Griffins fall short to Fenwick in Pepsi Showdown opener

By Dave Seminara
Photos courtesy of Dave Seminara

Arianna 'Air' Nie dug her right cleat purposefully into the muddy pitch and made the divot with which she was about to extract a measure of revenge.

Goalies aren't supposed to score goals, but Air is not your ordinary, stay-at-home keeper.

The moment of the game occurred with just five minutes to go, as Lincoln-Way East trailed Fenwick 1-0 in Tuesday's Pepsi Showdown match in Oak Park.

Coach Brian Papa didn't hesitate to call upon Air for the critical free kick, even though the spot was a zip code or two away from her own goal.

Nie, who will play soccer for Lewis University in Romeoville in the fall, had just given up her first goal in three games and was ready to take matters onto her own right foot.

She struck the free kick with a vengeance, and as it whistled over the Fenwick keeper's head, it appeared headed for the upper left corner of the net.

But the tell-your-grandkids moment wasn't to be, as the ball cruelly slammed off the crossbar and back into the field of play.

A wild scramble in front of the net ensued, but her teammates couldn't deliver the equalizer, and moments later Clare Madden delivered the coup d'gras for Fenwick that iced a hard-fought 2-0 win.

East's two-game win streak was snapped and its record dropped to 3-3 on the year.

"Coach trusts me enough to have me come up, and I trust my defense enough to cover me," Nie said, recalling her near equalizer.

"So he told me to take it and get it back post, and I just tried to get it right over the goalie's head. I was hoping it was going in, but it just missed by a little."

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Griffins, as Fenwick spent the majority of the first half wreaking havoc in East's end of the pitch.

But the Griffins' bend-but-don't break defense, led by Hayley Gerdes, Rebecca Dobrich, Kelsey Kurey and Corie Elam, managed to derail chance after chance, and Air Nie patrolled the net like a Baryshnikov on cleats, and saved everything that came her way.

At the half, Papa delivered the kind of frank pep-talk that would have made Knute Rockne proud. "I'm looking for someone to gamble up front," he bellowed. "If we don't move forward, we cannot win!"

After a spirited "1-2-3 GRIFFINS" chant, the girls roared back onto the field and took control of the game, buzzing around the field like a gang of agitated hornets burrowing through the muck in search of prey.

Junior midfielder Erin Mangia arced a stunning free kick just wide in the 42nd minute, and teammates Stacy Sons, Kelsey Elam, Kelly McGovern and Theresa Tynski began to penetrate the Fenwick defense with spirited rushes, and laser-precision passing.

The game was played in unseasonably warm early spring weather, and the Griffins benefited from the fresh legs and enthusiasm of subs Elise Bicek, Cassidy Cassello, Claire Krieger, Elizabeth Grever and Giselle Sabal, who brought some much needed vitality to East's attack.

Opportunity knocked several times in the second half, but the Griffins couldn't convert their chances.

In the 59th minute, Nie pursued Fenwick forward Alyssa Giaccolone but couldn't pounce on the ball, and Mary Kate Hussey was able to bang home the first goal of the game into an empty net.

The goal seemed to embolden the Fenwick offense, which began to play more aggressively. Griffin defender Hayley Gerdes, who will play for Benedictine University in Lisle this fall, made several lunging tackles which prevented breakaways.

"When you get that type of breakaway, you've got to either trust in your goalie, when she's not coming out, or you might have to draw a foul," Gerdes remarked after the game. Her inspired play in the backfield helped keep the game close.

Even in the final minute of play, after the result was no longer in doubt, the Griffins continued to fight and compete, and as the final whistle blew, no one was hanging their heads after the loss.

"The effort was there," Papa told his players after the game. "But we gotta figure out how to get it done next time."

Gerdes was also philosophical in defeat. "We played hard, we did what we could. It was a hard loss but everyone came out to play and I'm not disappointed," she said.

Papa was effusive in praising his players after the game. "Arianna's a complete player, she's our number-one goal-keeper, and yeah, I could use her anywhere on the field," he said.

"She's already scored one goal for us this year in the same scenario, when you've got that kind of player, you've got to use her."

He added: "Haley Gerdes played really well in the back, she did a great job. Kelly McGovern did really well in the midfield. Kelsey Kurey, she did really well, as did all four in the back- Becca Dobrich, Nicole Ernat, Theresa Tynski."

The season is still young and the loss will no doubt be a learning experience for what appears to be a talented and feisty team.