Exhausted but ecstatic is the way Oswego coach Kelsey Champion described her team after Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Deerfield earned the Panthers the first-place trophy for the Gatorade Bracket in the PepsiCo Showdown.
Becoming one of two champions at the tourney was no small feat considering how fate put the Panthers to the test.
Originally the challenge was to take part in the PepsiCo Showdown while playing in the Naperville Invitational. Add in a few rescheduled dates due to postponements,and Oswego played 11 games in a 17-day span from an April 10 meeting with rival Oswego East to the April 26 win over Deerfield that produced “a really big trophy.”
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“We are a little tired but very excited,” Champion said. “The results are a complete validation of how hard they work. We wanted to upgrade our schedule and up until last Friday, we had just two losses.
“We qualified for the title last weekend, got a huge victory over Naperville Central, then ran into two powerhouses in Naperville North and Lyons, (but) bounced back from those losses the next day to beat Deerfield.”
Seeded 15th within the 32-school Gatorade Bracket, Oswego (10-4-2) went from a 3-0 win over Northside Prep to beating second-seeded Marist (1-0), 10th-seeded Minooka (3-2) and sixth-seeded St. Ignatius (2-1) before the title win over fourth-seeded Deerfield.
“Former players have been texting me on our success and saying how excited they are to see our results,” Champion said.
Maggie Pagone supplied the winner against Deerfield with a long shot that was a blur.
“Got a pass, beat a defender and saw their goalie was rushing out and just tried to aim the hardest shot I could at the back post. When it went in I screamed,” Pagone said. “I couldn’t be happier.
“Oswego has never made it out of the first round (in past PepsiCo tourneys), but we did that and then beat every higher seed we faced. I know it’s a moment for our seniors to hold onto, but as a sophomore, I hope this is something all of us build on for the season that’s left and for the future.”
Pagone and Melissa Kasper have scored four goals each to support Mikaela Mockenhaupt (13) and Jordyn Schoen (six). Madison Lockard has worked nonstop at goalkeeper for the last six games.
Tomcat log on
Perhaps East Aurora’s Leslie Cisneros might author a blog on the Tomcats, soccer, or her school. The senior midfielder has that option after being one of 10 players presented with a Dell laptop during Sunday’s final day of the PepsiCo Showdown.
Based on a raffle with players from every school eligible, coaches nominated players as candidates for the unique sportsmanship recognition.
East Aurora went 2-2 in the week-long event, with Bianca Esparza nominated for all-tournament consideration for her all-around play. The junior was instrumental offensively, scoring a late goal in a 1-0 win over Romeoville and a goal in a 3-1 win over Reavis. Dianca Villa did a stellar job for the Tomcats in goal.
Foxes on trot
Yorkville’s Peyton Willie and MacKenzie Lee were all-tourney choices at the DeKalb’s Barbfest Tournament. The duo helped the Foxes finish second in the eight-school event that was held over two weekends.
According to Yorkville coach Andrew Johnson, Willie scored eight of the Foxes’ goals in the four tournament games, while Lee posted a pair of shutouts, including a diving save against Indian Creek where she hit her shoulder on the post.
“She played on and the bonus point from the 2-0 shutout enabled us to qualify for the championship,” Johnson said.
DeKalb beat Yorkville (6-4-2) in the championship for the second straight year. The two Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference schools meet for a third time this season on May 6 at Yorkville.
A senior goalkeeper signed by Northern Illinois, Lee has five shutouts and has played every minute of each game this season. As a freshman, Willie already has become a top scorer with five winners among her team-high 15 goals.
Nemeth is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.