Dukes fall to Metea Valley in Springfest Classic
By Matt Le Cren

Few teams can say they have a more potent offense than York.

Metea Valley is one of them.

In a match pitting two high-scoring attacks, Metea Valley knocked off the Dukes 4-1 Tuesday afternoon at the St. Francis Springfest Classic at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.

The game was a rematch of last year’s Springfest title game, which Metea won 1-0 on penalty kicks. This game was for bragging rights only as the tournament was shortened to one day after inclement weather cancelled Monday’s action. Each team played two games and no champion was determined.

Clearly, however, these two teams were the best in the tournament. Both were coming off five-goal performances earlier in the day and both had their fair share of scoring opportunities.

The Mustangs (2-0) took a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to goals from Alyssa Fox and Rachel Warnock.

York came out firing in the second half and scored two minutes in on a goal by Bryce Banuelos, only to see Metea answer a couple minutes later when Jenna Kentgen scored on a counterattack. Alena Sidwell then finished the scoring two minutes after that.

“They’re a good side and we figured that they would come out [strong] after halftime,” Metea Valley coach Pat Feulner said. “The last thing we said at halftime was “don’t let them back in the game,’ and sure enough, they came out, pressured the crap out of us and scored one.

It was nice, though, to come back and get one right back.”

Speed proved to be the difference in the game as the Mustangs were able to get around the York defense with surprising regularity. Senior outside midfielder McKensie Sheesley was a big reason why, dishing out three assists in the game.

“I think as an outsider, outsiders are supposed to make runs and their main goal is to [get] assists,” said Sheesley, who had four assists overall on the day. “Over the past practices we’ve been working on combination plays and getting in behind the defense and I think that really helped us. I know a lot of those goals were off combination plays.”

Sheesley set up the first goal when she sent a wicked cross from just outside the box on the right wing in front to Fox, who volleyed the ball in from the left post in the 18th minute.

But it is not only forwards and midfielders who are dangerous for Metea. Warnock, a senior defender, got in on the act seven minutes later when she sent a 23-yard free kick skidding past the York wall and in between the outstretched fingers of diving Dukes goalie Annabelle Lansdowne and the left post for a 2-0 lead.

“I was looking for the one spot that I could aim and get to,” said Warnock, who also scored in Tuesday morning’s 5-1 win over Shepard. “So it was right where it was out of reach for them.”

But after being held to just one shot on goal in the first half, the Dukes (3-1-1) came out swinging after the break. Banuelos knocked in her fourth goal of the season off a cross from Alyssa Kovatchis to cut the gap to 2-1.

“Right when we got that goal in the second half, we were really excited and after that we tried to get back [even] but it was hard because Metea was really excited, too,” Banuelos said. “They’re fast and they had a lot of moves that we’re not used to yet this year.”

That includes the fast combination plays the Mustangs used with such effectiveness. Metea made sure York’s momentum was short-lived as Kentgen, who early in the game had hit the crossbar from point-blank range, beat Lansdowne with a 17-yard shot off a pass from Sheesley to make it 3-1.

Sheesley then found Sidwell in behind the defense with another perfect pass and Sidwell was able to knock it past the charging Landsdowne.

“Our coaches are very persistent about [us] getting back and not getting our head down,” Sheesley said. “We have to get back up and even though they scored a goal, we got our head up and won 4-1.”

“I thought that they were very physical and we didn’t have much time to play the ball,” noted Banuelos, a West Virginia recruit. “Before in other games we had more time to decide where we were going to play the next ball and who was going to make the next run, but it was hard for this game. We weren’t used to the type of pressure that they put on us.”

But the Dukes didn’t quit even after trailing by three. They outshot the Mustangs 8-5 in the second half and tested Metea keeper Meghan Geldernick on several occasions in the final 15 minutes. The senior standout was up to the task, making four saves, including a great leaping effort to tip a 30-yard free kick by Angela Guerino over the crossbar.

Guerino, who has gained a reputation for her strong leg, just missed on a couple of other free kicks, as did Kovatchis on an 18-yard shot. Another chance came to naught when a nice give-and-go in the box by Kovatchis and Anne DiCanio was broken up by Geldernick.

“One of their assets is definitely their speed,” York coach Chris Halupka said. “I didn’t think we did a good enough job at winning the midfield in spurts of the game and they were first to the ball.

“I still think that we had our chances. Alyssa Kovatchis had a breakaway, which she probably shot the ball a little too early. She also had another shot that sailed over the crossbar and Angela Guerino had a free kick that was tipped over the crossbar, so there were chances there for us.

In earlier action, York blanked Riverside-Brookfield 5-0 as Ellie Ordonez had two goals and three assists and Kovatchis had two goals. Banuelos added a goal and an assist.

Metea received goals from Fox, Warnock, Kentgen and sophomores Cailin LaRocque and Katie Kennedy in its win over Shepard. Fox added two assists while Sheesley and Paige Velez both had one.

The nine-goal outburst only reinforced the high hopes Metea has coming off last year’s 17-5 campaign that included the program’s first regional championship.

“I think that this year is going to be even better because we have so many new players who can finally [get a chance to] play and step it up,” Warnock said. “This is going to motivate us to do even better.”

Feulner is guardedly optimistic, knowing that a tough schedule will test his players.

“We’ll see the next couple games,” Feulner said. “We’ve got Waubonsie and Neuqua back-to-back. They’re going to be tough, so it was nice to get on the field and get a couple games in before we see those two, because we’ll have our hands full Saturday [against Waubonsie].”