Competitive nature drives Neuqua’s Oyster

Megan Oyster can remember losing as a young child and crying.

She understood the meaning of winning and losing very early in childhood and she didn’t like it. She still doesn’t like it.

This year she didn’t experience it until Neuqua Valley was stunned in the Class 3A Waubonsie Valley by Naperville North 1-0.

Because of her dominance on defense, her ability to make her teammates better, and the fact that she frustrated the heck out of opponents by minimizing their scoring opportunities, Oyster is the captain of the Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Soccer Team. She is now in California training for the 2012 U-20 Team USA World Cup team and will also continue playing this fall at UCLA.

“I’ve been this competitive since I was just a little kid,” Oyster said. “It was that way between me and my sister with everything. I always had to win. My mom and dad are that way too. I guess I was born with it.”

She wasn’t born with an ability to dominate the action on the soccer field, but she certainly did that all this spring from beginning to end.

Oyster showed off her incredible ability to make opponents pay dearly on free kicks as she scored twice in a 3-0 win against Barrington in the team’s season opener in March. She was involved in so many key moments during Neuqua Valley’s 24-1 season. She put the Wildcats ahead against Downers Grove South in the Downers Grove South Invite title game.

She helped the team dominate two talented opponents, outscoring them 13-2, in the Hazelwood, Mo. Showcase. She led a defense that didn’t allow a first-half shot to perennial power Lyons in the Naperville Invite championship. She was there when the Wildcats shut out Benet in a regional title game. She was there all the time.

“I think you can’t look past how tremendous of an athlete she is, which helps a great deal,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “And then she’s just as fierce of a competitor as they come. She hates to lose and it doesn’t matter if it’s in a practice situation or competitive drills. She just doesn’t like to lose anything and used that all season in stepping up.”

She also craves intensely competitive environments. Some athletes look for a cupcake opponent every now and then to give them a break. That’s not the case with Oyster, who is always looking for the next great challenge. It also makes it tough for the senior to enjoy her accomplishments, because as soon as she succeeds at something, a new, greater task approaches.

“It was just a few days ago and I was with my high school team and now I’m in a Team USA camp in California,” she said. “It’s hard to take in the moments, but I’m living them and they’re becoming memories. Things are moving fast and it’s tough to relax where I’m at.”

It still hasn’t taken Oyster away from the special season she was a part of this spring at Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats were the top-ranked team in the country. She was recognized as the Gatorade Illinois Girls Soccer Player of the Year as the Wildcats had 15 shutouts, which meant they kept opponents scoreless 60 percent of the time. They only allowed more than one goal in a single contest and outscored their opponents, 103-11. To put that in perspective, Oyster scored just one goal less (10) than the 11 the Wildcats allowed.

“It was a perfect season until the end. The perfect season before the last game,” Oyster said. “Just an amazing season with 24 wins in a row and scoring over 100 goals. We had a fantastic senior class and all of the underclassmen stepped up and wanted to be a part of everything to win. The ending wasn’t what we expected, but we were happy with how the season went and the fun we had.”

Oyster’s impact was felt by her teammates, who were driven by her competitiveness, inspired by her knowledge of the game and charmed by her humbleness.

“I’ve learned so much from her,” Neuqua Valley sophomore Hope D’Addario said. “The way she sees the game, the way she plays with her teammates. She’s a great leader and tells us what to do without yelling at us. I somehow learned how to calm it down and not be so frantic.”

It was like having a coach on the field.

“She’s so smart with the ball,” Moreau said. “It’s almost like having a coach on the field. She knows where to run and where to check. She’s learned over the last couple years when to be creative and when to be simple.”

She also developed into one heck of a leader.

“I think she met our expectations and went beyond them,” Moreau said. “The team really looked up to Megan and as she went the team went. She has that kind of personality and we saw that as a freshman. She really took it upon herself to make herself a positive leader, because some aren’t always positive.”

Oyster heads into the next phase of her playing career ambitiously. She hopes to have similar success at UCLA and lead the Bruins deep into the NCAA Tournament next fall. She’d also love for a chance to be a part of the U-20 team with a World Cup approaching.

A few years from now she admits to having some dreams about playing in Women’s Professional Soccer and pursuing a career in marketing products. Not just any products, but women’s soccer products.

“I’d like to coach right out of college too,” she said.

“I think it would be cool to be a part of marketing the products you’re wearing.”

Especially with the success she’s had while wearing them.