Defeating the Plainfield Central Wildcats 2-0, the varsity girls’ soccer team put on a show for their senior night on April 26th. Following a big win against Saint Charles North the previous Saturday, the Wolves were ranked as one of the top 20 teams in the state. 

As senior night tradition goes, the starting lineup consisted of only seniors, which was a key piece of what made the game enjoyable for the players. 

Senior midfielder Megan Ferry said that having all of the seniors playing at once was a rare occasion and was one of the highlights of the game. 

“In the beginning it was nice to have all of the seniors on the field together because it’ll probably be one of the only times we’ll all be together like that,” Ferry said. 

Even the juniors who were not playing had fun watching the seniors play one last game all together. 

Junior midfielder Morgan Hoffman said she enjoyed watching the class of 2022 kick off the game. 

“It was senior night, so it was a lot of fun,” Hoffman said. 

As the game began, the Wolves came out strong, as a shot was made on the Wildcat’s goal in the opening minute of the game. 

The Wolves continued to dominate, with shot after shot being taken at the opponent’s goal, and very few taken by the Wildcats.

Twenty-nine minutes into the first half, sophomore Anya Gulbrandsen scored the first goal of the game. 

Gulbrandsen said that her goal allowed the Wolves to feel a little more comfortable in the game. 

“It took us a long time to score … the longest it ever has, but once I scored … we were able to have a little more fun,” Gulbrandsen said. 

Heading into the second half, the Wolves were up 1-0. 

Twenty-two minutes into the second half, junior Veronica Hamilton scored the second goal for the Wolves, and the final score would be 2-0. 

Hamilton was happy to come away from the game having scored a goal. 

“It felt really good [to score],” Hamilton said. “I came off of Emma Rosenthal, and we have been friends for years, so it was just really nice to have that combination and come away with a goal.”

Despite the shutout on senior night, however, the team was still somewhat disappointed in the outcome of the game. 

Senior Chloe Noon had some concerns about the way the team came out in the beginning of the game. 

“That wasn’t our best game … we didn’t play great, we had a slow start, but we picked it up at the end,” Noon said. 

Morgan Hoffman said she wasn’t satisfied with the score, either. 

“The score wasn’t as high as we wanted … but we got the win and that’s what matters,” Hoffman said. 

Being highly ranked in the state, the girls are always looking for ways to improve as they seek a state championship. It’s clear that this group could go a long way, with hard work and high spirits helping the team along the way.

Head coach Juan Leal gave credit to the girl’s ability to cheer on one another, and how this positivity leads to the wins that the Wolves are collecting. 

“I really liked that the girls were really supportive of each other,” Leal said. “We were able to get everyone in the game, which is always a nice thing to be able to do.”

The varsity Wolves will be on the road on April 28th playing Lyons Township at Naperville Central High School, looking to gain their 13th win of the season.

Jackson Wezeman is a staff writer for Oswego East High School’s online news magazine the Howl