‘Balers girls soccer fights to the end, but falls 3-1 to Notre
Dame in finale
As the losses continued to pile up, the season became a trying exercise for the San Benito girls soccer team. Despite their best efforts, the Haybalers couldn’t buy a win in the Tri-County Athletic League.
Win, lose or draw, last night was going to be the end of the road for the ‘Balers. After the frustration and disappointment of the season, San Benito easily could have just tried to play out the string against visiting Notre Dame and then pack up for the offseason.
But to the Haybalers’ credit, they played their finale with the intensity and enthusiasm that helped them through the year’s rough patches.
Despite losing 3-1 to the Spirits under the lights at Andy Hardin Stadium, the ‘Balers walked off the field knowing that they could hold their heads high.
“It would’ve been nice to get the win,” said San Benito defender Brittany Schurig, “but it’s more important just to have a last game of having fun. As long as we played our best and left it all out on the field….”
Fellow senior Nicole Silveira chimed in, “have skill, heart and passion….”
The ‘Balers certainly exemplified all of those qualities.
Behind the inspired defensive play of Kassandra Kearns, Carly Brigantino and Silveira, San Benito stymied repeated advances by Notre Dame in the first half. Meanwhile, the Haybalers’ offense generated a half-dozen good offensive opportunities in the opening period, but was unable to find the net.
“For most of the half, there was a lot of optimism that we’d have a chance to turn things around,” said San Benito head coach Mike Schurig, Brittany’s father.
Unfortunately for the ‘Balers, Notre Dame (9-9-1, 5-6 TCAL) came up with a goal seconds before the end of the half on a corner kick to take a 1-0 lead.
Spirits defender Erin MacIsaac lofted her corner kick directly at the group of players in front of San Benito’s net, but San Benito goalie Ashley Perreira was able to punch the ball out past the penalty box. Notre Dame’s Alejandra Lopez corralled the ball and chipped a shot forward, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar and back to the pack. Lopez again came up with the ball and this time found daylight in the left corner of the ‘Balers’ goal.
After a halftime ceremony which honored the four San Benito seniors–Kearns, Schurig, Silveira and forward Felicia Freitas–the Haybalers took the second half determined to end their futility.
In a five-minute sequence, San Benito junior Brittany Huth gave her team multiple opportunities, any which of could have gone for a goal.
First, she sent a corner kick flying over the goal, narrowly missing a connection with sophomore Ashlyn Gonzales in front of Notre Dame’s net. Then, Huth sent a direct kick from just outside the Spirits’ 18-yard box sailing toward the goal, but it looped wide right. The energetic junior followed up by intercepting two consecutive Notre Dame goal kicks, taking shots on goal both time and narrowly missing the second over the crossbar.
But whereas San Benito (4-13-3, 0-10-2 TCAL) couldn’t take advantage of its opportunities, the Spirits made the most of theirs.
When the ‘Balers failed to clear the ball out of their defense in the 60th minute, Notre Dame forward Corinne Kirmil booted the ball past Perreira to give the Spirits a 2-0 lead.
11 minutes later, San Benito fell victim to another awkward defensive sequence. Rushing to secure a lose ball within the ‘Balers’ 18-yard box, Kearns and Kirmil got tangled up and the ball rolled free. Perreira dove forward to snag the loose ball before Kirmil could lay her foot on it, but the ball again got away. Lopez, the Spirits’ forward, found herself the lucky recipient of an open look at the goal and connected to put Notre Dame up 3-0.
“There was a lot of energy and excitement in the air here,” said Notre Dame head coach Kurt Gollnick. “We were trying to be very clinical and calm. We were trying to take that away from them.”
San Benito finally got on the board once midfielder Rachel Maheu drilled a direct kick in the 75th minute into the upper-left corner of Notre Dame’s net. It was the sophomore’s team-leading 12th goal of the season.
The Haybalers’ seniors, despite enduring a sour end to their high school playing days, were glad the ‘Balers remained a close-knit team throughout.
“I think a lot of us had a real strong bond and it helped us keep the team together,” said Kearns. “If we didn’t have the bond, it would’ve been a miserable season because we couldn’t have supported each other. I think we were closer than a normal team. We were more like family.”
Freitas spoke of how she’ll enjoy checking up on how her young teammates fare in the future.
“Not next year, but the year after is when they’ll really shine,” said Freitas. “This team is going to go on to great things.”
While returning only five players from last year’s varsity, San Benito received ample playing time from its five freshmen and three sophomores, leading its coach to believe greener pastures lie ahead.
“We need to put [this year] behind us,” said Schurig. “I think there are some really good opportunities for next year. We’ve got some future in front of us to build on.”
