Girls Soccer: Little Oswego East freshman Taylor English makes a big impression

NAPERVILLE – Oswego East midfielder Taylor English doesn’t cut the most imposing figure on the soccer field.

The freshman stands just 5-foot-1 and some opponents overlook her because of her small size.

English demonstrated Wednesday why that is a huge mistake. She stunned heavily favored Naperville North by scoring on the first shot of the game.

Sophomore teammate Alex McPhee followed suit on the Wolves’ second shot, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead in the opening round of the prestigious Naperville Invitational.

Naperville North, which finished third in the state last season, eventually roared back to win 6-2, but English and the Wolves had made their point.

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “We were going to go out there and try to set the pace and the intensity and let a team like Naperville North know that we’re a good team.”

It didn’t take long. English took a left-footed rip from 28 yards out, sending the ball whistling into the far corner of the net just 2:25 into the game.

“I saw an opening at the top of the box and then hit it far right corner,” English said. “It’s something I’ve been working on and it’s something we’ve all been working on.”

The Wolves (5-6-1) actually held possession for the majority of the first 10 minutes. They increased their lead when McPhee fired a 34-yard blast that went off the hands of Naperville North goalie Amanda Johnson and over the goal line with 29:12 left in the first half.

“We’re going to be fighting to the last minute,” Leal said. “We’re going to do what we can to build our offense and to finish, which we did in the first 10 minutes.”

English’s goal, her fourth of the season, was an example of what the Wolves want to do on offense.

“I think it helps our confidence that we were able to build,” English said. “That’s something we’ve been working on, building and connecting through the middle, so that reinforced us.”

The 2-0 lead prompted McPhee to start dreaming of pulling the upset.

“It felt great,” McPhee said. “I thought maybe we could have this.

“I knew we still had a lot of game left, but I thought we had a chance of winning because I knew our team can handle it.”

Ultimately, the cream rose to the top as the Huskies (6-3-1) scored on three of their last four shots of the first half to take a 3-2 halftime lead. Taylor Klaiber scored twice, converting on a rebound to get Naperville North on the board. Hannah Martin tied it with 7:45 left on a header just before colliding with Oswego East goalie Reagan Sanders, chipping in a shot from 12 yards out 47 seconds before intermission.

Sanders and Hailey Corrigan combined to make nine saves for the Wolves, but it wasn’tenough to stop the high-powered Huskies.

Ultimately, the loss figures to help the Wolves in the long run.

“We’re still a small soccer program and we’re still building up,” McPhee said. “We can definitely come back from this because we’ve lost games like this before.

“This year, it’s a younger team so we’re trying to build up the freshmen because all three of them play a lot.”

Indeed, English and fellow rookies Chloe Noon and Mikayla Lambert have made an immediate impact and eight sophomores also are in the mix, which bodes well for the future.

English could be the linchpin.

“I’m going to give that girl big kudos,” Leal said. “She’s small in size, but she’s got an inner pit bull inside of her that is just fight, fight, fight.

“She’s very talented and skilled, can read the game very well, too. We’re lucky to have her and as a freshman with this team, our future is really bright.”

McPhee is excited about English’s future, too.

“Taylor is a great player,” McPhee said. “She comes to every game, every practice ready to play and wants to push everyone.

“She knows what she’s doing. She is definitely one of our best players.”