East’s varsity soccer team poses after May 6th’s Senior Night match. From left (top): sophomores Zoe Hallam, Sydney Biala, Abby Burns, and Kailey Tyburski, freshman Chloe Noon, sophomore Abby Scott, junior Alison Adams, sophomore Alex McPhee, freshman Mikayla Lambert, junior Madison Frazer, freshman Taylor English, and sophomore Samantha Anderson. From left (bottom): seniors Reagan Sanders, Sydney Conway, Madeline Kastel, Katie Olivas, and Brooke Lipscomb. “The win makes me excited to know that we can work together,” Anderson said. “It’s exciting to see the leaders take charge, and I look forward to assuming that role and being a mentor to the underclassmen.” Photo by Zachary Lass.
by Zachary Lass, STAFF WRITER
9 May 2019
The Lady Wolves (2-4) looked to turn the season around after coming off their 5th straight loss. The Wolves took on Joliet Central (0-6) on Monday, May 6th, in conference play, beating the Steelmen 10-0 in a Senior Night that these girls will never forget.
Friends and family all came to see the seniors play in which all five of them started and played the majority of the game as well. From the decorations on the stands to the cookout for after the game, the appreciation for this group of girl’s has started since they were freshmen playing on varsity.
The scoring drought in the last five games has been the girls’ point of interest in practice, Coach Juan Leal said, and it paid off for the Lady Wolves who outshot the Steelmen 13 to 5 in the first half, converting on six of the shots.
For senior midfielder and three-year varsity player Brooke Lipscomb, the game meant a lot more than just a Senior Night.
“For me, it meant a lot because the other seniors over the years are some of my best friends now and getting to share this moment with them means the world to me. Especially with the group of girls we have this year, they made this night one I never forget.” Lipscomb said.
The Wolves came out of the gate hot with high pressure and high intensity which for freshman midfielder Mikayla Lambert, who took part in the heavy scoring with back to back goals, said it all started with the seniors.
“Since it was Senior Night, all of the girls on the team were really pumped and excited to play and win. We all came out with full energy ready to fight,” Lambert said.
Senior Sydney Conway started off the scoring, followed shortly after by sophomore midfielder Abby Burns and junior midfielder Haley Lewis. The Wolves were capitalizing on the opportunities they got and pinned Joliet Central in their own half the majority of the game.
“I think we all just were finally able to find the back of the net and finish our chances,” Lewis said.
The Lady Wolves started the second half with the same intensity, taking shot after shot at the Joliet Central goalkeeper. Lipscomb got on the score sheet early after a rocket of a shot in the first half, with another goal in the second to follow.
Lipscomb added that all the pieces, offensively, were falling into place.
“I think our connections in the box overall went well with the outcome of 10 goals,” Lipscomb went on. “During the second half we connected better passes and were able to build better on the field.”
The Joliet Central girls, on the other hand, didn’t have such a great afternoon.
East freshman Chloe Noon scored early in the second half, putting the Wolves up 7-0. Due to IHSA rules, when a team is leading by seven goals, the time remaining gets cut in half. However, the scoring didn’t stop there, with three more goals to come, one of which was for senior defender Katie Olivas, who scored her first goal of the season on her Senior Night.
With only a couple games left before the playoffs, senior defender Madeline Kastel said that the girls got what they needed with the big win.
“We’ve been on a losing streak so it was nice to get in a game that boosted our confidence,” Kastel added.
For the seniors, the night remains a bittersweet moment, as it’s one of their very last games in an East uniform. Still, Lambert said that she’s excited to see what lies in wait for her.
“As a freshman it makes me more excited for the next couple of years,” Lambert added. “Especially since it’s my first year I can’t wait to make tons of memories on OE varsity soccer and to have it be my turn as a senior.”
With the season coming to a close and only two more conference game remaining before playoffs, Coach Leal said that the girls have a shot at a playoff run.
“I think we can definitely win out. We just need to make sure we play our game and spread the other team out defensively and finish our chances,” Lead said. “I think we can compete with the best of them.”
The Lady Wolves play their next game home against Oswego High School for their last conference game (3-3) this afternoon, May 9th, at 4:30 p.m.
Zachary Lass is a sports writer for Oswego East High School’s online news magazine the Howl.