By Ted Waddell
FALLSBURG — September 17, 2002 – It was an afternoon of highs and lows.
For the girls’ varsity soccer team from Livingston Manor (1-2), the day ended on a high note as the Lady Wildcats defeated the homestanding Lady Comets of Fallsburg, 4-0, in Friday’s non-league match.
It was their first win of the year for the Lady Wildcats.
On Friday the 13th, no less.
For the Lady Comets, however, the loss was a bit of a downer as they have yet to win a game this season.
But Fallsburg (0-2) refused to call it quits and put up a scrap, particularly in the cage as senior goalkeeper Ashley Frunzi made some clutch saves that helped maintain her team’s competitive spirit and keep the flame of a possible come-from-behind victory alive.
Manor scored twice in the first half. At 3:02, Morgan Jenner scored on a penalty kick. Jen Taggart fired the ball past Frunzi in front of the net at the 32 minute mark.
In the second half, the Lady Wildcats added a pair of unassisted goals to their tally. Jessica Bouton scored at the 33 minute mark and Carrie Lewis recorded the final goal with approximately two minutes remaining in the contest.
Save stats: Fallsburg (12), Livingston Manor (1).
Fallsburg Coach Lee Smassanow isn’t one to let a little adversity get him down, and this tenacity rubs off on his teams – regardless if they have a winning or losing season.
After a 0-19 record last year in girls’ varsity hoops, Smassanow went out and bought a Yamaha motorcycle to put “some salve on the pain.”
At the start of this soccer season, a couple of Lady Comet starters knocked themselves out of the box with off-season injuries. The situation left Smassanow scrambling for players to fill the bench, so he brought up a few booters from the modified team.
The Lady Comets have only three seniors on the squad: Frunzi, Sarah Moore and Alyssa McAllister.
On Thursday, Fallsburg dropped its season opener to the Lady Indians of Liberty , 4-0.
But with his penchant for making lemonade out of lemons, Smassanow said of the loss to Manor, “Today, the girls played much better . . . they keep coming out to play, and their level of competitiveness was higher.”
“It will take us a couple of games to find out where we are,” he added. “We hope to make the sectionals.”
Manor Coach Shirlee Davis also has her hopes pinned on making it to sectional play.
“I think by mid-season we’ll be in good shape,” she said. “They’re a good team, and I’d like to see the girls in (the) sectionals. If we work hard enough, they’ll get there.”
Davis said that in the wake of losing the two previous games, the Lady Wildcats have been working to sharpen up their passing and teamwork.
“We’re starting to communicate better and are getting a little bit stronger,” she said. “We’re also working around a lot of injuries.”
In reviewing the scorebook for Friday’s win over Fallsburg, Davis said her team’s 4-for-40 shots on goal stat (10 percent) was “horrendous”, adding they will work to improve it.
Manor has eight seniors on the roster this season: Jen Boyles, Maureen Casey, Tammy Greynolds, Jennifer Irwin, Morgan Jenner, Brandi Maggio, Anelle Parker and Jen Wright.
Davis brought up 11th grader Liz Weickum from junior varsity squad to protect the net. The team’s youngest booter is sophomore Carrie Lewis.
“We’re doing alright,” Davis said. “We’re coming along.”