Varsity draw heading into district opener; JV rolling
The Lady Vikings JV and varsity teams were in action this past week starting on Monday with the JV taking on the Bishop Dunne varsity team and handing them a 9-0 defeat. Izzy Van Zanten scored 4 of those goals while Emma Delgado got a pair and Katherine Gilpin, Macie Parker, and Isabella Hernandez each scored. The JV didn't stop there as they played the very next night putting 4 past the John Paul II Cardinals with Van Zanten con tinting her streak of goals with 2 while Olivia Delvac and Hernandez got one a piece. Gianna Delsignore was in goal for the shutout.
The Varsity took on John Paul on Tuesday night playing to a 1-1 draw with a Avery Hutka goal in the 70th minute. The goal came off a furious effort from the Lady Vikings to equalize after the Lady Cardinals went ahead just 8 minutes after halftime. Head Coach, Jay Fitzgerald mentioned at that moment, "They scored too early." The first half was full of chances for the Nolan Catholic women. Chance after chance being pushed away by the John Paul goalkeeper. "The way we got in, or attempted to get in, is what I was most impressed with especially the number of chances we were able to create from a variety of ways or situations was something we can really build on, " commented Fitzgerald.
The Lady Vikings have scored 38 goals in just 6 games and only given up 4. The Lady Cardinals were the team that knocked Nolan Catholic out of the playoffs last year which added to the tempo and tone of the match. With a 11-7 shot advantage, the Lady Vikings took advantage of a quality restart ff a corner late in the game of a combination from Rachel Firestone and Mya Ulloa eventually whipping the ball into the near post to a streaking Hutka to flick the ball past the John Paul II goalkeeper. Hutka commented, "I just knew I had to get the the near post when the ball got there."
Hats off to a quality defensive effort from the Lady Vikings to give their team at least a chance to win. Center backs, Alyssa Spotts and Grace Gnatovic were solid in the draw along with their playing partners Madison Ginani, Katherine Gilpin, and Beatrice Birbeck.
The Lady Vikings have an overall record of 3-0-3 and start district play on Thursday night against TCA. JV at 6:00pm and Varsity at 7:45pm.