Lancers tie 1-1 with UEC rival Bartlett
By Matt Le Cren

 

CLICK HERE FOR LANCERS' TEAM PAGE

A word to the wise: Nicki Noreen is faster than she seems.

Host Lake Park found that out the hard way Tuesday and it cost the Lancers a victory.

A hustling Noreen was able to take a loose ball away from Lake Park goalie Rebecca Thorne and score into an empty net with 8:58 remaining in the second half to allow Bartlett to salvage a 1-1 tie in an Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division match at Krupke Field in Roselle.

Bartlett star Nicole Gobbo started the play, sending a long ball diagonally across the field from right to left. Noreen, a junior forward, and Thorne both raced for the ball and got to it at the same time on the left side of the penalty area.

Thorne had it in her hands momentarily but Noreen kicked it loose, tracked it down and then turned and fired a 15-yard shot in between two retreating defenders into the net.

“She’s so deceivingly fast,” Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said of Noreen. “I think a lot of people don’t realize that.

“She was composed, which was good to see because there was a couple players closing in on her pretty quickly. Just taking her time I think is what allowed her to put it away.”

Thorne, a sophomore who was otherwise solid in making seven saves, appeared surprised that Noreen was able to get to the ball as quickly as she did.

“I think so,” Noreen said. “In those positions you just want to run through the keeper just so if that does happens, then I set myself up.”

Many players would rush a shot with an empty net staring themselves in the face, but Noreen played it like a veteran.

“Right before I shoot I always look at the net, and I just saw that opening between two people and I just split it,” Noreen said. “That was a good goal. I was pretty happy with it.”

The visiting Hawks (8-4-2, 1-1-1) were happy to come away with the draw after seeing Lake Park (6-5-3, 1-1-2) take a 1-0 lead despite being outplayed for long stretches.

The Lancers, who were outshot 17-8, broke through with 18:59 to play when Bartlett’s Ashley Johnson was given a yellow card for tackling from behind. Nicole Moore blasted the ensuing free kick from 32 yards out past Hawks keeper Natalia Grodzki.

It was the fifth goal in the past four games for Moore, who atoned for missing a golden opportunity in the first half when she sent a one-timer from the six over the crossbar.

“I’ve actually hit a few of those this season,” Moore said of her free kick. “I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to curve the ball, which has been helpful in scoring those.

“I definitely wanted one. We kind of have an outstanding rivalry with Bartlett. We’re not huge fans of each other, so a tie, we’ll take it but we wanted a win. So I’m glad we could at least get one in there for a tie.”

The Lancers would have had more if not for the play of Grodzki, who made four saves, including a pair of outstanding ones. The Quinnipiac recruit made a diving effort to tip Moore’s 35-yard shot around the left post in the first half, then came up with a highlight reel save with 24:05 left in the second half, fully extending to deflect a 20-yard drive from Bridget Lachowiez around the right post.

“She has come up big for us every game and [we] can’t expect anything more out of her,” Thomas said. “She gives it 150 percent every game, every practice. She’s the real deal.”

The less experienced Thorne wasn’t bad, either. She was under siege at times in the opening period, watching Gobbo narrowly miss four shots, including one that hit the left post from seven yards out.

Thorne made five of her seven stops before intermission, the best coming with 6:00 to go when Gobbo turned a defender in the box and fired a left-footed bullet from 15 yards out. Thorne got both hands on it and freshman defender Casey Harris cleared the ball over the left end line. On the ensuing corner kick, Gobbo bounced a header on frame but that, too, was snagged by Thorne.

“Becca is doing an awesome job,” Lake Park coach Chris Fruehling said. “She’s learning each day and she’s growing and getting better and better and better.”

Gobbo was less of a factor in the second half, at least until her assist on Noreen’s goal, mustering only one shot as Harris, sophomore Lauren Bolnius and senior Briana Small buckled down in the back.

“[Gobbo] was definitely down our throats the first half, so the second half it was good to stop her,” Moore said.

After Noreen got the equalizer, the only scoring chance came with 3:50 remaining when Lake Park was awarded a free kick. Sophomore midfielder Jillian Kent’s offer from 23 yards away went into the Bartlett box to junior Ruth Garippo, whose shot was blocked by Johnson.

“I’m really happy with the energy the ladies brought out today,” Fruehling said. “We were looking to bounce back after the Rolling Meadows game on Saturday [a 2-0 loss] and we wanted to bring some energy, some effort, and the girls did. It’s always a real competitive game against Bartlett.”

That was evident from the intense play as well as comments from players on both sides that indicated the result was less than completely satisfactory.

“We’re happy that we tied but disappointed that we couldn’t get another one and win,” Noreen said. “It would have been nice.”

“It is mixed emotions,” Moore said. “It was hard to have that goal scored. I think we were a little frustrated at that point, but compared to the last game I think we came out with a lot more heart and we just could feel the difference in how we were playing.”

Though her squad wasn’t able to beat its rival, Thomas looked on the bright side.

“We’ll take a tie over a loss,” Thomas said. “Unfortunately we had a lot of opportunities in the first half that we couldn’t put in the back of the net, but I think giving up that free kick, I think we came back and played hard and battled through.”