Dukes dominate Glenbard South for second straight win

By Dan Santaromita

The York Dukes start only three seniors but they played like a veteran group in Thursday night’s 3-0 win over Glenbard South in Elmhurst.

The Dukes (2-0) controlled possession from the start. Glenbard South struggled to get the ball out of its half but York was unable to get the finishing touch needed to get on the scoreboard for most of the first half.

That changed in the 31st minute when sophomore Christina Ordonez made a sensational 25-yard run down the right side with the ball.

On the play, Ordonez dribbled deep into the box and made a centering pass to junior Angela Bianchi, who finished to make it a 1-0 game.

Ordonez created several chances for the Dukes throughout the game, attacking from the right wing and the middle.

"She is a really good player," coach Rachael Shepherd said of Ordonez. "She's very versatile. We can put her pretty much anywhere on the field and she's successful.

"She has this natural drive within her to work really hard and it allows her to get to a lot of places. She's really fast and she makes a lot of really good decisions with the ball."

The Raiders had a few counterattacks in the second half but struggled in the final third.

Their hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 61st minute when York junior Danielle Vujovic got control of the ball at the edge of the box and unleashed a fierce shot that found the back of the net.

Five minutes later the Dukes got a third score through junior MaryKate Cicinelli, who received a through ball and had a breakaway.

The Raiders’ keeper initially made a great save but the loose ball bounced behind her and Cicinelli knocked in the rebound for her second goal of the season.

Junior Sam Luke was one of the reasons York controlled the ball so well.

"Sam is definitely a natural center midfielder," Shepherd said. "She does a really good job looking to switch the field."

Senior Ashley Bowman was a threat near goal and she had several shots but was unable to score. Great wing play from York created most of Bowman's chances.

"Use your speed when you have it, that's what the outsides are for," Cicinelli said. "Our team played really well together and that's how we work."

Shepherd was pleased with the performance, but like any coach would say, there is room for improvement.

"I feel like we have a lot of things that we still need to improve on," Shepherd said. "It's good always to get some finishes in. It's good to get three in the back of the net."

"We did pretty well," Bianchi said. "We could have done better, but it was a good game. We took lots of shots. We improved from last season and we really worked well together."

Bianchi, other than scoring the opening goal, created a lot of problems for the Raiders' defense.

"Angela has really done a great job getting her feet underneath her and looking to score goals up front," Shepherd said.

"It's nice to see. Last year she was with us for the first time on the varsity level and she's done a really good job and scores goals. It's good to have her up there.”

Shepherd was more satisfied with how her team possessed the ball.

"Obviously possessing the ball is something you are looking to improve upon every year," Shepherd said. "This game they seemed to do a pretty decent job improving from last game."

The Dukes' next game will be during spring break. They will host Fenwick on Tuesday, March 30, at noon.