Dukes' hard work pays off vs. Benet

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By Darryl Mellema

Little by little, York started to carve some chances in Tuesday’s match against Benet, the season-opener for both schools played on Benedictine University’s artificial surface.

Eventually those chances turned to goals as the Dukes claimed the match 2-0.

“We’ve been working our butts off in practice every day,” York sophomore Christina Ordonez said. “It feels good to come home from our first game with a win.”

Certainly there was Ashley Bowman’s shot off the post after three minutes of play. But then it took until the final moments of the half before the chances started to come again.

Christina Ordonez had the first of a series of opportunities 10 minutes before halftime when she dribbled into the box and shot wide. Taylor Navarro headed wide moments later.

Five minutes into the second half, York (1-0) struck when Bowman sent a ball in from the left wing. MaryKate Cicinelli controlled the ball and scored.

“Sometimes getting that first goal of the season can be hard,” Shepherd said. “(Cicinelli) was in the right spot. We had a great pattern play moving up the outside. Bowman made a nice overlapping run. We had three girls in front of the net and (Cicinelli) was able to finish.”

Ordonez had another chance at the midpoint of the half, but her shot was saved. A third chance, with just under 17 minutes to play, did not go begging.

“The ball was played in and I controlled it with my knee,” Ordonez said. “I took it past the defender and shot with my left foot into the upper corner.”

Ordonez was aware that she had come close to scoring previously in the match.

“I was getting really excited,” Ordonez said. “I felt like I was going to get one and finally I did.”

Goals aside, York gained its win by keeping its attention on “Duke Time.” According to York coach Rachael Shepherd, Duke Time is comprised of the first five minutes of each half, the last five minutes of each half and the five minutes after a team scores.

“We say ‘Duke Time’ because it’s a mental check for our teammates to be able to recognize where they’re at,” Shepherd said. “They need to be able to go hard in those five minutes and make no mistakes.”

Of the periods of Duke Time, the moments at the start of the second half were crucial.

“We made sure everyone was just running their hardest and pressuring really hard,” Ordonez said. “We worked really hard in (Duke Time) and pulled out the win.”

Both teams spent the first half getting acquainted with the new season and the quick turf at Benedictine. York’s adjustments paid nearly immediate dividends in the second half.

“I knew they were starting to get more comfortable with each other,” Shepherd said. “So you’ve got to rely on the players to make those adjustments. They did. In the second half, we came out with a different approach. Just getting the first half of any season is going to help.”

The key, in part, was as simple as being just that little bit more aggressive on the field.

“I thought in the first half, we were very reactionary,” Shepherd said. “In the second half, I felt like there was a definite flow with what their purpose was.”

Benet (0-1) certainly had its part to play in the match. Madie Burke hit a free kick off the crossbar 21 minutes into the first half. Catherine Caniglia twice had scoring chances in the second half, the best arguably coming seven minutes after halftime.

“It was our first game and we haven’t been outside much,” Benet coach Henry Wind said. “It was nice to see us play against some different competition and to see some of the things we need to work on.”

Wind said he felt his team got comfortable after the opening 10 minutes and played well most of the rest of the first half. The key, as it was for York, was the second half.

“In the second half, I didn’t think we generated much of anything,” Wind said. “We have to feel more comfortable with the ball at our feet. We have to make quicker decisions and less mistakes in front and make something happen up front.”

While Benet had scoring chances, Wind admitted, “golden opportunities, we didn’t really have. They had one and they buried it.”

Having the first match out of the way, Wind said his team can now work toward improving before traveling to Glenbard West on Thursday.

“It’s too bad it wasn’t a win,” Wind said. “Right now, during Spring, it’s tough to get things going. We don’t practice on this (artificial turf.) It was nice to see the kids running up and down against other competition.”