Chicagoland Soccer

Wolves fail to find the net vs. Morton

By Gary Larsen

As energetic as Oswego East played with the wind at its back in the first half, the second half was a whole different story.

Through the first 40 minutes the Wolves reached the end line with good frequency against Morton on Saturday, and simply couldn’t get onto the end of a good serve.

And after Morton managed to loft a free kick into the wind that nestled under the crossbar in the game’s 11th minute, the Wolves were forced to spend much of the first half chasing an equalizing goal.

“That’s the story of our season right now,” Anderson said. “We’re controlling a lot of the play but we’re not finishing. And we’re having bad luck with injuries all season.”

The Wolves recently lost a key senior in Lauryn Marchert to injury for the season, and the badgering of the Wolves’ goalkeeping core continued on Saturday. Starting keeper Elizabeth Perez left the game after charging off her line and colliding with a Morton player, just three minutes into the second half.

Wolves field player Theresa Grandenitti put the gloves on and took over in net for Perez, who sat on the bench icing the back of her head to the final buzzer.

“She’s a stopper,” Anderson said of Grandenitti. “In that situation you need someone who isn’t afraid, and Theresa will play wherever you ask her to play.” Grandenitti kept the slate clean in the second half for Oswego East.

Freshman sweeper Anida Phetchanpheng stood out on Saturday for the Wolves. One minute after Morton scored on its free kick opportunity, Phetchanpheng raced back to clear a ball off the goal line after Perez left her line to break up a play.

“She always stays composed,” Anderson said of Perez. “She keeps good control and never panics. Having her back at sweeper, we as coaches can take a deep breath because we know she’s going make the right decision.”

Freshmen sweepers are still not the norm in high school soccer, but Oswego East has a good one.

“I like our defense,” Phetchanpheng said. “I just try to get the team calmed down and try to save each ball that goes by.”

The time that the Wolves spent deep in Morton territory in the first half disappeared in the second half, as Morton seemed quicker to the ball throughout the second 40 minutes.

“The first half I thought we had the better of play,” Anderson said. “They were definitely stepping to the ball quicker than us. We were sitting back waiting for the ball to come to us. Morton beat us to the ball.”

East’s last, best chance to set up a goal came on a corner kick in the 71st minute. Lauren Hoppensteadt’s kick sailed to the far side and was crossed back in, but Morton’s goalkeeper cut it off to end the play.

The Wolves also got solid performances from Jessica Alvarez and Samantha Adams. “Sam Adams came in as a starter for the first time this season, she played the whole game and played very strong,” Anderson said.

“We’re just in a slump right now. We lost our last three games and we need to turn it around. We need to start finishing because we’re right there.”