Oswego East’s historic season hits
wall against Naperville North
3rd-seeded Wolves fall 6-0 to 2nd-seeded Huskies
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Chloe Noon has always worn the no. 12 in homage to her surname.
The senior midfielder’s tenure coincided with the dawn of an unprecedentedly sunny era at Oswego East, which went 22-0-0 in the Southwest Prairie Conference and 32-4-0 overall the past two seasons.
But the clock struck midnight on the Wolves’ historic 2022 season Tuesday night as Naperville North scored three goals in a three-minute span of the first half and rolled to a 6-0 victory at a Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional semifinal at Memorial Stadium.
The result brought an abrupt end to a tremendously successful season for the third-seeded Wolves (18-3-0), who four days earlier beat crosstown rival Oswego 2-0 to win the program’s first regional championship.
Oswego East, which was ranked seventh in the final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 of the season, only lost to higher ranked teams this season: no. 1 Lyons (2-1, April 28); no. 3 Naperville North; and no. 6 Naperville Central (1-0, March 15). Minooka was the only other team to score the previous season high of two goals against the Wolves.
The lopsided score shocked everyone. Second-seeded Naperville North (19-2-3) led 5-0 at halftime, rendering the second half anticlimactic.
“We’re just as shocked as you are about the scoreboard,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “The jitters got the best of us today.
“It’s a place we’ve never been before, and it’s hard to adjust to a team that’s been seasoned and been here.
“Naperville North just came out, and it was just another routine sectional semifinal game for them. For us, this was new territory. I’m just proud of the girls for how we adjusted in the second half.”
As the Wolves made their sectional debut, the favored Huskies were playing in a sectional semifinal for the 31st time in the 34 seasons since the IHSA sanctioned girls soccer.
It showed in the early going as Naperville North overwhelmed Oswego East’s normally solid backline with wave after wave of attacks.
"As a coaching staff we challenged the team to put together a complete effort after not playing our best soccer of the season at the regional the past week," said Naperville North coach Steve Goletz. "With the schedule we played this year we know what we are capable of when we put all the pieces together and focus in on the hard work, playing as a collective unit while focusing on the details that the girls know make them successful.
"They came out focused and willing to battle to set the tone. We talked about how this was just another great opponent like so many we have seen this season and not to over hype it and stay in the moment."
Lucy Iverson opened the scoring with 26:16 left in the opening half, taking a deflection off a throw-in from Norah Barry and rolling her shot inside the right post.
Cameron DeCook, who scored twice and earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, made it 2-0 just 74 seconds later with a 27-yard blast into the upper left corner of the net.
The goals kept coming. Olivia Anderson got free on the right wing and crossed to Cameron Dinkla for an easy goal just 1:59 later.
The Huskies struck twice more before intermission mercifully arrived. Oswego East goalkeeper Sam McPhee made a kick save on Madison Korosec’s 27-yard free kick, but an unmarked Rachael Noren buried the rebound for a 4-0 lead at the 9:29 mark.
The Huskies ended the run on their bread-and-butter play. Barry’s long throw-in from the right side went untouched until Maggie Fitzgerald knocked it in from the far post with 1:12 left.
"Our backline and midfield were super organized and held a very dangerous group down for the most of the game limiting them to very few chances," said Goletz.
"On the offensive side of the ball, our midfield found our forwards In great spots. They took advantage of those chances and scored some great goals that we haven’t always put away this season.
"Cam DeCook was very good, and when we get that type of effort from our front line we become a very tough to team to beat. Happy for the girls -- they did the work to win, and the result was well-deserved. "
While it's a great honor to play in a big playoff game, somebody's still got to lose. Oswego East handled its disappointment with class.
“Obviously, big props to them,” Oswego East sophomore midfielder Riley Gumm said. “They’re a great team.
“I think we came into the game, I wouldn’t say intimidated, but I think we knew this was going to be a tough game, one of the toughest games of the season, it being a sectional semifinal.
“I think we did everything we could. It’s unfortunate that we have to go out this way, but everyone fought to the end. I’m really proud of everyone.”
Gumm generated both of Oswego East’s two shots in the first half, including a 25-yard shot that went over the crossbar at the 11:05 mark. She and Noon paced a much-better effort in the second half, when each team mustered five shots.
“We just played better,” Leal said. “I think the jitters were over and at that point, and being down 5-0, we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“The scoreboard unfortunately is what it is, but I can’t take away what these girls were able to accomplish this year.”
The Wolves set a school record for wins, scored more than 70 goals for the second-straight season and surrendered only 17, including the six Tuesday.
“This group of girls is probably the most special group to come through here for what they’ve done,” Leal said. “The leadership that they’ve exemplified, whether they started or coming off the bench, the energy they brought and the sisterhood and camaraderie they had. They’re fighting for the same thing.
“This group of seniors really brought that to fruition. In the past, the seniors just kind of did what they wanted to do. These seniors really took the reins.”
The senior class had nine players, including Noon and fellow starters Mikayla Lambert, Taylor English and Erin Fleisher, plus reserves Megan Ferry, Hannah Chval, Yocie Castelan, Shaye Smith and Loryn Paribello.
Noon, an Univeristy of Indianapolis recruit, was amazed at what the Wolves accomplished.
“It’s crazy,” Noon said. “If you were to tell me this is how our team would look my freshman year, I would not have believed it.
“So it’s been amazing to grow so much as a program and to do it with this group of girls and the coaching staff, there’s nobody else I would have wanted to do it with.”
What made the group special?
“It’s so many things,” Noon said. “I think it’s really just our chemistry off the field is really what did it for us this season, with every single player.
“The seniors have really instilled that when you step out onto the field, you give it 110 percent, you give everything you have. We’re all best friends off the field, and that always translates to the play on the field.”
Even younger players like Gumm did not expect this kind of success.
“No, freshman year I had no idea what to expect,” Gumm said. “We ended the season with one loss and made it to the regional finals, which was amazing.
“Then this year I knew we’d have the same talent, so it’s just been unreal. I love all these girls more than anything, and I’m just glad we got this opportunity.”
Six of the nine seniors will play college soccer. English will play at Division I Kent State, while Noon and Lambert (Flagler) are headed to Division II schools and Ferry (Wisconsin-Platteville), Fleisher (Millikin) and Smith (Dubuque) are Division III recruits.
Despite those heavy graduation losses, the remaining Wolves figure to have opportunities to repeat or even surpass the recent success.
Oswego East returns its top three scorers in sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen (17 goals, 10 assists, Gumm (13, 18) and junior forward Erika Smiley, an Iowa recruit who notched 13 goals and six assists.
Also back is junior goalkeeper Sam McPhee, who recorded 11 shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average, and starting defenders Morgan Dick, Abigail Triska and Emma Rosenthal, an Illinois-Springfield commit.
“Our backline and top line are still pretty young. They obviously have so much talent, and they work so hard,” Noon said. “They work their butts off every single game, and I think it’s very apparent when we’re out there.
“So, I can’t wait to see where they go, because I know next year they’re going to be pushing to go even further. I think it’s definitely possible for them to be able to do that.”
So does Gumm, who is eager for more success.
“Leal was saying at the end, this team has built a legacy that other girls coming up have to live up to,” Gumm said. “I think we have a great caliber of younger players.
“I think we can continue to take what the seniors have given us and apply it and help the kids coming in to create the same team we had.”
While Noon will be taking her talents to the next level, she will never forget her playing days at Oswego East.
“I’ve been playing club with some of these girls since second grade,” Noon said. “That’s part of what makes me so emotional.
“The club I play for, we play high school soccer. Not all clubs play high school soccer.
“Some college coaches don’t necessarily agree, but the experience that you get with high school soccer and high school sports is an experience that you will never get anywhere else.
“Look at the Chicagoland area. You still play against top teams and top players. It’s a great experience.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Sam McPhee
D Emma Rosenthal
D Morgan Dick
D Abigail Triska
D Erin Fleisher
M Mikayla Lambert
M Chloe Noon
M Riley Gumm
M Taylor English
F Erika Smiley
F Anya Gulbrandsen
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Peyton Hegner
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Madison Korosec
M Cameron Dinkla
M Ellie Gerner
F Olivia Anderson
F Taylor Korosec
F Cameron DeCook
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Cameron DeCook, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN: Lucy Iverson (unassisted) 26:16 remaining
NN: Cameron DeCook (unassisted) 25:02 remaining
NN: Cameron Dinkla (Olivia Anderson) 23:01
NN: Rachael Noren (unassisted) 9:29 remaining
NN: Maggie Fitzgerald (Norah Barry) 1:12 remaining
Second half
NN: DeCook (unassisted) 23:25 remaining
wall against Naperville North
3rd-seeded Wolves fall 6-0 to 2nd-seeded Huskies
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Chloe Noon has always worn the no. 12 in homage to her surname.
The senior midfielder’s tenure coincided with the dawn of an unprecedentedly sunny era at Oswego East, which went 22-0-0 in the Southwest Prairie Conference and 32-4-0 overall the past two seasons.
But the clock struck midnight on the Wolves’ historic 2022 season Tuesday night as Naperville North scored three goals in a three-minute span of the first half and rolled to a 6-0 victory at a Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional semifinal at Memorial Stadium.
The result brought an abrupt end to a tremendously successful season for the third-seeded Wolves (18-3-0), who four days earlier beat crosstown rival Oswego 2-0 to win the program’s first regional championship.
Oswego East, which was ranked seventh in the final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 of the season, only lost to higher ranked teams this season: no. 1 Lyons (2-1, April 28); no. 3 Naperville North; and no. 6 Naperville Central (1-0, March 15). Minooka was the only other team to score the previous season high of two goals against the Wolves.
The lopsided score shocked everyone. Second-seeded Naperville North (19-2-3) led 5-0 at halftime, rendering the second half anticlimactic.
“We’re just as shocked as you are about the scoreboard,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “The jitters got the best of us today.
“It’s a place we’ve never been before, and it’s hard to adjust to a team that’s been seasoned and been here.
“Naperville North just came out, and it was just another routine sectional semifinal game for them. For us, this was new territory. I’m just proud of the girls for how we adjusted in the second half.”
As the Wolves made their sectional debut, the favored Huskies were playing in a sectional semifinal for the 31st time in the 34 seasons since the IHSA sanctioned girls soccer.
It showed in the early going as Naperville North overwhelmed Oswego East’s normally solid backline with wave after wave of attacks.
"As a coaching staff we challenged the team to put together a complete effort after not playing our best soccer of the season at the regional the past week," said Naperville North coach Steve Goletz. "With the schedule we played this year we know what we are capable of when we put all the pieces together and focus in on the hard work, playing as a collective unit while focusing on the details that the girls know make them successful.
"They came out focused and willing to battle to set the tone. We talked about how this was just another great opponent like so many we have seen this season and not to over hype it and stay in the moment."
Lucy Iverson opened the scoring with 26:16 left in the opening half, taking a deflection off a throw-in from Norah Barry and rolling her shot inside the right post.
Cameron DeCook, who scored twice and earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, made it 2-0 just 74 seconds later with a 27-yard blast into the upper left corner of the net.
The goals kept coming. Olivia Anderson got free on the right wing and crossed to Cameron Dinkla for an easy goal just 1:59 later.
The Huskies struck twice more before intermission mercifully arrived. Oswego East goalkeeper Sam McPhee made a kick save on Madison Korosec’s 27-yard free kick, but an unmarked Rachael Noren buried the rebound for a 4-0 lead at the 9:29 mark.
The Huskies ended the run on their bread-and-butter play. Barry’s long throw-in from the right side went untouched until Maggie Fitzgerald knocked it in from the far post with 1:12 left.
"Our backline and midfield were super organized and held a very dangerous group down for the most of the game limiting them to very few chances," said Goletz.
"On the offensive side of the ball, our midfield found our forwards In great spots. They took advantage of those chances and scored some great goals that we haven’t always put away this season.
"Cam DeCook was very good, and when we get that type of effort from our front line we become a very tough to team to beat. Happy for the girls -- they did the work to win, and the result was well-deserved. "
While it's a great honor to play in a big playoff game, somebody's still got to lose. Oswego East handled its disappointment with class.
“Obviously, big props to them,” Oswego East sophomore midfielder Riley Gumm said. “They’re a great team.
“I think we came into the game, I wouldn’t say intimidated, but I think we knew this was going to be a tough game, one of the toughest games of the season, it being a sectional semifinal.
“I think we did everything we could. It’s unfortunate that we have to go out this way, but everyone fought to the end. I’m really proud of everyone.”
Gumm generated both of Oswego East’s two shots in the first half, including a 25-yard shot that went over the crossbar at the 11:05 mark. She and Noon paced a much-better effort in the second half, when each team mustered five shots.
“We just played better,” Leal said. “I think the jitters were over and at that point, and being down 5-0, we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“The scoreboard unfortunately is what it is, but I can’t take away what these girls were able to accomplish this year.”
The Wolves set a school record for wins, scored more than 70 goals for the second-straight season and surrendered only 17, including the six Tuesday.
“This group of girls is probably the most special group to come through here for what they’ve done,” Leal said. “The leadership that they’ve exemplified, whether they started or coming off the bench, the energy they brought and the sisterhood and camaraderie they had. They’re fighting for the same thing.
“This group of seniors really brought that to fruition. In the past, the seniors just kind of did what they wanted to do. These seniors really took the reins.”
The senior class had nine players, including Noon and fellow starters Mikayla Lambert, Taylor English and Erin Fleisher, plus reserves Megan Ferry, Hannah Chval, Yocie Castelan, Shaye Smith and Loryn Paribello.
Noon, an Univeristy of Indianapolis recruit, was amazed at what the Wolves accomplished.
“It’s crazy,” Noon said. “If you were to tell me this is how our team would look my freshman year, I would not have believed it.
“So it’s been amazing to grow so much as a program and to do it with this group of girls and the coaching staff, there’s nobody else I would have wanted to do it with.”
What made the group special?
“It’s so many things,” Noon said. “I think it’s really just our chemistry off the field is really what did it for us this season, with every single player.
“The seniors have really instilled that when you step out onto the field, you give it 110 percent, you give everything you have. We’re all best friends off the field, and that always translates to the play on the field.”
Even younger players like Gumm did not expect this kind of success.
“No, freshman year I had no idea what to expect,” Gumm said. “We ended the season with one loss and made it to the regional finals, which was amazing.
“Then this year I knew we’d have the same talent, so it’s just been unreal. I love all these girls more than anything, and I’m just glad we got this opportunity.”
Six of the nine seniors will play college soccer. English will play at Division I Kent State, while Noon and Lambert (Flagler) are headed to Division II schools and Ferry (Wisconsin-Platteville), Fleisher (Millikin) and Smith (Dubuque) are Division III recruits.
Despite those heavy graduation losses, the remaining Wolves figure to have opportunities to repeat or even surpass the recent success.
Oswego East returns its top three scorers in sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen (17 goals, 10 assists, Gumm (13, 18) and junior forward Erika Smiley, an Iowa recruit who notched 13 goals and six assists.
Also back is junior goalkeeper Sam McPhee, who recorded 11 shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average, and starting defenders Morgan Dick, Abigail Triska and Emma Rosenthal, an Illinois-Springfield commit.
“Our backline and top line are still pretty young. They obviously have so much talent, and they work so hard,” Noon said. “They work their butts off every single game, and I think it’s very apparent when we’re out there.
“So, I can’t wait to see where they go, because I know next year they’re going to be pushing to go even further. I think it’s definitely possible for them to be able to do that.”
So does Gumm, who is eager for more success.
“Leal was saying at the end, this team has built a legacy that other girls coming up have to live up to,” Gumm said. “I think we have a great caliber of younger players.
“I think we can continue to take what the seniors have given us and apply it and help the kids coming in to create the same team we had.”
While Noon will be taking her talents to the next level, she will never forget her playing days at Oswego East.
“I’ve been playing club with some of these girls since second grade,” Noon said. “That’s part of what makes me so emotional.
“The club I play for, we play high school soccer. Not all clubs play high school soccer.
“Some college coaches don’t necessarily agree, but the experience that you get with high school soccer and high school sports is an experience that you will never get anywhere else.
“Look at the Chicagoland area. You still play against top teams and top players. It’s a great experience.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Sam McPhee
D Emma Rosenthal
D Morgan Dick
D Abigail Triska
D Erin Fleisher
M Mikayla Lambert
M Chloe Noon
M Riley Gumm
M Taylor English
F Erika Smiley
F Anya Gulbrandsen
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Peyton Hegner
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Madison Korosec
M Cameron Dinkla
M Ellie Gerner
F Olivia Anderson
F Taylor Korosec
F Cameron DeCook
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Cameron DeCook, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN: Lucy Iverson (unassisted) 26:16 remaining
NN: Cameron DeCook (unassisted) 25:02 remaining
NN: Cameron Dinkla (Olivia Anderson) 23:01
NN: Rachael Noren (unassisted) 9:29 remaining
NN: Maggie Fitzgerald (Norah Barry) 1:12 remaining
Second half
NN: DeCook (unassisted) 23:25 remaining