Cicinelli scores three goals to help Dukes beat DG North

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By Matt Le Cren

It’s not often you see a soccer team score goals on three consecutive shots.

But York did it twice in the second half to beat host Downers Grove North 6-1 Thursday in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division opener at Doerhoefer Park in Downers Grove.

MaryKate Cicinelli scored three goals for the Dukes (4-0, 1-0), while Angela Bianchi, Christina Ordonez and Danielle Vujovic all had one goal.

"I think we were just off the first half and then the second half we came out and showed our real selves," Cicinelli said. "We worked as a team and that's how we came out with the win."

But for the first 40 minutes the visitors didn't look anything like the dominant force they were after intermission.

Downers North (2-2, 0-1), which was coming off a 6-1 victory over Lockport, scored in the opening minute of the match.

Sarah Desai took a pass from Kierstyn Harrington and got around the left side of the York defense before beating freshman goalie Anna Bell Lansdowne with a nifty shot to the far post.

The Dukes responded by putting pressure on the Trojans for the next five minutes, but after that, Downers had the better of the play and outshot York 8-4 in the first half.

"We really picked up the intensity and the talk that Coach [Rachael Shepherd] gave us at half just really pumped us up and we started playing as a team more," said sophomore Courtney McHugh.

"I think it was everybody. It starts with the defense and the goalie and then the midfielders and forwards."

McHugh assisted Cicinelli on the game-tying and game-winning goals early in the second half.

The first came a minute after the break when McHugh got free along the left end line and won a challenge from North goalie Maddi Fitzpatrick before poking the ball through the crease to Cicinelli for the tap-in.

McHugh banged knees with Fitzpatrick on the play and left the game briefly, but four minutes later, she passed up the middle to an unguarded Cicinelli, who lofted the ball over Fitzpatrick for a 2-1 lead.

Although she usually plays out on the wing, Shepherd switched McHugh to center midfield at halftime.

"I just knew that we had to step it up so I was willing to adjust," McHugh said.

"She's always played outside for us but she was awesome for us in the middle of the field," Shepherd said. "I love it when you have different girls step up and score goals in different games. So I enjoyed it.

"We had a few strategic moves that we had to figure out and then from that point forward I felt the girls took it away. I like to see how we can adjust to different maneuvers."

Less than a minute after taking the lead, York struck again. Ashley Bowman sent a cross in from the left wing that Fitzpatrick came out to punch away, but the Trojans failed to clear it.

Bianchi pounced on the ball and fired from 14 yards out. Fitzpatrick got a hand on it but couldn't prevent it from going inside the left post.

The two sides engaged in some exciting end-to-end action for the next 20 minutes.

But the Trojans could not close the gap as Meryl Cripe, Abbey Wilkins, Taylor Navarro and Vujovic did a solid job of controlling the defensive third in front of Lansdowne, who finished with nine saves.

The Dukes then scored three times in the final five minutes and could have easily had at least three more goals if not for the play of Fitzpatrick, who stopped 11 shots, including four breakaways.

Ordonez scored the fourth goal on a run around the left end and Vujovic followed with a 15-yard shot to make it 5-1 before Cicinelli completed her hat trick off a cross from Ordonez. By that time North’s early goal was a distant memory.

"I'm sure it gets any team down if they get a goal on them, but our team is really good about coming back and not letting anything bother us," said Cicinelli, who never envisioned a 6-1 final.

"We just cleared everything out of our heads. I just wanted to come out with a win."

Shepherd, who was missing three starters due to illness and injury, was pleased with the way her squad bounced back.

"When we play a squad that has three forwards it can throw your team for a loop and this is the first time we've seen that this year and I think it affected us adversely," Shepherd said.

"The girls were able to figure out how to make it work. The way that you saw the team play second half is the way that I know they can play and I think that they know they can play that way."

The Dukes will visit Maine South on Saturday before beginning play in the Pepsi Showdown next Tuesday against Joliet Township at Elmhurst College.