Gullo continues scoring spree for Huskies

Updated: April 2, 2011 9:24AM

Emily Gullo scored another two goals Thursday to extend her goal scoring streak to four consecutive games.

Gullo, a senior midfielder, scored twice in the second half as Oak Park-River Forest beat U-High 5-0 in a nonconference game.

She scored her first goal of the game off a rebound with 38:22 to go in the second half. Her next goal came with 18:58 remaining. The first one was a matter of being in the right place at the right time on Gullo's first goal, who went uncovered when U-High keeper Fraser Brown dove to slap away Shelby Cozette's right-footed boot. Gullo was there to know the ball into the net.

Gullo's second goal gave her 10 for the season. Gullo and the Huskies (4-1) went on a scoring binge after OPRF lost its season opener 1-0 to Naperville Central March 15. The Huskies played their final game over spring break before opening the Pepsi Showdown at 5:30 p.m. April 7 against the winner between Young and Providence. Third-round games of the tournament will be played April 9 at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.

"[I've scored] a ton off the bat. I haven't done that before," said Gullo, a four-year starter. "It's definitely a situation you like against beatable teams, especially when we can get so much stronger with injured players back."

OPRF scored in the first two minutes of the game on Alex Hammond's goal and Tess Trinka, off a Gullo assist, scored her first goal of the season with less than two minutes to go in the first half.

Sara McCall also scored off a penalty kick in the second half when U-High (1-2-1) was ruled for a trip in the penalty area.

Four of OPRF's next five games are in the Pepsi Showdown, which features many of the top teams in the Chicago area in what is regarded as the nation's largest high school soccer tournament.The eighth-seeded Huskies are in the same bracket with second-seeded Metea Valley.

"It's definitely a plus if I can keep scoring," Gullo said. "It might get my stats up, but we definitely have other people with the potential to score goals."

OPRF enters the Pepsi Showdown short-handed. Starting junior sweeper Renata Voci will miss the tournament's first two games as she concludes a two-week trip to Italy. Top reserve Sanya Ivonivic is out while recovering from an injury.

The Huskies played U-High without starters Tory Gullo and keeper Darcy Hargadon, who missed both spring-break games to travel in Spain with the school orchestra.

"We would like to try to develop some kind of team chemistry," said OPRF coach Paul Wright, who has five injured players. "Our No. 1 goal is to get everyone healthy. For next week, that might be unrealistic."

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