Noe Parra helps Oswego top Oswego East in first crosstown rivalry match

OSWEGO – Last year when Oswego and Oswego East clashed during their annual regular season match in the Southwest Prairie Conference, Panthers senior Noe Parra was playing with MLS NEXT.

While playing with MLS NEXT provides “a professional player development and an elite development pathway” for talented players like Parra,” playing for the Panthers gave him the opportunity to play a key role in his first and only crosstown game.

Parra scored and the Panthers defeated the visiting Wolves, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon on a windy day.

“This was my first crosstown of my whole high school years so it means a lot, for sure,” Parra said. “Obviously this was a big game, a big win for us being crosstown. Just the passion of playing for the Panthers is huge for me and just celebrating the goal means a lot.”

When the Panthers ended their post-game meeting, Parra addressed the team briefly, sharing his joy for making the decision to join the squad.

“He was so excited,” Panthers coach Gaspar Arias said. “He was really excited to win with his team. He used to play for MLS NEXT so this is his first year playing for us and he knows what the experience is like now. The kids know. We keep mentioning it. It’s a privilege to play at the high school level. This is a good experience for them. They’re happy.”

Oswego (8-5-4, 5-1-1) has reason to be happy - the Panthers are winning. They’ve now won six straight. Junior goalkeeper Isaac Martinez returned from injury during a 5-2 non-conference victory over Downers Grove North on Sept. 21 and the Panthers have won every game since.

“Getting our goalkeeper back has been key,” Arias said. “Finally these guys are clicking. They’re working together now. They’re getting to know each other better. It’s great to see. They’ve been playing good lately. Ever since we got our goalie back. He’s the one with more experience and I think he’s keeping us in the game a lot. We are 6-0 since he’s been back.”

Junior Victor Rios came off the bench to put the Panthers ahead just before halftime, dribbling across the middle of the box before lining in a shot inside the far post in the 35th minute.

“I feel like it was a big change to the game,” he said. “I brought the team up and I feel like that was important for the team. It gave us the head start and the lead to gain momentum and keep going.”

It took some time for the Panthers to earn some insurance. Parra provided it thanks to the effort of senior midfielder David Castro to win a loose ball and help set him up in the 51st minute.

“David [Castro] won the ball and he drove in and I was in a spot so he then pulled back to create a lane,” Parra said. “We were in total control but we weren’t having big chances so it was very important to take out chances when we did get them and capitalize on our chances.”

Senior midfielder Thomas Marcoux converted a PK to make it a 3-0 game in the 58th minute.

“I missed one like two weeks ago in a tournament game so I was looking forward to getting another chance,” he said. “I really wanted to take another one, and I practice them all the time on this field so I was confident that I was going to make it.”

Senior forward Israel Cortez joined in the scoring fun in the 66th minute to make it 4-0.

“It’s been crazy; we’ve just been keeping up the intensity,” he said. “We just communicate. We got used to each other. It’s like last year not everyone was on the varsity. Most of us were nervous because most of us came from JV, which is like we got to just get used to this, but we’re coming back for sure.”

Oswego East (9-4-2, 2-1-2) found itself chasing rather than creating all afternoon.

“Oswego is trending in the right direction and we’re tending in the wrong direction,” Wolves coach Steve Szymanski said. “That’s kind of what I told Gaspar (Arias) at the end of the game. They’re playing really well and we knew they were playing really well. This was definitely a game where for whatever reason they come ready to play for this game and for whatever reason we play tense, maybe nervous. I don’t know what it is.”

Senior Elyas Elders curled in a free kick in the 69th minute to finally put the Wolves on the scoreboard.

“I was trying to hit it low and maybe curl it in a little bit and it worked,” he said. “I just wanted to get back onto our side and try scoring again because we were still down by three.”