By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — October 9, 2001 – Prior to last Friday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) girls’ soccer match, Sullivan West coach Mike Mahoney predicted that the game “would be fun.”
As it turned out, the event was more fun for Mahoney and his Lady Bulldog squad than it was for the visiting Tuxedo Tornadoes.
In a tough match that featured good goalie saves as well as several great shots by both SW (8–3, 3–1) and Tuxedo, the Lady Bulldogs prevailed by a 1-0 final. The loss was the first of the season for state-ranked Tuxedo (6–1–1, 2-1 OCIAA Division IV).
SW’s Rebecca Steele scored the game’s only goal with 16:45 left in the first half. Teammate Aileen Semenetz gained control of the ball in the Tuxedo end of the field and maneuvered towards the goal with a defender in pursuit. Semenetz sent a low shot at goalie Shannon Quinn from about 10 yards away, but Quinn dove to the grass and stretched out her arms to stop the shot.
The ball, however, bounced off of her hands and rolled a couple of feet away. That’s when Steele was able to kick it into the back of the net before Quinn could recover from stopping Semenetz’ shot.
Over the next 56-plus minutes of the game, Tuxedo tried desperately to notch the tying goal but was stymied time and again by the SW defense. Despite outshooting the Lady Bulldogs by a 21-8 margin in the match, Tuxedo couldn’t put a “1” on the scoreboard.
“The defense played well,” Mahoney said after the game. “And (goalie) Erin (Bose) played well.”
Bose was credited with making 14 saves in the contest, while Quinn recorded five saves.
Mahoney also noted the play of senior midfielder Megan Moran.
“Megan played very well,” he said. “Half the game she was marking their best player, Kristin Noonan. Megan made good decisions and played good defense.”
While the Lady Bulldog defense was stellar, the Tornadoes missed a couple of chances to score a goal. One opportunity came 12 minutes into the second half when Meghan McNamee dribbled the ball between two SW defenders on a breakaway and closed in on the goal. But McNamee’s shot went just wide of the net.
Eight minutes later, Tuxedo had another chance to score. As the ball and a host of players gathered in front of the net, the ball flew high into the air. Tuxedo’s Katie Dolan headed the ball towards the net as Bose came out to contest the shot, but like McNamee’s shot it sailed past the goal and landed out-of-bounds.
“I’m very disappointed,” Tuxedo coach Joe DiMattina said. “Both teams played tough, but they scored the goal and we didn’t.”
DiMattina likened the game to Tuxedo’s match against Livingston Manor earlier this season. Tuxedo trailed 2-0 in the first half of that match but rallied for a 6-3 victory.
“It seemed like in the second half the girls realized that it was time to play,” he said. “But by then it was too late and the game was over. Today’s a learning experience for us.”
Mahoney was hopeful his team learned from the game as well.
“It helped our confidence,” he said of the win. “But we have some things to work on. There is a lot of soccer left yet (this season).”