Girls Soccer: Oswego East starts fast, beats Oswego in crosstown match to continue conference win streak

OSWEGO – When Taylor English took the field Monday, it marked her first Oswego crosstown game in three years.

So yes, she was ready to play.

“Crosstown is one of our biggest games – it’s what we play for,” said English, an Oswego East senior and Kent State recruit. “It’s been three years since I last played in it, and it’s always a big rivalry. Definitely the energy is super intense on both sides.”

[ Photos: Oswego East vs. Oswego soccer ]

English, like she has all season for the Wolves, made her presence felt in her return to the rivalry.

She scored one of her team’s three first-half goals, and visiting Oswego East went on to a 3-0 win over Oswego for its 19th straight Southwest Prairie Conference win.

English played her freshman year with Oswego East, but spent the last two years with the Sockers FC Chicago Development Academy. Now she’s back, joining a Wolves’ team bursting with talent whose only losses have come to Naperville Central and Lyons and who have outscored opponents 61-8. It’s been quite an encore to last spring’s undefeated regular season.

“I decided in the fall I was going to play with the team; I think I always wanted to come back,” English said. “It’s been so fun, the environment is amazing, the team last year did really well so I knew training would be intense and the games, we’ve come out ready to play.”

The Wolves certainly did Monday, a reschedule of a postponed game from earlier this season.

Oswego East (13-2, 8-0), in firm control of possession throughout the game’s early going, peppered the Oswego goal for 15 shots in the first half. The Wolves finally cashed in in the game’s eighth minute. Speedy sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen made a strong run down the right side, and drilled a 20-yard shot that clanked off the crossbar and was ruled a goal.

“It was close,” Gulbrandsen said. “The coaches were arguing for it and the sideline ref called it in right away. I had a chance before that and a couple chances after so it was good to see it go in.

“Once we realized we could get behind them, it was completely possible, it gave us momentum and we just kept going and going. Every other possession it seemed like we got it in the box.”

English made it 2-0 with 26:40 left in the first half, collecting a rebound off the goalkeeper and following it in the back post.

“Having Taylor back this year brings new energy,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “The girls know her talent level. Having her and Mikayla [Lambert] and Chloe [Noon] in the middle makes for a three-headed monster that’s hard to stop.”

As is the tremendous speed of sophomores Gulbrandsen and Riley Gumm, who Oswego struggled to contain on the outside. In the game’s 26th minute Gulbrandsen sent a through ball to the center of the field and Iowa recruit Erika Smiley knocked it in for a 3-0 lead.

“Those girls are hard to track,” Leal said. “We liked to keep them wide. That forces the other team’s defense to really spread out and gives us one-on-one opportunities and the midfielders know how to find the girls wide. Having that speed out there is ridiculous.”

As Oswego found out the hard way in the first half.

“We knew they would come out hard, obviously we talk about it, but we just weren’t prepared for it,” Oswego coach Gaspar Arias said.

Oswego’s best chance of the first half came in the final minute, as Anna Johnson’s shot was knocked away by leaping Oswego East goalkeeper Sam McPhee.

McPhee turned away Johnson attempts on a number of occasions in the second half to preserve the Wolves’ eighth shutout.

“Sam McPhee is top-notch, A+, one of the best keepers in the state and has a great back line in front of her,” Leal said. “We have two sophomores at center back who communicate well. It’s fun to work with and fun to watch.”

Oswego (10-7-1, 4-1-1) is young at the attacking positions besides Johnson, with two freshmen and a sophomore. Arias is hopeful his young group can grow ahead of a potential regional final rematch with Oswego East later this month.

“Johnson can be dynamic, but there are times we just don’t follow her. She can’t do everything by herself,” Arias said. “There is a lot we need to work on to be able to compete with them.”