Blackhawks' flat play leads to loss vs. Oswego East

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By Steve Nemeth

Monday’s non-conference meeting between West Aurora and host Oswego East was all about desire.

Right from the beginning it was obvious the host Wolves had it and West Aurora was lacking in that department as OEHS bounced back from a disappointing loss with a 3-1 victory. On Saturday, Oswego East wasn’t able to overcome the host school for the Lake Park Invitational as the Lancers pulled out a 4-3 win to break the Wolves’ seven-match unbeaten string.

While some unfortunate injuries may have played a role in Oswego East’s setback, coach Lauren Anderson’s crew was determined to get back to winning and did just that to improve to 9-4-1. Much to the dismay and disappointment of West Aurora coach Laura Wagley, the Blackhawks were fresh off a well-earned 1-1 draw against DuPage Valley Conference contender West Chicago which was the latest in a string of three consecutive ties that had been preceded by a trio of victories.

“It’s a head scratcher. We’re coming off an awesome game against a top team in our conference and we’re just flat,” Wagley lamented. “Right from the start we didn’t defend and we just never seemed to have the desire to win the ball.”

The match was only minutes old when Owego East began an offensive onslaught that produced a series of shots, corner kicks and near misses. Carli Schlaker’s consistency and accuracy off corner kicks or serves into the goalie box were often followed by groans from the Wolves’ bench as teammates hit the crossbar or shot either just high or just wide.

For the opening 40 minutes West Aurora had two overall attempts, neither of which was on frame in contrast to Oswego East which put six of its 14 attempts on target. Just when the Blackhawks thought they might dodge a deficit going into the intermission, the Wolves’ earned their sixth corner kick and this time Schlaker’s boot became a score off a West Aurora own goal.

“My corner kicks are a result of practice and knowing my teammates will be there to finish them, or in this case, a little luck,” Schlaker said. “It’s a good feeling to get back to winning, now we just have to continue improving and finish strong.”

Playing from behind is something the Blackhawks have experienced all too often which was why Wagley wasn’t too concerned about the 1-0 deficit.

“A mistake like that is usually a wake-up call for us,” the second-year WAHS boss said. “Turns out, we just weren’t ready to play.”

The opposite was true for Oswego East. “Once we got one (goal), it gave us more confidence for the second half,” Samantha (Sam) Lee said.

Just 2:46 after the second-half whistle the Wolves’ Brittany Brewer slotted a through ball that Lee was able to break by a pair of defenders for a 1-v-1 against outrushing Blackhawk goalie Felicia Dattolo. From eight yards out in the middle, Lee nicely tucked her shot inside the right post.

“I saw the two defenders didn’t clear it so I just went for it and saw the keeper coming out so I just touched it to the right,” Lee explained.

It was Brewer’s fourth assist of the year to go along with a team-high eight goals for a team-best 20 points. While it proved to be Lee’s first match-winner of the season, it was only the first of two goals for the sophomore. At 48:57 the Wolves were knocking on the door again when Lee blasted a 14-yarder from the right side that literally went in and out of Dattolo’s hands before finding the back of the net.

“On the second goal, Sarah (Hossfeld) brought it up the side and I just went straight for the goal,” Lee added. Her fourth goal of the season combined with a pair of assists gives her 10 points to match her sister Justine’s point tally off three goals and four assists.

“Sam’s been doing a great job of stepping up for us,” Anderson said. “As disappointing as the injuries may be we can’t use that as an excuse. Instead it’s a great opportunity for others and Sam’s making the most of her chances.”

The Oswego East coach was referring to the absence of three key players: senior standout Katie Ross --- a University of Evansville signee --- is gone for the season after hip surgery, sophomore Julianna DePoister was undergoing an MRI, and senior Jill Hall remained sidelined after a concussion.

“Carli continues to play well and considering how consistent and beautiful her crosses are, she should be leading not just our conference but the area in assists. That’s another opportunity for us to start making the most of,” Anderson added. Schlaker isn’t tied with teammate Brewer in terms of assists with four and also has six goals for her 16 points.

West Aurora did avert being shutout with 17:20 left to be played as Blackhawk offensive ace Jessica Saffell placed a through ball ahead to help Reilly Kulakowski position herself for a seven-yarder from the right side. It was Kulakowski’s sixth goal and coupled with three assists gives her 15 points. Saffell’s second set-up combined with her seven goals keeps her atop the West point production list with 16.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, that was the extent of their scoring as Oswego East would finish with a 25-5 advantage for overall attempts and a 12-2 edge in shots directly on frame. Two more measures of the Wolves’ pressure were evident in a 10-1 tally for corner kicks as well as Dattolo (nine saves) and her defenders combining for nine defensive clears in which the keeper either catches or covers up a ball or a defender boots it away to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

At the opposite end, freshman goalie Hannah Gargrave had a single save to go along with a pair of defensive clears since sophomore Anida Phetchanpheng continued her steady and often unnoticed work in keeping the opposition from creating chances.