Warren senior midfielder Sofia Ogren’s impact may not be obvious to anyone looking at the scorebook.
But Ogren’s teammates understand the importance of an unselfish leader like her.
“She doesn’t need to make game-winning tackles or score crazy goals to have just as much of an impact on any of our team’s success,” Warren junior midfielder Kate Mondejar said. “She is driven in everything she does on the field, in the classroom and for the people she cares about.”
With Ogren controlling the middle of the field, Warren (9-3-1, 4-0) can control its destiny in the North Suburban Conference this season. Following a conference game against Stevenson (8-3-2, 4-0) on Tuesday, the Blue Devils will finish their conference schedule with games against Lake Zurich (12-1-2, 3-1) and Libertyville (10-1-3, 3-1).
“Sofia is a really key player for us,” Warren coach Ryan McCabe said. “She does a great job of controlling the pace of the game, whether that’s stopping counterattacks from other teams or distributing when we recover the ball on the left side or right side.”
Ogren, a captain who has three assists in her third season as a starter, understands her role.
“I basically help create plays that score goals for us,” she said.
Warren senior forward Addison Stanciak, a Saint Louis recruit who is the all-time leading scorer in program history with 161 points in 74 games, said Ogren is so effective in that role because she’s a savvy player.
“She has an amazing vision of the field and field awareness,” Stanciak said. “She is always in the right spot, anticipating the other team’s next move. Her positioning and decision-making make her a huge asset on both sides of the ball.”
Ogren also gives the Blue Devils her all.
“Aside from her high IQ for the game and impressive technical skills, she works hard and plays her heart out,” Mondejar said.
Ogren said effort is one of the reasons for Warren’s success this season.
“We’ve come together more as a team this year,” she said. “We all get along really well and are willing to work hard for each other.”
Ogren’s mother, Ana Perez Ogren, taught her the importance of that. Ana Perez Ogren played field hockey at Northwestern, where she started her career at forward and then moved to defender.
“I’ve told her that failure is a part of the learning process,” Perez Ogren said. “When you’re struggling, I told her to focus on the two things that are in your control: It’s how hard you work and your attitude about it.”
Sofia Ogren, who will attend Wisconsin but won’t play soccer there, didn’t play for Warren during her freshman year. She said she wanted one more season with her club team. But she immediately became a reliable and productive player for the Blue Devils as a sophomore.
“I wanted to get into sports because of my mom and because my family was big into sports,” she said. “I thought soccer was the way to do it, since I started playing soccer at 3 or 4 years old.
“I learned from my mom to always work hard when I’m out there. The lessons of soccer can be translated about being a good teammate in general and caring for your teammates.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
