Night And Day
Lady Monties Complete Season Sweep of Sullivan West Under The Lights As Purcell Returns To Action With A Hat Trick; Fallsburg Boys Garner First League Win Of The Season With Crisp Performance Vs. Tri-Valley
Boys: Fallsburg 4, Tri-Valley 1
Girls: Monticello 5, Sullivan West 2
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
Two games for the price of one (Clockwise) Monticello's Mara Resnick and Sullivan West's Amanda Rosenberger vie for a ball in the heated encounter between the Cats and Dawgs in their rematch. Fallsburg keeper Dustin Foertsch goes airborne in one of his graceful patented saves. Tri-Valley's Christian Reynolds and Fallsburg's Felix Martinez angle for control. Monticello's Annie Purcell, center leads the advance with teammate Kerissa Bennett as Sullivan West's Jasmine Davis follows close by.
SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY—One sporting event a day is more than enough for a photojournalist who takes hundreds of photos, stays up into the night processing and uploading them and then devotes his mornings to telling compelling stories which range far beyond a laundry list of game details.
So imagine trying to reckon with two soccer games in one day; something I am down for at least one more time before this season is out when I travel to Tri-Valley to watch the boys and girls sequentially take on Fallsburg under the lights on October 20.
Just such a double dip was on tap on October 11 as I scurried around trying to catch up with four teams I haven’t seen nearly enough of this fall.
Fallsburg's Alan Sierra and Tri-Valley's Tyler Greffrath look to wrest control of the ball.
Two games supplied two compelling stories which I will combine in this post. Oddly enough for all of the talent on display among the teams who took their verve to the pitch, not one currently sports a winning record and were the season to end today, which thankfully it won’t, neither the Fallsburg or Tri-Valley boys nor the Sullivan West or Monticello girls would be in sectionals.
By season’s end that is apt to change but time will tell.
Fiery Comets Look To Make Headway As Second Half Of The Season Begins With A Win
I began my sojourn in Fallsburg to watch the Comets try to regain some swagger on their home pitch. The schedule for the first half of the season has been brutal , availing Coach Herb Foertsch’s squad nary a league win against four league defeats prior to this tilt with the Bears. With Tuxedo and Seward currently sitting atop of Division V, the Comets are glad to have most of those trials in the rearview mirror as they now turn their attention to T-V, Eldred and a rematch with Chester to try and parlay a series of league wins into a return to sectionals where they feel they can make some serious noise.
Fallsburg had posted a couple of non-league wins affording them a better record than Tri-Valley whose only victory came against Chapel Field. The Bears had already come up on the wrong side of six league games coming into this one and hoped to turn it around with a win over their traditional rival.
But from the opening kickoff it soon became apparent that the Comets would get the better part of the play as keeper Dustin Foertsch had time to daydream with his long range view of the ball which resided principally in the Tri-Valley end of the field.
Fallsburg’s sophomore midfielder Arturo Perez fired the Comets’ first shot on goal only 53 seconds in as Tri-Valley keeper Mike Devault went north into the upper left hand corner to snare it. The Comets held the ball in the T-V end as they set up for the first of seven first half corner kicks. A direct kick by Perez was snared by Devault as Coach Foertsch yelled encouragement to his team to keep the pressure on.
Talented and quick, Tri-Valley's Josue Ramos is tough to defend.
Offensively Tri-Valley was trying to use its speed up front coupled with the deft ball skills of Josue Ramos to get something going. Fallsburg was successful in repulsing rare runs as Kyle Miller, Austin Halchak and Daniel Justiniano were key in sending it quickly back.
At 6:30 the Comets nearly scored as Perez sent a nice cross to forward José Rubio which went just a bit wide. Tri-Valley was whistled for holding in the box but Perez missed on the PK try at 9:11. Halchak blasted one over the top as the Comets kept on coming.. At 11:40 in Felix Martinez turned the ball upfield and drove in an unassisted goal for the 1-0 lead.
Martinez was abetted by an assist from Rubio for his second goal at 17:00 in for the 2-0 edge. The Comets nearly got another one soon thereafter as Devault came out of the goal but Patrick McHugh’s heads up play averted that contingency.
As the first half wound down T-V’s Tom Monforte sent a blast over the top of the crossbar. Another Monforte shot was saved by Foertsch who punted it mightily back into the T-V end where Martinez took a feed from Rubio and sent it over the top of the cage. T-V’s Anthony Beale had a great run up the side and a shot by Zach Nilsen was saved by Foertsch as the half ended.
T-V Coach Jason Closs provided me with the second half scoring as I had to leave to get back for the Suliivan West-Monticello girls game under the lights.
Tri-Valley scored on a cross from Zach Nilsen to Tyler Greffrath who headed the ball into the goal 15:00 minutes into the second half. Fallsburg scored their final goal with under 8 minutes to play in the second half on a penalty kick by A. Halchak following a penalty on a TV player for holding inside the 18. Hope this helps. The other Comets’ score came via Rubio with an assist from Sam Didinsky.
Foertsch had five saves for the Comets; Devault had ten for the Bears. Fallsburg improved to 3-5-0 (1-4-0 OCIAA)l, while Tri-Valley fell to 1-10-0 (0-7-0 OCIAA).
Questionable Call Opens The Floodgates As Monticello Breaks A 2-2 Deadlock With A Trio Of Unasnwered Goals
The Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs gather around Coach Mike Ellmauer at the start of the game.
The night rippled with excitement as the Sullivan West players gathered with their parents prior to the rematch with Monticello. Adorned in their painted shirts that read “No Goals Fo’ You,” the Lady Bulldogs looked to defend their home pitch under the lights and to come out with fire, something they severely lacked in their 3-0 loss to the Lady Panthers two weeks prior.
During the latter moments of that game, Monticello junior Annie Purcell had sustained a concussion and had missed the intervening games. On this night she was back at it and it was clear from the get go that there was no rust from her enforced hiatus.
Reckoning with Purcell had been very much on the mind of Sullivan West Coach Mike Ellmauer as he implored his players to mark her like, “white on rice.” But Purcell’s ball skills, rendered razor sharp by her year-round play on Quickstrike FC would net her a hat trick in the Lady Monties 5-2 win.
That said, it would be amiss to infer from that score that this one a one-sided affair. In fact, it was anything but. It would be more apt to describe this non-league clash as toe-to-toe encounter which had seen each team grab the momentum leading to a 2-2 tie as the Lady Westies tied it up on a PK by Emma Seidl at 26:15 of the second half..
The game took a dramatic turn when an official whistled Sullivan West’s Amanda Rosenberger for a dangerous kick even though there was no one within ten yards of her in any direction.
Iconic match up: Sullivan West's Amanda Rosenberger looks to stymie Monticello's Annie Purcell as the latter turns the ball. Purcell returned from a concussion-induced hiatus to score a trio of goals in the win.
The event would signal a change in momentum in the second half as the Lady Panthers would add three goals for the 5-2 victory. After the game, Ellmauer cited the call as key in the outcome. “That was an awful call. How do you call a dangerous play when the nearest person is more than ten yards away? This has been our modus operandi all year with calls like this from local officials,”Ellmauer went on to say, while not taking anything away from Monticello, a team he noted is far better than their record would indicate.
More on the post-game commentary erelong but first here is the game chronology.
After honoring all of its players including seniors Stephanie Hauschild, Amanda Rosenberger, Emaa Seidl, Alika Simon, Kristina Sumfleth, Kassie Thelman and Giselle Vega, the Lady Bulldogs got set to go to work.
The Lady Westies kicked off but the Lady Monties got control of the initial parry. Seidl sent it deep ahead to Rosenberger but as she would all night long, Monticello defender Laurie Schoonmaker quickly reversed it. Soon Purcell was weaving in and out. Heather Miller’s advance resulted in an offsides call.
Monticello held it in as the two teams continued to strongly contest for the ball. The Lady Panthers pressed the attack with Kerissa Bennett, Jordan Fredell, Purcell and Mara Resnick but the Lady Bulldogs were making their own runs as Rosenberger just missed a nice cross looking to draw first blood.
After a handball call gave the Lady Bulldogs the ball, the Lady Monties held in and Purcell missed a wide-open net at 30:49. Purcell rocked one off the crossbar and Resnick missed on the rebound. Purcell had a shot just under 26 minutes as Jordan Parsons made a sliding save.
Quickly the action reverted to the Monticello end as the Lady Bulldogs looked to break through with a couple of nice chances. Defense was sharp for both squads who appeared to be very evenly matched.
At 16:48 Bennett nearly got one in. Resnick’s shot was blocked by Parsons. The Lady Monties were getting a steady advance up the far sideline but having trouble getting the needed cross in front at times.
Carly Grishaber takes an assist from Cassidy Sauer to score the first goal of the game.
It was Sullivan West that got the first goal at 8:33 as Carly Grishaber poked it through on the left hand side of the net by keeper Morgan Halloran on an assist from Cassidy Sauer for the 1-0 lead. Just one minut e later Resnick answered to tie it up on an assist from Purcell at 7:29. Monticello amped its energy behind the goal and pressed their cause. A great play by Kristina Sumfleth broke up on great run but Purcell had the last word of the first half as she buried an unassisted goal with 19.6 seconds to give the Lady Panthers the 2-1 upper hand at the break.
Sullivan West came out on all cylinders to start the second period. Sullivan West was afforded a penalty kick with 26:25 after a trip in the box. Seidl sent it by Halloran but the official waved it off saying the keeper wasn’t ready. Seidl dialed it up and did it again and the game was now knotted at two-all.
Purcell had a direct kick saved by Parsons as the ball continued to go back and forth. Neither team scored but both had chances. Parsons fell on a shot by Fredell for the save. It was then that Rosenberger was whistled for the dangerous play that set up a goal Bennett assisted by Purcell for the 3-2 lead at 12:54.
It had occurred at a time when the Westies appeared to have the momentum but suddenly things went south in a hurry as Purcell fired in an unassisted goal in to make it 4-2 just 31 seconds later at 12:23.
Monticello gets the bragging rights in this year's chapter of the Cats and Dawgs spat but this feud is far from over.
Purcell’s final goal came on a perfectly lofted direct kick at 9:35, giving the talented junior the hat trick and assuring the Lady Monties of the this year’s last word in the Cats and Dawgs Spat. While the last story was entitled Cats and Dawgs Redux, I’m sure Ellmauer might have been okay with this one being called “Cats and Dawgs Reflux,” as in acid reflux given the bitter taste of the game which slipped away behind the questionable call.
Purcell was upbeat about her return to action. “I think we really kept our intensity up which was an important factor. We’re coming off a lapse over our last few games. We didn’t’ take it for granted that we beat them the last time. We really kept it up and had some nice combinations,” she said.
Asked to comment about her team’s answer to the penalty kick that tied it up, she noted “We never got down and kept the energy positive.” Purcell attributed her direct kick placement to her year-round play with Quickstrike FC, her travel team. We play all year round.
Monticello Coach Bill Stento referred to his team as “Up and down. We’ll have games where we play like this as opposed to losing to Liberty 5-0. It’s been an inconstant year but when these girls come to play, they really show it,” he averred.
Stento felt his backline defense abetted by Lauren Katz who was able to push up as the Lady Westies deployed just to up front, helped to keep the flow heading towards the Lady Bulldogs end a significant part of the time. “That allowed us to control the midfield a little better.”
With a daunting schedule ahead, Monticello will have an uphill battle to make sectionals but they are not technically out of it at this juncture, nor is Sullivan West who must now face Burke for its next challenge while the Monties try to wrangle with Cornwall.
Morgan Halloran had seven saves for the Lady Panthers; Jordan Parsons had 15 for the Lady Bulldogs.
Monticello improved to 3-8, while Sullivan West fell to 4-6-1
For albums of photos from both games, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Cats And Dawgs Redux
Monticello Clicks On All Cylinders In Dominant Win Over Injury-Plagued Sullivan West Youngsters; Monties’ Victory The Latest Chapter In An Ongoing Back-And-Forth Non-League Rivalrry
Monticello 3, Sullivan West 0
By RICHARD A. ROSS
rross@sportsinsightsny.com
Scenes from the Monticello vs. Sullivan West soccer match won by the Lady Monties 3-0 (Clockwise): Monticello's Annie Purcell turns the ball upfield. Purcell would score the first goal of the game. Team photos showing the Monticello Lady Panthers and the Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs, Annie Purcell drives it home, Monticello's Jordan Fredell wins a ball and is pursued by Sullivan West's Dana Borowski. Sullivan West's Kristina Sumfleth reaches out to handle a ball. Monticello's Brianna Bennett races up the field towards the Sullivan West end of the field.
MONTICELLO, NY—Darkening gray skies suggested an end to the brief respite of gorgeous weather in a soccer season already all too familiar with rain. And to be sure, by day’s end there would be a change of weather as far as Monticello was concerned as they were about to uncork what Coach Bill Stento would later refer to as his team’s “Best performance” since he assumed the coaching reins two years ago.”
They say “Into every life a little rain must fall,” but figuratively speaking as far as the lady soccer teams from Monticello (2-4) and Sullivan West (3-5), are concerned, the response to that bit of wisdom would have be, “Enough already!”
I’m referring here not merely to torrential rains and soggy fields, but more poignantly to the dampening effects of adversity brought on by tough opponents, injuries and the scarcity of wins.
As the teams got set to play on this late September afternoon, the memories of their October 2, 2009 night clash came to mind and while this year’s young Sullivan West squad currently fields only one veteran from that fray in Hannah Feinman, you can be sure that the Monticello elder stateswomen remember it all too well.
Back in October of 2009, the last time these two teams played, Jordan Fredell received a bloody nose from the intense action. No doubt, she and other Montie veterans remember it well making this day's win that much sweeter.
The photo of Jordan Fredell with blood emanating from her nose says it all about that over-the-top physical game appropriately named “Cats and Dawgs.”
That fray was won by the Lady Bulldogs who nearly saw a 3-0 lead turn into a stultifying defeat at the hands of the fiery Lady Monties who tied it up with just six minutes left to play. Perhaps the soccer gods saw fit to give the two teams a year off from each other before aligning the stars for this rematch.
For Sullivan West Coach Mike Ellmauer, the prospect of fielding a young team populated by one freshman and nine sophomores to go alone with three juniors and eight seniors was already going to be a challenge.
That was before a spate of injuries began to take their toll. Senior Stephanie Hauschild is out for the season with what may be a torn ACL. Amanda Rosenberger missed time from a knock in the head. Keeper Jordan Parsons has been to the school of hard knocks and on it goes.
Parsons left her cleats in her locker and couldn’t man the cage this day, leaving the task up to junior Cassidy Sauer, more agitata for Ellmauer who still hoped his team could muster the moxie to sunder the struggling Lady Monties who had only one win to date coming into this game.
Hope is one thing; reality is often another. Monticello quickly took advantage of Sullivan West’s inexperience which manifested itself most assuredly in its recurring inability to kick the ball out of its own end, make effective throw ins and goal kicks and pass the ball to people in space.
The result was that nearly the entire game was played in the Sullivan West end.
Sullivan West kicked off but the Monties had it almost immediately as Jordan Fredell, Annie Purcell and Kerissa Bennett all got touches on the first Lady Panthers’ push up. Sauer was called upon to make a save right away, a preview of coming attractions as the view of charging white jerseys was going to become a familiar sight erelong.
Monticello's Stef Viera heads the ball between Sullivan West's Amanda Rosenberger and Giselle Vega.
When Sullivan West failed to clear a goal kick, Purcell, Monticello’s talented year-round soccer maven drove it home just 3:09 into the first period for the 1-0 lead on an assist from Mara Resnick.
Sullivan West freshman Carly Grishaber fired one on goal but SW couldn’t hold the ball in the Monticello end. Monticello won the majority of the 50-50 balls, but Sullivan West tried to use its speed up front with Feinman and Rosenberger to make something happen.
Feinman got a breakaway and nearly scored as Monticello freshman keeper Katrina Zicot held on for the save.
Purcell was getting her fair share of shots, looking for her second goal but she failed to hit the mark. Montie sophomore Katelyn Radlein fired one on goal and missed. A subsequent push by Feinman saw the ball quickly swerving back towards Sauer as the Monties took the ball back. Becky Mitchell to Mara Resnick resulted in a missed shot but the Monties kept up the pressure.
Rosenberger sent it up to Giselle Vega on the right corner but Monticello’s back line defense was proving to be effective in kicking the ball out.
Purcell fired a shot as Sauer was out. That led to a corner kick which hit Kerissa Bennett on the top of the head. A biz dizzy but grinning, the feisty forward played on. Monticello passed the ball effectively but continued to struggle to finish as shots were often poked or sent wide.
Sullivan West backline defenders Kassie Thelman and Katie Taylor were doing a good job of keeping things out of harm’s way.
That is until Mara Resnick scored at 27:18 in on an assist from Kerissa Bennett to make it 2-0. Resnick sent it in to the left side of the net as Sauer lost the ball, leaving Resnick free to poke it in.
Rosenberger had a nice shot from Rosenberger that crossed in front of the goal but Sullivan West had no one at the opposite post to drive in a goal in what was a vast empty space.
Cats and Dawgs war veteran: Sullivan West's Hannah Feinman was a freshman the last time these teams went at it. The speedy junior had her breakaways but couldn't connect this time out. She'll try to reverse that outcome on October 11 when the venue switches to Lake Huntington under the lights.
Monticello nearly scored off a corner kick. Purcell’s subsequent corner kick went behind the goal affording the Lady Bulldogs another charge up the field. Feinman’s shot, like Rosenberger’s prior one just needed someone at the opposite post to send it in. Again, no one was in position..just another manifestation of the steep learning curve this team will have to surmount.
Monticello took the 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
Monticello picked up where it left off with an attack led by Brianna Miller. A third goal eluded the Lady Panthers as they didn’t follow shots that sat in front of the goal at times or dangled in front of the opposite post.
In a scary moment, Grishaber had to be helped off the field after injuring her knee. Needless to say her absence was yet another blow to the already depleted SW troops. The nature or extent of her injury was not known at the time of this writing but she was unable to play the rest of the game. She insisted on standing for the handshake.
She is the last of the Grishabers and follows in the footsteps of her brother Logan and sister Shelby. The trio share a tough, gritty work ethic even in the face of injury and adversity. Here’s hoping Carly is okay and back at it soon.
Monticello would score its third goal as Heather Miller drove it up the field and fired an unassisted goal in at 15:13. That would be the end of the scoring for the match.
Zicot recorded three saves for Monticello; Sauer had 15 for Sullivan West.
Monticello Coach Bill Stento was clearly pleased with his team’s play. “We got off to a rough start down at Port. We had gone to a five-man midfield with two forwards and it really wasn’t working. So we went back to three and today it really clicked.”
Stento added, “The experience shows. I had these girls when they were freshmen and sophomores and now they’re juniors and seniors. They’ve been playing together at this level for two years. I’ve told the girls the wins we get won’t necessarily be pretty, they’re more apt to be scrappy”. Monticello faces Burke on October 3.
Kaboom! Kerissa Bennett bangs in goal to the right side of the net to make it 2-0, the Monticello lead at the half. Heather Miller punctuated the win with a goal in the second period..
Sullivan West Coach Mike Ellmauer sized things up this way: “We get to play them again and hopefully we can pull something out in the second half of the season.” Ellmauer alluded to his team’s inexperience and nagging injuries as “The things that are killing us.”
Ineffective throw-ins, goal kicks and a failure to clear the ball are major issues as they keep the team back in an ongoing defensive posture leaving people out of position for an attack when the opportunity presents itself.
Sullivan West (3-5) is also 0-2 in the division. “We’re trying to make the best of it,” Ellmauer said.
For the hard-working Lady Bulldogs, the hope is that with the experienced gained over the upcoming games that they can trigger a change in the weather to emerge from this early gloom into the brighter light of late season success.
They’ll host Monticello under the lights on October 11. I guess we’ll call that one “Cats And Dawgs III.”
For an album of photos visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
