things that he's seen from his squad.
"We started off with a lot of injuries in our first five games, and we were struggling. But little by little, we started getting our players back. We're building from that, and we won some important games," Arias said. "But right now, our players keep getting sick and hurt and teams that we're playing like East, Naperville Central and Plainfield North are all very skilled and very talented. She's a great keeper (Sam McPhee), and she definitely got some good saves.
"Anna has been doing great for us and has been scoring most of our goals. She's a very dynamic player, and she never gives up, even if we are down.
“She keeps going and keeps trying. They've seen us play, and we do a lot of combination playing, and we try to keep possession. We create opportunities up-top and build-up from the back. We don't like to play kickball. I think that's one of the things that other teams see in us."
Starting lineups
Oswego East
G 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
Oswego
G Margaret Leger
D Elaina Hallick
D Sarah Epstein
D Brynne Fehrmann
D Cameran Guzman
M Gillian Young
M Selah Smith
M Natasha Lopez
M Alexandria Wheeler
M Katelyn Epstein
F Anna Johnson
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Taylor English, sr., M, Oswego East;
Mikayla Lambert, sr., M, Oswego East;
Chloe Noon, sr., M, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Anya Gulbrandsen (Mikayla Lambert), 8th minute
OE: Taylor English (Emma Rosenthal), 18th minute
OE: Erika Smiley (Anya Gulbrandsen), 26th minute
Second half
No scoring
Wolves maintain perfect roll in Southwest Prairie
By Curt Herron
OSWEGO -- A lot of teams would be thrilled to have three seniors playing in the central midfield who also were on their squad as freshmen.
Oswego East figures to be one of the few teams in the state that has that going for it. Two in the middle of the park have been playing together for three seasons and the other is back this year.
Seniors Mikayla Lambert, Chloe Noon and Taylor English all were members of the Wolves 2019 team that went 6-14-1. Lambert and Noon, who are captains, helped lead their team to an historic 2021 campaign while English returned this season after playing with a developmental club.
So, it's not surprising that the trio again played a major role in helping the Wolves remain unbeaten in Southwest Prairie Conference play and improve to 13-2-0 overall after claiming a 3-0 road victory over School District 308 rival Oswego on Monday.
The Wolves moved to 8-0-0 in the league and won their 19th-consecutive conference match. The win sets them up for a key showdown Tuesday afternoon when they host Plainfield East, which is 7-0-0 in the Southwest Prairie and has won 11 matches in a row since losing its opening two games of the season.
Oswego East, which is ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, wraps up conference play at West Aurora on Thursday and hosts Minooka on May 10.
Sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen scored off of an assist from Lambert in the eighth minute, English connected following an assist from junior Emma Rosenthal in the 18th minute, and junior Erika Smiley tallied thanks to an assist from Gulbrandsen in the 26th minute as the Wolves scored three or more goals for the ninth time this season.
Junior Sam McPhee came up with several big stops both just before the break and then throughout the final half to give the Wolves their eighth shutout of the season. Coach Juan Leal's squad has outscored opponents by a 61-8 margin. They have allowed goals in seven matches and only once surrendered two goals.
Fourteen of 21 players returned from a squad that allowed just 10 goals last season when they went 13-0-0 in the regular-season and won the program's first conference title. The Wolves aremore battle-tested this year, thanks to a much tougher nonconference schedule than was possible in 2021.
After falling 1-0 to current no. 4 Naperville Central in its opener, Oswego East won its next 11 matches before losing 2-0 to then top-ranked Lyons on April 28. Four of the other goals that the Wolves have allowed came against the five-ranked teams that they've beaten: no. 13 St. Charles North; no. 14 Benet Academy; no. 16 Plainfield North; no. 17 Oak Park and River Forest; and no. 23 Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Wolves' impressive resume helped them to once-again helped them secure a three-seed for sectionals, this season in the rugged Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional.
Oswego (9-7-1, 4-1-1) also got respect by claiming the sixth seed, so if both teams win their regional openers on May 17, they'll play for the East Aurora Regional championship on May 20. The Wolves hope to advance deeper in the playoffs this year after seeing their successful 2021 season come to an end when sixth-seed Neuqua Valley upset them in the second round.
Oswego East took control against their cross-town rival when Lambert sent a pass to Gulbrandsen, who fired a long liner that glanced off the crossbar and went in during the eighth minute.
"I think that we've been playing pretty well," Lambert said. "No one expected us to come out this strong and win as many games as we have. Our chemistry is just very good from the back to the front, and we have talented players. It's been a dream playing with these girls, it's amazing.
"Me and Chloe started from the bottom, so building this to its best has been incredible to be a part of. I like the bonds and the chemistry. We all have such good memories that we've made, and we all get along so well. I think that it's very important on a team to all get along so that we play good on the field together."
Shortly after sophomore Riley Gumm fired in another liner that was deflected by Panthers goalie Margaret Leger, the Wolves went up 2-0 in the 18th minute when Rosenthal found English in front of the net and she connected for a short attempt.
"Me, Mik (Mikayla) and her played our freshman year, and it's great having her back and she's been a great addition to our midfield," Noon said of playing again with English. "We were the three freshmen so it's kind of cool to have it come full circle for us three to play again, especially in the middle and working so close together. It's been really cool.
"It's been awesome, especially just to watch and to be able to help the program grow from my freshman year to this year. It's a huge change. It's been an amazing experience.
“We don't have a history behind us like the Naperville schools so I think that this shows that we're a bunch of girls that just love to play soccer and love to play for each other. I like our chemistry on and off the field. The fact that we're so close off the field definitely helps us perform on the field. It's been awesome."
Gumm was denied a bit later and then McPhee turned away a try by Natalie Braun before the visitors increased their lead to 3-0 in the 26th minute when Gulbrandsen connected with Smiley, who placed a shot over the goalie from about 10 yards.
After taking the 3-0 lead, the Wolves looked for more as the opening half wound down. Leger stopped senior Hannah Chval, Gumm and Lambert on good attempts. On the other end of the field, McPhee came up with a nice deflection on a threatening close-range shot from Anna Johnson shortly before the break.
In the final half, the Wolves focused on securing another shutout. They accomplished their mission thanks to the work of starters senior Erin Fleisher, junior Rosenthal and sophomores Morgan Dick and Abigail Triska. McPhee faced limited threats in the second half.
Oswego’s Johnson had several good opportunities while Natasha Lopez also applied pressure but the Wolves' keeper was able to hold off the hosts through the final 40 minutes.
"Last year in my freshman year, for us to automatically bond so well and learn to play together kind of makes it feel like we've been playing together for a lot longer than we have," Triska said. "Coming off of our final loss to Neuqua and then knowing we had Naperville Central first kind of freaked us out. But we had nothing to lose and started our season with a bang, even though we lost.
"And mostly building on that, because every time we come onto the field we learn something. We've just been able to develop that into our play. We have threats from all angles, and we don't just have a strong offense; we all have strong aspects in each part of the field. And when we all play together, we're going to fight. I like our chemistry. All of the girls love each other, and it's all about making each other better and figuring out how we can play better together."
Oswego started the season 1-3-1 while shorthanded against the likes of ranked Metea Valley, Batavia, St. Charles East and Plainfield North. The Panthers had gone 8-3-1 prior to falling to the Wolves. Despite not having all of his players available at times, coach Gaspar Arias likes a lot of things that he's seen from his squad.
"We started off with a lot of injuries in our first five games, and we were struggling. But little by little, we started getting our players back. We're building from that, and we won some important games," Arias said. "But right now, our players keep getting sick and hurt and teams that we're playing like East, Naperville Central and Plainfield North are all very skilled and very talented. She's a great keeper (Sam McPhee), and she definitely got some good saves.
"Anna has been doing great for us and has been scoring most of our goals. She's a very dynamic player, and she never gives up, even if we are down.
“She keeps going and keeps trying. They've seen us play, and we do a lot of combination playing, and we try to keep possession. We create opportunities up-top and build-up from the back. We don't like to play kickball. I think that's one of the things that other teams see in us."
Starting lineups
Oswego East
G 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
Oswego
G Margaret Leger
D Elaina Hallick
D Sarah Epstein
D Brynne Fehrmann
D Cameran Guzman
M Gillian Young
M Selah Smith
M Natasha Lopez
M Alexandria Wheeler
M Katelyn Epstein
F Anna Johnson
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Taylor English, sr., M, Oswego East;
Mikayla Lambert, sr., M, Oswego East;
Chloe Noon, sr., M, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Anya Gulbrandsen (Mikayla Lambert), 8th minute
OE: Taylor English (Emma Rosenthal), 18th minute
OE: Erika Smiley (Anya Gulbrandsen), 26th minute
Second half
No scoring