Oswego East responds to ultra-quick
deficit in big way vs. West Aurora
Wolves score 5 times in 13 minutes, remain undefeated
By Curt Herron
OSWEGO --- When his team was unable to compete for nearly a two-week span earlier this season due to a quarantine at the school, Oswego East coach Juan Leal was understandably worried about how they would respond when they finally were able to return to action.
But after seeing his Wolves outscore their next five opponents by a 33-3 margin and claim four Southwest Prairie Conference victories in addition to a win over Neuqua Valley, it's safe to say that his team didn't miss a beat.
The Wolves, who are listed at no. 24 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, turned in another strong offensive performance to improve to 7-0-0 overall and 6-0-0 in the SPC on Thursday when they captured an 8-1 home win over West Aurora.
On a day when six different players collected goals and eight were involved in scoring plays, about the only thing that didn't go Oswego East's way was that it fell behind for the first time this season when the Blackhawks scored just 14 seconds into the match.
However, the Wolves responded with five goals during the next 18 minutes to help them claim a 7-1 halftime advantage and then cut the remaining time in half when they got their final score in the 54th minute.
"One of the biggest things that coach (Sean) Kelleher and I have seen is how these girls have jelled together," Leal said. "We talk to them about how we're looking to improve every day and to grow from the previous day. We can move the ball well, finish well and we have a strong defense. One of the things that we've told the girls that is going to set them apart from being a good team to a great team is figuring out those smaller details.
"They're so awesome in supporting each other. When we're at practice, they're asking a lot of questions about what they can do better the next time. They're hungry to learn, hungry to improve and hungry to take on stronger competition. So we're excited."
The Wolves have five Southwest Prairie Conference matches remaining, including two next week against teams that are still in contention. They play at Minooka (7-1-1 overall and league) Monday and host Plainfield North (7-2-1, 6-1-1) Wednesday. Oswego East claimed a 3-1 win over rival Oswego (7-2-1, 7-1-1) in their second match of the season, which was right before the early pause in their season.
Oswego East continued to flex its offensive muscles Thursday. Mikayla Lambert collected two goals, Riley Gumm had a goal and three assists, Erika Smiley got a goal and had two assists, Alex McPhee had two assists, Chloe Noon, Hannah Chval, Anya Gulbrandsen and Loryn Paribello also scored and Isabelle Kastel added an assist.
"I'm really proud of our team, and we're off to a great start," Lambert said. "Every day we train as hard as possible, and we're serious. When it comes to game time, we're on our 'A' game. We all have a great connection towards one another. We're always cheering each other on and pushing each other as hard as we can. I love all of the personalities and how we all bond together really well, and we're always positive, no matter what."
West Aurora (3-5-1, 3-4-1) shocked the hosts right after the match began when Bella Vargas sent a pass to Elizabeth Kuhn, who fired in a shot from about 15 yards.
The tide quickly turned in favor of the hosts -- t.hey scored twice in the next seven minutes to move in front for good and then built up a comfortable advantage. But the Blackhawks continued to play hard and keeper Madison Russell came up with several big stops on good Wolves' scoring chances.
Even though West Aurora has a lot of young players, coach Laura Wagley expects them to play hard throughout regardless of the situation and her team certainly did that.
"They're a very good team," Wagley said of the Wolves. "I don't know my record and don't keep track of the score; I just want my girls to play hard in every minute of every game, and we did that. It's very easy to get down by two or three goals and to give up, but that's not our mentality or mine as a coach. We're going to go hard and play hard. I like how they don't give up, and we're still communicating. We're looking forward to trying to finish in the top half of the conference, and this a good conference."
The Wolves tied things at 1-1 in the fifth minute when Gumm sent a pass to Lambert, who scored from close range. Gumm also assisted on the go-ahead score, which came in the eighth minute as she directed a pass to Noon, who fired in a liner from about 20 yards.
In the 12th minute, Gumm put in a loose ball in front of the net that had been sent there by Smiley, who connected from close-range in the 15th minute after taking a pass from McPhee. Then in the 18th minute, McPhee added another assist after Lambert scored her second goal on a shot in front of the net.
The Wolves added two more goals before the break with Chval scoring from close-range following Gumm's third assist in the 27th minute. Gulbrandsen got the final goal of the opening half in the 35th minute when she connected from about 20 yards following a pass from Kastel.
"We've been working really hard at practice and have been bonding really well and overall as a team we've been great. I'm really lucky to be a part of that," Gumm said. "We jumped right into it and going into our first game we were all on the same page and were ready. We're all in this together to win and are ready for whatever."
After Gulbrandsen, Lambert and McPhee were all turned away on scoring chances to open the second half, Smiley sent a pass in front of the net to Paribello, who put in the match's final goal in the 54th minute.
The Wolves defense, featuring Yocie Castelan, Emma Rosenthal, Erin Fleisher, McPhee, Lauren Redenius and Kastel, helped keeper Hailey Corcoran to face few serious threats. Oswego East had two starters out, Sammy Anderson and Kailey Tyburski. Abby Triska stepped in for Tyburski while Fleisher filled in for Anderson.
"Our team has really come together," Castelan said. "We've learned how to play compacted, and we're really attacking. With our defense and our offense, we've just been doing really good as a whole. It's really nice to be able to have a good defense and then move it up to the front and then being able to finish, that's been good for our team. After having a year off, we're all ready to play, and we've come together strong. We're all just there for each other, and we pick each other up. That's a really important key for soccer."
Starting lineups
West Aurora
GK - Madison Russell
D - Xochitl Galvan
D - Arely Lares
D - Krystal Diaz
D - Fatima Burciaga
M - Bella Vargas
M - Brenda Juarez
M - Arely Soto
M - Jazmin Quinto
F - Elizabeth Kuhn
F - Alphoncine Tuyisenge
Oswego East
GK - Hailey Corcoran
D - Alex McPhee
D - Yocie Castelan
D - Emma Rosenthal
D - Erin Fleisher
M - Chloe Noon
M - Riley Gumm
M - Abby Triska
M - Anya Gulbrandsen
F - Mikayla Lambert
F - Erika Smiley
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mikayla Lambert, so., F, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
WA - Kuhn (Vargas), 1
OE - Lambert (Gumm), 5
OE - Noon (Gumm), 8
OE - Gumm (Smiley), 12
OE - Smiley (McPhee), 15
OE - Lambert (McPhee), 18
OE - Chval (Gumm), 27
OE - Gulbrandsen (Kastel), 36
Second half
OE - Paribello (Smiley), 54
deficit in big way vs. West Aurora
Wolves score 5 times in 13 minutes, remain undefeated
By Curt Herron
OSWEGO --- When his team was unable to compete for nearly a two-week span earlier this season due to a quarantine at the school, Oswego East coach Juan Leal was understandably worried about how they would respond when they finally were able to return to action.
But after seeing his Wolves outscore their next five opponents by a 33-3 margin and claim four Southwest Prairie Conference victories in addition to a win over Neuqua Valley, it's safe to say that his team didn't miss a beat.
The Wolves, who are listed at no. 24 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, turned in another strong offensive performance to improve to 7-0-0 overall and 6-0-0 in the SPC on Thursday when they captured an 8-1 home win over West Aurora.
On a day when six different players collected goals and eight were involved in scoring plays, about the only thing that didn't go Oswego East's way was that it fell behind for the first time this season when the Blackhawks scored just 14 seconds into the match.
However, the Wolves responded with five goals during the next 18 minutes to help them claim a 7-1 halftime advantage and then cut the remaining time in half when they got their final score in the 54th minute.
"One of the biggest things that coach (Sean) Kelleher and I have seen is how these girls have jelled together," Leal said. "We talk to them about how we're looking to improve every day and to grow from the previous day. We can move the ball well, finish well and we have a strong defense. One of the things that we've told the girls that is going to set them apart from being a good team to a great team is figuring out those smaller details.
"They're so awesome in supporting each other. When we're at practice, they're asking a lot of questions about what they can do better the next time. They're hungry to learn, hungry to improve and hungry to take on stronger competition. So we're excited."
The Wolves have five Southwest Prairie Conference matches remaining, including two next week against teams that are still in contention. They play at Minooka (7-1-1 overall and league) Monday and host Plainfield North (7-2-1, 6-1-1) Wednesday. Oswego East claimed a 3-1 win over rival Oswego (7-2-1, 7-1-1) in their second match of the season, which was right before the early pause in their season.
Oswego East continued to flex its offensive muscles Thursday. Mikayla Lambert collected two goals, Riley Gumm had a goal and three assists, Erika Smiley got a goal and had two assists, Alex McPhee had two assists, Chloe Noon, Hannah Chval, Anya Gulbrandsen and Loryn Paribello also scored and Isabelle Kastel added an assist.
"I'm really proud of our team, and we're off to a great start," Lambert said. "Every day we train as hard as possible, and we're serious. When it comes to game time, we're on our 'A' game. We all have a great connection towards one another. We're always cheering each other on and pushing each other as hard as we can. I love all of the personalities and how we all bond together really well, and we're always positive, no matter what."
West Aurora (3-5-1, 3-4-1) shocked the hosts right after the match began when Bella Vargas sent a pass to Elizabeth Kuhn, who fired in a shot from about 15 yards.
The tide quickly turned in favor of the hosts -- t.hey scored twice in the next seven minutes to move in front for good and then built up a comfortable advantage. But the Blackhawks continued to play hard and keeper Madison Russell came up with several big stops on good Wolves' scoring chances.
Even though West Aurora has a lot of young players, coach Laura Wagley expects them to play hard throughout regardless of the situation and her team certainly did that.
"They're a very good team," Wagley said of the Wolves. "I don't know my record and don't keep track of the score; I just want my girls to play hard in every minute of every game, and we did that. It's very easy to get down by two or three goals and to give up, but that's not our mentality or mine as a coach. We're going to go hard and play hard. I like how they don't give up, and we're still communicating. We're looking forward to trying to finish in the top half of the conference, and this a good conference."
The Wolves tied things at 1-1 in the fifth minute when Gumm sent a pass to Lambert, who scored from close range. Gumm also assisted on the go-ahead score, which came in the eighth minute as she directed a pass to Noon, who fired in a liner from about 20 yards.
In the 12th minute, Gumm put in a loose ball in front of the net that had been sent there by Smiley, who connected from close-range in the 15th minute after taking a pass from McPhee. Then in the 18th minute, McPhee added another assist after Lambert scored her second goal on a shot in front of the net.
The Wolves added two more goals before the break with Chval scoring from close-range following Gumm's third assist in the 27th minute. Gulbrandsen got the final goal of the opening half in the 35th minute when she connected from about 20 yards following a pass from Kastel.
"We've been working really hard at practice and have been bonding really well and overall as a team we've been great. I'm really lucky to be a part of that," Gumm said. "We jumped right into it and going into our first game we were all on the same page and were ready. We're all in this together to win and are ready for whatever."
After Gulbrandsen, Lambert and McPhee were all turned away on scoring chances to open the second half, Smiley sent a pass in front of the net to Paribello, who put in the match's final goal in the 54th minute.
The Wolves defense, featuring Yocie Castelan, Emma Rosenthal, Erin Fleisher, McPhee, Lauren Redenius and Kastel, helped keeper Hailey Corcoran to face few serious threats. Oswego East had two starters out, Sammy Anderson and Kailey Tyburski. Abby Triska stepped in for Tyburski while Fleisher filled in for Anderson.
"Our team has really come together," Castelan said. "We've learned how to play compacted, and we're really attacking. With our defense and our offense, we've just been doing really good as a whole. It's really nice to be able to have a good defense and then move it up to the front and then being able to finish, that's been good for our team. After having a year off, we're all ready to play, and we've come together strong. We're all just there for each other, and we pick each other up. That's a really important key for soccer."
Starting lineups
West Aurora
GK - Madison Russell
D - Xochitl Galvan
D - Arely Lares
D - Krystal Diaz
D - Fatima Burciaga
M - Bella Vargas
M - Brenda Juarez
M - Arely Soto
M - Jazmin Quinto
F - Elizabeth Kuhn
F - Alphoncine Tuyisenge
Oswego East
GK - Hailey Corcoran
D - Alex McPhee
D - Yocie Castelan
D - Emma Rosenthal
D - Erin Fleisher
M - Chloe Noon
M - Riley Gumm
M - Abby Triska
M - Anya Gulbrandsen
F - Mikayla Lambert
F - Erika Smiley
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mikayla Lambert, so., F, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
WA - Kuhn (Vargas), 1
OE - Lambert (Gumm), 5
OE - Noon (Gumm), 8
OE - Gumm (Smiley), 12
OE - Smiley (McPhee), 15
OE - Lambert (McPhee), 18
OE - Chval (Gumm), 27
OE - Gulbrandsen (Kastel), 36
Second half
OE - Paribello (Smiley), 54