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Second-half rally helps team advance to regional final
By David Lee Morgan Jr.
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Thursday, Nov 05, 2009
BROADVIEW HEIGHTS: There are times when Walsh Jesuit coach Dino McIntyre can be, shall we say, animated.
But when his girls soccer team trailed Jackson by a goal in the first half of its Division I regional semifinal game Wednesday night, McIntyre didn't panic, neither did his team.
Instead, Walsh rallied in the second half to defeat Jackson 3-2 and advance to the regional championship game against Canfield at noon Saturday at Rocky River High School.
''For tournament time, this is big because of the pressure,'' McIntyre said. ''The Warriors [17-0-2] had several scoring opportunities in the first half but could only score one goal.
Walsh took a 1-0 lead with 30:55 left in the first half on a goal by freshman midfielder Sandra Yu. She dribbled the ball on the right side of the field and 15 yards from the goal.
She split two defenders and was able to make a shot that sailed just past Jackson goalkeeper Danielle Wiseman.
But Jackson (17-3-1) didn't get rattled and managed to tie the score when senior defender Emily Sanders kicked the ball 40 yards downfield on a free kick where senior forward Mindy Thomas put the ball into the back of the net from 10 yards away with a perfectly executed header with 26:35 left before halftime.
The Polar Bears went ahead 2-1 about three minutes later on a goal by senior midfielder Maggie Rusnak, and that was the score at halftime.
Jackson coach Frank Gagliardi said he liked the way his team battled Walsh in the first half.
''We've been struggling early in the tournament to put [the ball] in the back of the net but our concentration was high [tonight],'' he said.
McIntyre, meanwhile, said he thought his team might have been frustrated because of the missed opportunities to score in the first half. The Warriors outshot Jackson 10-3 and were more aggressive but they still trailed by a goal at halftime.
''At halftime, I told them to just take a deep breath,'' McIntyre said. ''It's all about momentum. At halftime, I told them to just keep attacking. We've been down before and we've been tested. In the regular season if you lose, you have another game. In the playoffs, if you lose, you go home.''
The Warriors didn't want to go home and in the second half, they were just as aggressive as they were in the first half.
Walsh tied the score with
30:26 on a goal by sophomore midfielder Christen Westphal off an assist by junior midfielder Elizabeth Bollinger. Westphal took the pass from Bollinger and quickly maneuvered herself for a shot 12 yards from the net for the goal.
And the game-winning goal came from sophomore midfielder Alyson Smigel with 16:43 left to play. Smigel never gave up on the play and she scored off a rebounded shot.
''Alyson has had three or four goals this year where she followed through,'' McIntyre said. ''I attribute that to her being humble.''
McIntyre explained that Smigel doesn't expect certain shots taken by her teammates to go in so she's always ready to finish a shot if it's rebounded back in her direction.
With one win between his Warriors and a berth in the state final four, McIntyre isn't about to let his team get complacent.
''That's what I'm going to talk to the girls about right now,'' he said. ''You've seen [the movie] Hoosiers. You better be afraid of someone on a mission.''
David Lee Morgan Jr. can be reachedat dlmorgan@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Varsity Letters high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJ_Preps.
BROADVIEW HEIGHTS: There are times when Walsh Jesuit coach Dino McIntyre can be, shall we say, animated.
But when his girls soccer team trailed Jackson by a goal in the first half of its Division I regional semifinal game Wednesday night, McIntyre didn't panic, neither did his team.
Instead, Walsh rallied in the second half to defeat Jackson 3-2 and advance to the regional championship game against Canfield at noon Saturday at Rocky River High School.
''For tournament time, this is big because of the pressure,'' McIntyre said. ''The Warriors [17-0-2] had several scoring opportunities in the first half but could only score one goal.
Walsh took a 1-0 lead with 30:55 left in the first half on a goal by freshman midfielder Sandra Yu. She dribbled the ball on the right side of the field and 15 yards from the goal.
She split two defenders and was able to make a shot that sailed just past Jackson goalkeeper Danielle Wiseman.
But Jackson (17-3-1) didn't get rattled and managed to tie the score when senior defender Emily Sanders kicked the ball 40 yards downfield on a free kick where senior forward Mindy Thomas put the ball into the back of the net from 10 yards away with a perfectly executed header with 26:35 left before halftime.
The Polar Bears went ahead 2-1 about three minutes later on a goal by senior midfielder Maggie Rusnak, and that was the score at halftime.
Jackson coach Frank Gagliardi said he liked the way his team battled Walsh in the first half.
''We've been struggling early in the tournament to put [the ball] in the back of the net but our concentration was high [tonight],'' he said.
McIntyre, meanwhile, said he thought his team might have been frustrated because of the missed opportunities to score in the first half. The Warriors outshot Jackson 10-3 and were more aggressive but they still trailed by a goal at halftime.
''At halftime, I told them to just take a deep breath,'' McIntyre said. ''It's all about momentum. At halftime, I told them to just keep attacking. We've been down before and we've been tested. In the regular season if you lose, you have another game. In the playoffs, if you lose, you go home.''
The Warriors didn't want to go home and in the second half, they were just as aggressive as they were in the first half.
Walsh tied the score with
30:26 on a goal by sophomore midfielder Christen Westphal off an assist by junior midfielder Elizabeth Bollinger. Westphal took the pass from Bollinger and quickly maneuvered herself for a shot 12 yards from the net for the goal.
And the game-winning goal came from sophomore midfielder Alyson Smigel with 16:43 left to play. Smigel never gave up on the play and she scored off a rebounded shot.
''Alyson has had three or four goals this year where she followed through,'' McIntyre said. ''I attribute that to her being humble.''
McIntyre explained that Smigel doesn't expect certain shots taken by her teammates to go in so she's always ready to finish a shot if it's rebounded back in her direction.
With one win between his Warriors and a berth in the state final four, McIntyre isn't about to let his team get complacent.
''That's what I'm going to talk to the girls about right now,'' he said. ''You've seen [the movie] Hoosiers. You better be afraid of someone on a mission.''
David Lee Morgan Jr. can be reachedat dlmorgan@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Varsity Letters high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/. Also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ABJ_Preps.
Comments
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Canton, OH
Posted 08:11 AM, 11/05/2009
Parochials. . .
