Rams roll in season-opener in Addison

By Casey Callanan

If Saturday afternoon’s 5-0 win at Addison Trail was any indication of the way Glenbard East’s young lineup will play this season, the Rams could be in store for a special 2011.

Glenbard East freshmen Sadie Moore and Alex Ruffer not only played significant minutes in Saturday's 5-0 win; they helped ease any doubts that the Rams are too young for their own good.

After the monster performance from both freshmen it’s likely the Rams will be able to leverage their youth and speed to improve on last year’s 9-11-2 season.

Moore scored two goals in the lopsided win, but the unquestionable play of the day came from Ruffer.

With just under 16 minutes left in the game, Ruffer managed to crush a ball over the top of the defense nearly 40 yards to find streaking senior Jordyn Hargreaves for a goal. The powerful assist by Ruffer gave East a 5-0 lead.

“Younger players are stepping up this year.” Paganucci said. “(Ruffer) had the huge 40 yard pass today. (Moore) has really good speed and she doesn’t give up.”

Freshman making major contributions to the program is nothing new at Glenbard East.

“We’ve been really young for a while,”  said Rams coach Kent Overbey. “All three of our captains have played every minute that counts on varsity since they were freshman.”

Overbey was referring to junior captains Lindsey Paganucci, Jessie Grumstrup and Erin Mrazek. All the varsity experience between them will mean crucial leadership roles to fill this season for the trio.

Paganucci knows when her team finds themselves in times of adversity, her role as leader will never be more important.

“If we’re ever on the opposite side of a game like today, we’ll just have to stay positive. If a teammate does something wrong we can’t get down on them,” she said.

Mrazek continued her stellar play from a year ago by making three assists against the Blazers. She was named all-conference last season as a sophomore.

Among the defensive leaders on Saturday was senior Nicole Darga. Darga created a huge momentum swing in the first half when her nose for the ball led to the third goal.

Darga’s persistence near midfield helped put Paganucci in position to beat her defender one-on-one and knock a shot straight past the Addison Trail goalie.

“We have yet to find a player on the field faster than Darga,” Overbey said.

Alongside Darga, junior Meghan Mumenthal will lead the Ram defense. Mumenthal has a reputation as a terrific outside defender. Junior Katie Difino will also be called on to make significant contributions on defense in her first season on varsity.

Another newcomer to the Ram’s varsity lineup is sophomore goalie Veronica Fairbairn.

“Fairbairn’s great foot skills helped make great outlet passes all day,” Overbey said.

Not only did the lopsided win mean an easy day for Fairbairn (who rarely touched the ball), it helped gain a mental edge for the Rams moving forward. “Getting off to a good start like this will really boost our confidence,” Grumstrup said.

The Rams are focused on two primary goals this season according to Overbey: consistency and finishing each half strong.

A major Achilles heel for the Rams in 2010 was an inability to stave-off goals late in the halves, and ultimately it led to a first round exit in Regionals with a 2-0 loss to York.

“There were a lot of goals scored on us last season in the final two minutes of the half,” Overbey said.

The Rams were 2-5-1 last year in DVC action, and finished in fifth place.

The first true test of the Ram's season will take place on Monday night with a showdown at Morton scheduled.

 

GLENBARD EAST 2011 PREVIEW

Last year: 9-11-2 DVC: 2-4-1 (T-5th)

Top Returners:
Erin Mrazek - Junior Midfielder: DVC All Conference First Team 2010. Led the team in 2009 and 2010 in assists with 13 and 15.

Lindsey Paganucci - Junior Midfielder: Led the team in 2009 and 2010 in goals with 10 and 11 goals.

Jess Grumstrup - Junior Center Midfield: Started all 22 games and averaged 75 minutes per game. Controlled the midfield defensively and was the transition to our attack.

Outlook: Coach Kent Overbey: "We'll look to be more consistent and win close games. We lost 3 tournament games in shootouts last year and we'll also look to finish games strong as we lost 4 games last year in the final 5 minutes of the second half.