Jacob McPhee drills game-winner as Oswego East boys soccer completes comeback against rival Oswego

When Oswego East junior captain Jacob McPhee stepped up for the Wolves’ final penalty kick with a chance to knock off crosstown rival Oswego on Thursday night, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“I wanted to get up there quick, don’t let anything get in my head,” McPhee said. “I go up there – nothing fancy – just go up there, take it and bang.”

The midfielder buried his second goal of the evening to complete the Wolves’ comeback from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 in penalty kicks at Oswego High School.

His teammates immediately rushed the field in celebration before making a beeline for the nearby fence, where Oswego football players had spent much of the match heckling them.

“They were chirping us pretty much all game,” McPhee said. “And I knew if we won, that’s where I was running to, and it was a great feeling.”

Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski wasn’t a huge fan of the tactic, but he understood it.

“When I was 17, I would have done the exact same thing,” Szymanski said.

That celebration was the cherry on top of a victory that required the Wolves to battle back from a 2-0 second-half deficit.

McPhee got Oswego East (10-2-1, 3-1 SPC) on the board in the 63rd minute with a penalty-kick goal after a handball.

Then, with 2:42 left in regulation, the Wolves earned a free kick. McPhee won the ensuing head ball, and senior Juan Gomez finished from the post to tie the game.

“I see him finish the goal, and that was one of the happiest moments of my life,” McPhee said.

After each team converted two of its first four penalty kicks, Oswego missed its fifth, setting up McPhee’s game-winner.

“I’m just proud of our guys,” Szymanski said. “We really haven’t had a ton of amount of adversity, and I’m proud of the way that they responded to adversity. Going down 2-0, especially against your rival, is hard to do. We haven’t been down in a game all year and come back. Proud of the strides they’re taking, proud of what they’re doing, and it was a fun game to be a part of.”

Thursday’s matchup was an especially physical one between the Southwest Prairie Conference foes. Oswego East committed 10 fouls and Oswego 14, with both teams receiving a combined five yellow cards – all in the second half.

“I mean, we are rivals,” Oswego coach Gaspar Arias said. “Every time we play against each other, it’s an intense game. It’s very physical, very fast.”

The Panthers (6-5-2, 4-2 SPC) opened the scoring in the 20th minute, when Dustin King finished a one-touch shot off a pass from Eric Mendez.

In the 45th minute, Oswego’s Ryan Maveus sent a cross that Beckham Brolley deflected toward Mendez, who buried the chance to double the advantage.

“We definitely dominated the first half,” Arias said. “We came out strong in the second one, but just giving up two goals at the end and going into PKs, it’s a little bit frustrating. But I’m just proud of these guys that they left everything on the field all the way to the end.”

Oswego East missed multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, including a few by McPhee before he finally cashed in during the second.

“He probably was a little frustrated – he put a couple over,” Szymanski said. “But he’s a warrior. He can be a lot sometimes, but man, he hates to lose, and he’s the guy you want on your side.”

McPhee finished with two goals and an assist as the Wolves outshot Oswego, 12-9.

Oswego East goalkeeper Carter Lucas made seven saves in goal, including five in the second half, while his Oswego counterpart Cristian Lopez recorded eight saves.

“Second half, we came out hard,” McPhee said. “We knew we really wanted to beat these guys. Like, if we lose here, we might not be able to win conference, so that was just a motivator the whole game.”

Thursday’s result marked Oswego East’s second victory over its rival in the span of a week, having beaten Oswego 3-0 on Friday in the Plainfield Classic championship.

Now with their fourth straight win, the Wolves improved to second place in the SPC standings behind Romeoville – Oswego East’s only conference loss this season.