OSWEGO – Oswego East soccer coach Juan Leal didn’t need to express to his players the importance of Tuesday’s home game.

While the Wolves entered the game with an undefeated Southwest Prairie Conference record, their visitors from Minooka were 7-0-1 overall and freshly ranked at no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.

The only blemish in the Indians first eight games was a 1-1 league tie vs. Oswego on March 20.

A victory would give Oswego East an early edge in the conference race, plus provide momentum heading into brief break that ends with a tough game against Plainfield North on Monday.

After a slow start, the Wolves rebounded with solid play in the backline coupled with a strong attack. The result was a thrilling 2-1 victory in conference play.

“Obviously, our girls came back after giving up an early goal,” Leal said. “We kept trying to come back and played hard and kept our composure, found a little rhythm and a few seams and started bringing it to Minooka.

“I’m going to give Minooka a lot of credit for how they continued to play tough, even after we tied them and then scored the go-ahead goal. They were on our backs. It was a very physical game. We can learn a lot from this game, the physicality of it. Our girls did a much better job after 20 minutes of settling in, figuring things out and just started taking it to Minooka.

“This is huge (win), especially with them coming in here with an undefeated record. It really made us realize we’re playing a tough team here, that we have a good product against us today. It means a lot for us get some momentum going.”

The Wolves (6-3-0, 3-0-0) suffered an ominous start. They surrendered a Callie Hefner a tap-in goal off a free kick from Gabby Kwait in the fourth minute of play. Most Oswego East fans had just settled into their bleacher seats and now had to digest an unsettling deficit.

But the hosts’ Lana Bomstad and Riley Gumm answered with first half goals for the win. It gave all-stater Anya Gulbrandsen, a Wisconsin recruit with 10 goals, a rare break from her scoring responsibilities.

Oswego East goalkeeper Maddy McGregor, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, played stellar soccer in the shot-filled game. Her hard afternoon of work was evident by the look of her mud-splattered body and jersey. Her toughness was evident after she managed to stay in the game despite suffering two injuries. 

The sophomore, who ended with seven stops, saved her best for last, stonewalling a tying-goal attempt in the 64th minute with a full-out dive to her left off a laser shot from Hefner.

“I think after they scored the first goal, part of it was staying on our feet,” McGregor said. “We played against Hinsdale Central, and they scored against us in the last four seconds of the first half. That was a big momentum shift, so coming back from that game we made sure we were on top of the ball. 

“After that first goal, we had to make sure our momentum wasn’t down. I think we did a really good job of that. I owe 100 percent of our success to the team. I love all of these girls so much. I’m the last resort. I think they did a good job of presenting that to everybody, so I had to only be there a few times.”

“Our goalie made some amazing saves today,” Leal said. “She went horizontal for that save. We all played strong as a team."

Bomstad said the Wolves displayed a lot of heart and didn’t hang their heads after trailing 1-0 so early in the game.

“Minooka is one of our hardest competitions, so I’m so proud of us,” Bomstad said. “We’ve been working so hard for tough games like this. Now we know we can do it. It was definitely a team win. I think our communication got so much better. We’ve been working on that so much in practice and everyone gave truly 100 percent.”

Gumm noted the importance of knocking off the Indians (7-1-1, 3-1-1).

“This is definitely huge, because we’re chasing a conference championship. We’re aware that Minooka is a very strong team and will be one of our main competitions in conference this year,” Gumm said.

Minooka coach Chris Brolley said his team failed to maintain the boost provided from Hefner’s goal.

“Capitalizing early is huge and keeping the pressure up, but I think they made a couple of changes. We didn’t connect as many passes or press as much as we should’ve in the first half,” he said.

Minooka freshman goalie Jasmine Frazier, who had four saves, showcased her ability to adapt to difficult field conditions against a tough opponent throughout the tense game. The varsity neophyte handled a mud-filled box and kept a constant awareness of where Gulbrandsen was at all times.

Despite being held scoreless, Gulbrandsen was a threat throughout the game and narrowly missed on four of her shots. 

Frazier had her teammates to thank for clearances when she misjudged two balls that came her way.

“I would say dealing with (Anya) that our backline did a decent job of staying tight enough. But I think we could’ve kept the pressure better back there,” Minooka center midfielder Jada Neill said.

Hefner said Tuesday’s defeat is a good learning tool on the importance of maintaining their energy and pressure.

 “We did good and were aggressive but came up short in the end,” Hefner said. “We had a lot of attacking moments but weren’t able to finish them. I think we did well, but I think we just need better preparation and a better mindset. We did get unlucky with some shots, but we played against a very good team and did very well.”

Minooka junior midfielder Cali Rucka said the loss was tough to stomach, but noted the team can grow from playing high-caliber opponents.

“I think we did good, but we just needed to connect more in the final third just to shoot and get it on frame,” Rucka said. “I think with having injuries, more people are playing. Getting more opportunities to have different connections and chemistry with different players is good. We had a good start, and we were on them and came out decent.”

In a game between two high-level and motivated teams, the offensives made it an exciting 80 minutes. Hefner’s goal came a minute after Rucka drilled a shot over the bar. Hefner connected by staying in a good position following a shot by following a free kick.

Oswego East dominated the game the rest of the half. Gulbrandsen missed three quality chances before Bomstad knotted the game at 1-1 in the 22nd minute by drilling a short shot after Gulbrandsen hit the cross bar.

“Kenzie (Coleman) went down the field, and Anya had an amazing bicycle kick that hit the crossbar and I rebounded it,” Bomstad said.

The Wolves got the game-winner with 4:02 left in the first half on Gumm’s free kick that landed in the far-left corner for a 2-1 lead.

“The gap was there, and they were still setting up. I basically caught them off-guard,” Gumm said. “I had an opportunity to find the net.”

The second half featured a tad bit less action, but Gulbrandsen was in the thick of it. She nailed a shot wide left in the 55th minute. Then came a great chance to add an insurance goal 10 minutes later. 

She possessed the ball in a 1-v-1 situation with the Minooka’s Frazier, Gulbrandsen upended herself trying to find an opening for a shot. After she fell to the ground, she rose up and immediately put her hands on her head in frustration.

But 15 minutes later, all that mattered was a big conference win.

Starting lineups

Minooka
GK: Jasmine Frazier
D: Shea Freckelton
D: McKinzie Anderson
D: Jasmin Valles
D: Sophia Rausa
MF: Callie Hefner
MF: Jada Neill
MF: Ashley Sullivan
MF: Cali Rucka
F: Keira Rucka
F: Addison Cailteux
 
Oswego East
GK: Maddy McGregor
D: Alex Hoger
D: Morgan Dick
D: Emma Klosterman
D: Kailey Smith
MF: Natalie Hamilton

MF: Lana Bomstad
MF: Riley Gumm
MF: Ashley Gumm
MF: Catie Sloan
F: Anya Gulbrandsen
 
Chicagoland MVP of the Match: Maddy McGregor, jr. GK, Oswego East
 

Scoring summary
 
First half
Minooka: Hefner (Kwait), 4’
Oswego East: Bomstad (Gulbrandsen), 22’
Oswego East: Riley Gumm (free kick), 36’
 
Second half
No scoring