Family ties mark WV win over Oswego E.
Lambert scores against father's team, but Waubonsie wins 2-1
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD -- In an admittedly stressful situation, Waubonsie Valley assistant coach Pete Lambert had the best of both worlds Saturday at Plainfield Central.
With his team facing Oswego East in the first round of the inaugural Plainfield Classic, Lambert had the rare opportunity to coach against his daughter Mikayla, a freshman for the Wolves.
The experience had the perfect result, at least for the elder Lambert.
Mikayla’s goal 13 minutes in gave Oswego East (3-4-1) a surprising early 1-0 lead over the Warriors (4-1-1).
“My dad always tries to give me some tips and always cheers me on,” Mikayla Lambert said. “It’s so great. And I love playing against my dad --it’s so funny.”
The emotional tug-of-war as parent and opposing coach wasn’t so easy.
“It’s probably one of the hardest games to coach,” Pete Lambert said, “because when you’ve trained your daughter and all of a sudden you’re playing against her, you get mixed feelings about it when you’re actually coaching.
“And at times I’d catch myself trying to give her advice like ‘Hey, try to find the ball!’ and so one, but I’m coaching my own team.”
Pete Lambert had previously coached against his older daughters Miranda and Maddy when they played at Oswego East. But his youngest daughter’s debut against Waubonsie Valley was something new.
“I just tried to tell her (Mikayla) ‘Try to have fun, enjoy yourself, don’t worry so much about me,’” he said. “And she has a lot of (club) teammates on the other team too. But the car ride over was kind of weird. I wanted to give her a little advice, but in the long run you want your squad to win.
“It’s almost like coaching a state championship game, the stress,” he added. “But it’s worth it to see her play. It’s a mix – you want to win, but you want your kid to play well. You’re happy she gets a goal, but you want to make sure your team comes out on top. It was a great finish so I was happy with her goal, but it’s tough.”
The moment of parental joy soon turned to coaching happiness.
Waubonsie Valley responded to the Wolves’ great start with two Megan Burling goals in the next 19 minutes and producing a 2-1 win.
While the result added to the strong 2019 start for the Warriors (whose lone loss is to Naperville North) and was a memorable day in the Lambert household, it also produced plenty of added confidence for a fast-improving Oswego East side.
Continuing to rise since an 0-2-1 start to this season, the Wolves gave an elite foe all it could handle Saturday.
“We came out there with the right intensity, the right mindset,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said.
“Obviously we know Waubonsie Valley is a really good soccer team, and we respect them,” Leal added. “But I always tell my girls that any of the best teams in the state can be beat. You just have to go out there, play our game, and move the ball around like we did.
“I’m happy with the result; 2-1 in a loss is not what you want, but to be able to compete against a team like this and have some opportunities to score. … We’re going in the right direction.”
The scoring opportunities started early. In the fifth minute, Hailey Lewis’ steal and burst in on goal was denied on a sliding kick save by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos.
The Warriors counterattacked with their own test -- Grace Setter’s nice send sprung freshman Brooke Nelson on a left-side run and shot that Oswego East goalkeeper Reagan Sanders dove to deflect away at the left post.
Then 27:38 before halftime, the moment for the Lambert family scrapbook sent Oswego East emotions soaring.
Off passes from Lewis and fellow freshman Chloe Noon, Mikayla Lambert lined a right side shot that was blocked by the Warriors’ Alexa Quaranta. But Lambert corralled the rebound and angled a second 20-yard shot from the right side into the lower left corner of the net.
“I saw an opening (on the rebound), so I just slotted it back in the left corner,” said Mikayla, who has four goals this season. “I was just trying to strike it as hard as I could, to at least try to get a goal in.
“Especially since my dad’s a coach there too, I was so excited. And for my first year. I’ve seen my sisters play against this team, and I think they scored a couple times too. So it’s kind of a tradition I guess.”
The goal meant something as big or bigger -- a leg up on a potential huge win.
“I was like ‘Alright guys, this is our chance,’” Mikayla Lambert said. “We were trying to keep our heads up and stay confident.”
That confident play continued in the 18th minute, when Lewis made a nice run that produced a 28-yard shot just wide of the right post.
But the next strong run deeper upfield by Burling awakened the Warriors.
Dribbling in on two defenders 19:55 before halftime, Burling was tripped inside the box right of the goal. Her ensuing penalty kick putaway tied the game 1-1.
“I think since we played a late game last night, all of us were still kind of feeling it in our legs, and we weren’t really ready to play,” Burling said. “So that first goal kind of woke us up, and I think we responded great.”
Said Waubonsie Valley defender Brooke Mathews: “I think it was mentally tough for us, especially since we had a game last night. But when we saw that (Oswego East goal) it brought our intensity up, and we played really well after that.”
Oswego East’s Allison Adams slowed the Warriors’ surge with two plays in a 20-second sequence of the 22nd minute. First, she denied Setter’s strong 30-yard run upfield with a clear from inside the 18-yard box. Then moments later, she made a surely bruising block on Burling’s 20-yard rocket shot.
Waubonsie Valley’s Mathews nicely answered with defense of her own, stepping in for a steal on a big Wolves shot chance from 10 yards with 16:50 left in the half.
Then came a pair of well-executed Warriors restarts. The second netted the game-winning goal.
A 35-yard Jennifer Garcia free kick with 10:55 left in the half found Burling for a 6-yard redirect at the left post that was deflected wide by a diving Sanders.
But two minutes later, a Roxy Zieba cross led to a corner kick. Coco Casey’s ensuing perfect corner send to the back post was headed in by Burling. It was the junior’s ninth goal of the season.
“Coco Casey has been giving me great balls all year,” Burling said. “Yesterday I actually got another header goal off of her (pass). Her ball is always able to find the back, all of them just play to the post. I really have to thank her for that.”
The Warriors have been thankful for Burling’s huge offensive impact this season.
“Megan Burling joined the squad (from club), and she’s been a great addition,” Pete Lambert said “She’s got to be one of the top forwards in this area. She’s scoring goals left and right.”
Even fatigue from playing Friday night and again at 10 a.m. Saturday barely slowed her down.
“She told me her legs felt like they were 100 pounds today,” Pete Lambert said.
But any signs of fatigue in the Warriors seemed to fade as the game went on.
“(Our players) didn’t know much about Oswego East,” Pete Lambert said, “and I think Oswego East surprised them with how well they played in the first half. That put us back on our heels a little bit, and we had to figure things out.
“In the second half we got a little bit of the wind, and after playing 12 hours ago I think your legs maybe loosen up a little bit. Plus we wanted to get this result.”
But down 2-1 at halftime, Oswego East never let up.
The Wolves had the first chance of the second half, a Lewis sideline win and send with 35:50 left that set up a Madison Frazier 22-yard shot on goal.
But it was the Wolves’ defensive stand against the Warriors that ruled the half.
Sanders made a nice grab of a high Sophie Majher 30-yard shot with 34:40 to go. Three minutes later, Setter’s low 20-yard laser was deflected aside by a diving Sanders. Then off a Mathews cross with 28:25 left, it was Sanders diving all out again to swat a Burling 22-yard shot wide right.
“Our keeper Reagan Sanders kept us in the game,” Leal said. “She made some incredible saves out there -- big kudos to her. And our defense did a really good job, the whole backline.
“All around I’m really happy with the whole team, but defensively we really did a good job of keeping them down to two goals after they put up five last night. They have offensive firepower, and we kept them at bay. I’m happy with that.”
Oswego East midfielder Lewis got into the defensive act with 29:30 left. Blocking a Warriors corner kick right of the net, Lewis embarked on a 90-yard dribbling display to the top of the opposing box before the Waubonsie defense ended the coast-to-coast bid.
Waubonsie Valley continued to push for an insurance goal. Roxy Zieba had three quality chances, starting with her 6-yard redirect just wide off a nice Garcia send with 22:20 left.
Another Zieba bid came five minutes later off a 19-yard Quaranta free kick, when she sent an 8-yard try just over the net.
Zieba also produced the Warriors’ last shot on goal with 4:50 to go. Set up by a nicely threaded Casey send, Zieba lined a 15-yard drive that Sanders grabbed.
Casey and Zieba are among 13 freshmen or sophomores on the Waubonsie Valley roster. Many of them making big contributions.
“A lot of people have said we have a young team,” Burling said, “and it’s almost to our advantage because even though we only have a couple of seniors and juniors, it really helps to build the underclassmen up.
“They’re able to look up to seniors like Sophia Majher, Jessica Wallace and Jenny (Garcia) and develop more, so next year and the next couple of seasons we’re able to build off of that.”
Fitting with the youthful theme, the Warriors defensive four features three freshmen or sophomores plus junior goalkeeper Kleronomos.
“We have a senior (Jessica Wallace) in the backline too,” Mathews said. “I played (on varsity) last year too, and we all kind of help each other out.
“And we also have a freshman now (Brooke Nelson) who plays an outside back. We all just kind of work together.”
With Oswego East refusing to relent, that defense made some key late stands.
Nelson nicely intercepted a pass at midfield and built on that play with her own counterattack on the left that created a Warriors corner kick with 21:30 left.
With 11:10 to go, Adams’ 44-yard free kick ended with an Abby Burns header wide. Mollie Valek’s long clear of a Wolves’ 15-yard throw-in at 9:20 repelled another brewing bid to tie.
The final minute featured two similar long sends upfield (one by Keeley) to put a lid on the hard-fought 2-1 win.
“I’m feeling really good,” Mathews said. “This year has gone really well for us. Most of our games have been really good, and we’re really strong at attacking. So I’m proud of us.”
Oswego East has plenty to be proud of -- a feeling that only grew on Saturday.
“We played great,” Leal said. “We had one lapse on a corner kick that kind of cost us the game, and a foolish foul in the penalty box that tied it up.
“The girls that came in off the bench did a really nice job of stepping up to the plate,” Leal added, “and proving they’re varsity players who can compete with the best of the varsity teams out there.
“We’ll just continue to get better, and now the rest of the area knows that maybe we lost a couple of games in the beginning, but we’re a team that can’t be walked over lightly.”
After some early lessons as a freshman on varsity, Mikayla Lambert is seeing big progress in herself and the team.
“I needed to get used to it in the beginning, because it was faster and pushier,” she said of high school varsity soccer, “but it’s been good.
“And lately we’ve been getting our confidence up. We lost a couple games, but we still have tried to push our hardest. We’ll just try to keep winning, stay confident and keep our heads up.”
Besides his freshman daughter making an impact down the road, Pete Lambert is part of a Waubonsie Valley program with its own influx of talented youth.
“We have some young kids who are figuring things out,” he said. “It’s been a nice group. (Head coach) Julie (Bergstrom) and I are really enjoying this year with them.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Nicole Kleronomos
D: Brooke Nelson
D: Mollie Valek
D: Jessica Wallace
D: Brooke Mathews
M: Jessica Keeley
M: Grace Setter
M: Alexa Quaranta
M: Sophia Majher
MF: Coco Casey
F: Megan Burling
Oswego East
GK: Reagan Sanders
D: Allison Adams
D: Madeline Kastel
D: Katie Olivas
M: Mikayla Lambert
M: Madison Frazier
M: Sydney Biala
M: Sydney Conway
M: Chloe Noon
F: Haley Lewis
F: Abbey Scott
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Burling, jr. F, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Mikayla Lambert, 13th minute
WV- Megan Burling (PK), 21st minute
WV- Burling (Coco Casey), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring
Lambert scores against father's team, but Waubonsie wins 2-1
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD -- In an admittedly stressful situation, Waubonsie Valley assistant coach Pete Lambert had the best of both worlds Saturday at Plainfield Central.
With his team facing Oswego East in the first round of the inaugural Plainfield Classic, Lambert had the rare opportunity to coach against his daughter Mikayla, a freshman for the Wolves.
The experience had the perfect result, at least for the elder Lambert.
Mikayla’s goal 13 minutes in gave Oswego East (3-4-1) a surprising early 1-0 lead over the Warriors (4-1-1).
“My dad always tries to give me some tips and always cheers me on,” Mikayla Lambert said. “It’s so great. And I love playing against my dad --it’s so funny.”
The emotional tug-of-war as parent and opposing coach wasn’t so easy.
“It’s probably one of the hardest games to coach,” Pete Lambert said, “because when you’ve trained your daughter and all of a sudden you’re playing against her, you get mixed feelings about it when you’re actually coaching.
“And at times I’d catch myself trying to give her advice like ‘Hey, try to find the ball!’ and so one, but I’m coaching my own team.”
Pete Lambert had previously coached against his older daughters Miranda and Maddy when they played at Oswego East. But his youngest daughter’s debut against Waubonsie Valley was something new.
“I just tried to tell her (Mikayla) ‘Try to have fun, enjoy yourself, don’t worry so much about me,’” he said. “And she has a lot of (club) teammates on the other team too. But the car ride over was kind of weird. I wanted to give her a little advice, but in the long run you want your squad to win.
“It’s almost like coaching a state championship game, the stress,” he added. “But it’s worth it to see her play. It’s a mix – you want to win, but you want your kid to play well. You’re happy she gets a goal, but you want to make sure your team comes out on top. It was a great finish so I was happy with her goal, but it’s tough.”
The moment of parental joy soon turned to coaching happiness.
Waubonsie Valley responded to the Wolves’ great start with two Megan Burling goals in the next 19 minutes and producing a 2-1 win.
While the result added to the strong 2019 start for the Warriors (whose lone loss is to Naperville North) and was a memorable day in the Lambert household, it also produced plenty of added confidence for a fast-improving Oswego East side.
Continuing to rise since an 0-2-1 start to this season, the Wolves gave an elite foe all it could handle Saturday.
“We came out there with the right intensity, the right mindset,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said.
“Obviously we know Waubonsie Valley is a really good soccer team, and we respect them,” Leal added. “But I always tell my girls that any of the best teams in the state can be beat. You just have to go out there, play our game, and move the ball around like we did.
“I’m happy with the result; 2-1 in a loss is not what you want, but to be able to compete against a team like this and have some opportunities to score. … We’re going in the right direction.”
The scoring opportunities started early. In the fifth minute, Hailey Lewis’ steal and burst in on goal was denied on a sliding kick save by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos.
The Warriors counterattacked with their own test -- Grace Setter’s nice send sprung freshman Brooke Nelson on a left-side run and shot that Oswego East goalkeeper Reagan Sanders dove to deflect away at the left post.
Then 27:38 before halftime, the moment for the Lambert family scrapbook sent Oswego East emotions soaring.
Off passes from Lewis and fellow freshman Chloe Noon, Mikayla Lambert lined a right side shot that was blocked by the Warriors’ Alexa Quaranta. But Lambert corralled the rebound and angled a second 20-yard shot from the right side into the lower left corner of the net.
“I saw an opening (on the rebound), so I just slotted it back in the left corner,” said Mikayla, who has four goals this season. “I was just trying to strike it as hard as I could, to at least try to get a goal in.
“Especially since my dad’s a coach there too, I was so excited. And for my first year. I’ve seen my sisters play against this team, and I think they scored a couple times too. So it’s kind of a tradition I guess.”
The goal meant something as big or bigger -- a leg up on a potential huge win.
“I was like ‘Alright guys, this is our chance,’” Mikayla Lambert said. “We were trying to keep our heads up and stay confident.”
That confident play continued in the 18th minute, when Lewis made a nice run that produced a 28-yard shot just wide of the right post.
But the next strong run deeper upfield by Burling awakened the Warriors.
Dribbling in on two defenders 19:55 before halftime, Burling was tripped inside the box right of the goal. Her ensuing penalty kick putaway tied the game 1-1.
“I think since we played a late game last night, all of us were still kind of feeling it in our legs, and we weren’t really ready to play,” Burling said. “So that first goal kind of woke us up, and I think we responded great.”
Said Waubonsie Valley defender Brooke Mathews: “I think it was mentally tough for us, especially since we had a game last night. But when we saw that (Oswego East goal) it brought our intensity up, and we played really well after that.”
Oswego East’s Allison Adams slowed the Warriors’ surge with two plays in a 20-second sequence of the 22nd minute. First, she denied Setter’s strong 30-yard run upfield with a clear from inside the 18-yard box. Then moments later, she made a surely bruising block on Burling’s 20-yard rocket shot.
Waubonsie Valley’s Mathews nicely answered with defense of her own, stepping in for a steal on a big Wolves shot chance from 10 yards with 16:50 left in the half.
Then came a pair of well-executed Warriors restarts. The second netted the game-winning goal.
A 35-yard Jennifer Garcia free kick with 10:55 left in the half found Burling for a 6-yard redirect at the left post that was deflected wide by a diving Sanders.
But two minutes later, a Roxy Zieba cross led to a corner kick. Coco Casey’s ensuing perfect corner send to the back post was headed in by Burling. It was the junior’s ninth goal of the season.
“Coco Casey has been giving me great balls all year,” Burling said. “Yesterday I actually got another header goal off of her (pass). Her ball is always able to find the back, all of them just play to the post. I really have to thank her for that.”
The Warriors have been thankful for Burling’s huge offensive impact this season.
“Megan Burling joined the squad (from club), and she’s been a great addition,” Pete Lambert said “She’s got to be one of the top forwards in this area. She’s scoring goals left and right.”
Even fatigue from playing Friday night and again at 10 a.m. Saturday barely slowed her down.
“She told me her legs felt like they were 100 pounds today,” Pete Lambert said.
But any signs of fatigue in the Warriors seemed to fade as the game went on.
“(Our players) didn’t know much about Oswego East,” Pete Lambert said, “and I think Oswego East surprised them with how well they played in the first half. That put us back on our heels a little bit, and we had to figure things out.
“In the second half we got a little bit of the wind, and after playing 12 hours ago I think your legs maybe loosen up a little bit. Plus we wanted to get this result.”
But down 2-1 at halftime, Oswego East never let up.
The Wolves had the first chance of the second half, a Lewis sideline win and send with 35:50 left that set up a Madison Frazier 22-yard shot on goal.
But it was the Wolves’ defensive stand against the Warriors that ruled the half.
Sanders made a nice grab of a high Sophie Majher 30-yard shot with 34:40 to go. Three minutes later, Setter’s low 20-yard laser was deflected aside by a diving Sanders. Then off a Mathews cross with 28:25 left, it was Sanders diving all out again to swat a Burling 22-yard shot wide right.
“Our keeper Reagan Sanders kept us in the game,” Leal said. “She made some incredible saves out there -- big kudos to her. And our defense did a really good job, the whole backline.
“All around I’m really happy with the whole team, but defensively we really did a good job of keeping them down to two goals after they put up five last night. They have offensive firepower, and we kept them at bay. I’m happy with that.”
Oswego East midfielder Lewis got into the defensive act with 29:30 left. Blocking a Warriors corner kick right of the net, Lewis embarked on a 90-yard dribbling display to the top of the opposing box before the Waubonsie defense ended the coast-to-coast bid.
Waubonsie Valley continued to push for an insurance goal. Roxy Zieba had three quality chances, starting with her 6-yard redirect just wide off a nice Garcia send with 22:20 left.
Another Zieba bid came five minutes later off a 19-yard Quaranta free kick, when she sent an 8-yard try just over the net.
Zieba also produced the Warriors’ last shot on goal with 4:50 to go. Set up by a nicely threaded Casey send, Zieba lined a 15-yard drive that Sanders grabbed.
Casey and Zieba are among 13 freshmen or sophomores on the Waubonsie Valley roster. Many of them making big contributions.
“A lot of people have said we have a young team,” Burling said, “and it’s almost to our advantage because even though we only have a couple of seniors and juniors, it really helps to build the underclassmen up.
“They’re able to look up to seniors like Sophia Majher, Jessica Wallace and Jenny (Garcia) and develop more, so next year and the next couple of seasons we’re able to build off of that.”
Fitting with the youthful theme, the Warriors defensive four features three freshmen or sophomores plus junior goalkeeper Kleronomos.
“We have a senior (Jessica Wallace) in the backline too,” Mathews said. “I played (on varsity) last year too, and we all kind of help each other out.
“And we also have a freshman now (Brooke Nelson) who plays an outside back. We all just kind of work together.”
With Oswego East refusing to relent, that defense made some key late stands.
Nelson nicely intercepted a pass at midfield and built on that play with her own counterattack on the left that created a Warriors corner kick with 21:30 left.
With 11:10 to go, Adams’ 44-yard free kick ended with an Abby Burns header wide. Mollie Valek’s long clear of a Wolves’ 15-yard throw-in at 9:20 repelled another brewing bid to tie.
The final minute featured two similar long sends upfield (one by Keeley) to put a lid on the hard-fought 2-1 win.
“I’m feeling really good,” Mathews said. “This year has gone really well for us. Most of our games have been really good, and we’re really strong at attacking. So I’m proud of us.”
Oswego East has plenty to be proud of -- a feeling that only grew on Saturday.
“We played great,” Leal said. “We had one lapse on a corner kick that kind of cost us the game, and a foolish foul in the penalty box that tied it up.
“The girls that came in off the bench did a really nice job of stepping up to the plate,” Leal added, “and proving they’re varsity players who can compete with the best of the varsity teams out there.
“We’ll just continue to get better, and now the rest of the area knows that maybe we lost a couple of games in the beginning, but we’re a team that can’t be walked over lightly.”
After some early lessons as a freshman on varsity, Mikayla Lambert is seeing big progress in herself and the team.
“I needed to get used to it in the beginning, because it was faster and pushier,” she said of high school varsity soccer, “but it’s been good.
“And lately we’ve been getting our confidence up. We lost a couple games, but we still have tried to push our hardest. We’ll just try to keep winning, stay confident and keep our heads up.”
Besides his freshman daughter making an impact down the road, Pete Lambert is part of a Waubonsie Valley program with its own influx of talented youth.
“We have some young kids who are figuring things out,” he said. “It’s been a nice group. (Head coach) Julie (Bergstrom) and I are really enjoying this year with them.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Nicole Kleronomos
D: Brooke Nelson
D: Mollie Valek
D: Jessica Wallace
D: Brooke Mathews
M: Jessica Keeley
M: Grace Setter
M: Alexa Quaranta
M: Sophia Majher
MF: Coco Casey
F: Megan Burling
Oswego East
GK: Reagan Sanders
D: Allison Adams
D: Madeline Kastel
D: Katie Olivas
M: Mikayla Lambert
M: Madison Frazier
M: Sydney Biala
M: Sydney Conway
M: Chloe Noon
F: Haley Lewis
F: Abbey Scott
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Burling, jr. F, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Mikayla Lambert, 13th minute
WV- Megan Burling (PK), 21st minute
WV- Burling (Coco Casey), 32nd minute
Second half
No scoring