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OSWEGO EAST |
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Wolves tackle history in Thursday's win over Wildcats
By Gary Larsen
“We’ve never beaten them before and we really wanted this game,” the Wolves’ Lauryn Marchert said. “We just played with heart today. We knew it would be a tough game and we wanted to make some history for the program today.” Let program history show that it was a field player playing in net that stood as tall as anyone in getting the Wolves their first-ever win over the Wildcats. When Wolves keeper Elizabeth Perez went down to injury on April 10, Theresa Grandenitti – a defender by trade – was asked to step in and take care of business between the pipes. The senior has busted her backside to get better at it ever since. “She has worked hard,” Wolves senior Lauren Hoppensteadt said of Grandenitti. “She has put in the time and it showed today.” Grandenitti made two saves in the second overtime of a scoreless tie on shots taken by the Wildcats’ Sami Jensen, and then got a hand on two shots in the shootout to help her team to victory. Not bad for someone who never played in net before this season. “She made two diving saves today. She saved us,” Wolves coach Lauren Anderson said of Grandenitti. “She’s the type of player that goes on Sundays with her dad and practices. She has an amazing heart and she’s working hard at it.” Wolves freshman Brittany Brewer ultimately booted the shootout kick that gave her side the win, capping a game that saw the Wolves attack with cohesion throughout. “We had plenty of opportunities,” Anderson said. “We’re getting those chances and we’re still just struggling to finish on them.” “I feel like once we start getting a couple goals we’ll start coasting,” Marchert said. “We just have to get in the groove.” Like it does in every soccer game, it was an extra bit of intensity that served the Wolves well. Both teams played hard, to be sure, but Oswego East (4-5-2, 2-2 in Southwest Prairie play) played with just a bit more of an edge. “I think for the most part, for the game, Oswego East probably outplayed us today,” Plainfield Central coach Ken Schoen said. Wolves far and wide were responsible for the day of strong attacking, and afterwards Anderson pointed a few of them out. “Jessica Alvarez was playing defense but we moved her up to get more of an attack. She’s always got good control. And Lauryn Marchert, for being as injured as she was, she stepped in and played stopper and she kept good control of the ball for us.” Freshman sweeper Anida Phetchanpheng played yet another solid game in back, and at various points in the game she took off on the dribble and pushed into the attacking third. You don't always see a central defender making a run up the gut with a ball at her feet, but Phetchanpheng is no ordinary sweeper. “I praise her every game. She’s the whole package,” Anderson said of Phetchanpheng. “I know it can be frustrating for her at (sweeper), doing everything she can for us when we’re not getting much offensive attack. I gave her the okay today to go for it because she’s smart and she’s got great ball skills.” The Wolves play Saturday to finish their play in the Lake Park tournament, and travel to West Aurora for a game on Tuesday before hitting the road again to take on rival Oswego on Thursday. “We’re starting to look like a team now,” Hoppensteadt said. “We’re moving around, communicating, and Jess Alvarez and Carli Schlaker were doing really good today with give-and-go’s.” “I think we’re fitting into our positions and finally understanding what each of our roles are. We’re each understanding what our jobs are and we’re working hard.”
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Both teams’ coaches agreed that Oswego East had the better of play against conference rival Plainfield Central on Thursday, but it took two overtime periods and a shootout before the Wolves earned a fairly momentous win
