Sophomore forward/midfielder Anya Gulbrandsen understood the gravity of the situation for Oswego East.
History was hanging in the balance.
“When emotions are high and the stakes are high, anything can happen,” Gulbrandsen said. “We knew it was going to be really heated.”
The Class 3A East Aurora Regional championship game featured a district battle between the Wolves and Southwest Prairie Conference rival Oswego.
Neither program had ever won a regional title.
Oswego East continued its historic season with goals by senior midfielder Mikayla Lambert and senior forward Hannah Chval in a 2-0 victory.
With a team-leading 17 goals and 10 assists, Gulbrandsen has been a breakout player this season for Oswego East (18-2).
The Wolves realized the state playoffs are a wholly different beast than the regular season, though. Past performance is not always predictive of future success.
“Last year, we lost the regional final against Neuqua Valley after we beat them during the regular season,” Gulbrandsen said. “We know anything can happen at this point.”
Neuqua proved the lesson again by stunning top-seeded Naperville Central in the regional, reversing a regular-season loss.
Oswego East sophomore Riley Gumm
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isn’t surprised.“I think upsets are inevitable at this point,” Gumm said. “Every team is giving all they have to finish the season strong.”
The Wolves, however, are enjoying their moment in the sun, according to sophomore midfielder Morgan Dick.
“I have a lot of confidence in my team,” Dick said. “I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished. If we keep playing to our full potential, I know we can go far.”
Rematch in the making: Metea Valley used goals Friday by freshman Olivia Hernandez and juniors Kaylee Bannack and Tyra King to slip past Plainfield North 3-2 in a 3A regional championship game.
The Mustangs (17-2-1) will face off against rival Neuqua in the Naperville Central Sectional semifinals.
King’s two goals were the difference April 25 in a 2-1 DuPage Valley Conference victory over the Wildcats.
Junior midfielder Jordan Lange confirmed the Mustangs will be ready.
“As a team, we have a lot of confidence, but we just want to continue to play how we are playing,” Lange said. “We go into every game the same. We aren’t going to do anything different.”
Lange said the Mustangs are aware this is a different Neuqua team than the one Metea played last month.
“The rankings don’t matter and the games before you don’t matter,” she said. “It all comes down to the energy you have going into the game and the performance you have throughout the game.”
Breaking records: Senior forward Berkley Mensik continues her unstoppable offensive performance for Dundee-Crown.
The Notre Dame recruit scored four unassisted goals Friday for the host Chargers in a huge 4-2 victory over Jacobs in the 3A Dundee-Crown Regional championship game.
Mensik achieved the new program single-season scoring record with 35 goals and 14 assists for Dundee-Crown (14-5).
Area wrapup: A goal in the 69th minute by Riley DiBiase gave Batavia a 1-0 victory over Schaumburg for the Bulldogs’ fourth regional title in the last six years.
Junior forwards Grace Williams and Mia Raschke each had a goal and two assists for St. Charles East in a 4-0 win over host Wheaton North for the regional title.
St. Charles North survived Bartlett’s upset bid with a 2-0 victory in double overtime. The North Stars (18-2) scored both goals in the first OT.
All four qualifiers in the 3A St. Charles East Sectional are from the DuKane Conference — top three seeds St. Charles North, St. Charles East and Batavia and fifth-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South.
Junior midfielder Bella Najera pointed out the advantage for St. Charles North, which went an undefeated 7-0 in winning conference.
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“We have played all the teams left in the sectional,” she said. “It definitely helps us figure out what we are up against and what our focus needs to be on each game.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.