ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A pair of first-half goals stood as Our Lady of Mercy and Greece Athena played to a 1-1 draw in non-league girls’ soccer action, Thursday night.
Madeline Oleksyn gave Mercy the lead in the game’s eighth minute. Athena’s Ellie Lombardo leveled the match with her second goal of the season.
“We had a lot of great shots,” Mercy head coach Donna Trost said. “We just didn’t get another one in. If we end up playing them again (in sectionals), I’m super-confident that we can hopefully get a couple more in. We’ll have to see.”
Oleksyn’s goal started on the left side of the field where Keira Dall crossed a ball into the Athena 18-yard box. Oleksyn one-timed her second goal of the season.
Mercy maintained pressure for the first 15 minutes of the game.
“It took some time to settle in,” Athena head coach Jeremiah Bergan said of his young squad that includes six sophomores and two ninth-graders. “This group usually needs 10 to 15 minutes. Once they settle in, then you can start giving them instructions.”
Athena slowed Mercy’s momentum then generated a pair of corner-kick opportunities and a free kick just outside the Mercy 18-yard box. Next rush up the field, Rylie Capezzuto crossed a ball from the right wing that Lombardo ran on to and connected from the far post.
28’ Ellie Lombardo stays far post and connects on the equalizer. @OLMathletics 1 @AthenaHigh 1 pic.twitter.com/ReNP9EBULb
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 22, 2022
“We always coach solid defense,” Bergan noted of the Trojans’ ability to gain possession of the ball move together up the field. “Play really quality defense and counter from it. That gives them a basis of confidence. Even though at times teams will dominate us, we’re looking to create some spaces that we can exploit.”
Mercy’s defensive effort was deliberate throughout the match as the Monarchs shadowed Athena’s Wrianna Hudson.
“We had a strategy to keep an eye on her and not let her run around,” Trost said of Hudson who leads Monroe County in scoring (34 points) and whose 15 goals are tied for sixth in Section V. “She’s a really tough player because she is also not somebody who just needs to score. She will pass it to her teammates. It’s not like you can just put five people on her. You can’t. You got to watch everybody else, too.”
Mercy shadowed the 6-foot-2 junior forward throughout the match and left one defender behind the play to limit Hudson’s opportunities in the open field. Hudson took two defenders with her on the play in which Lombardo scored.
“That’s what she’s going to do,” Trost said of Hudson. “If she does not have a shot, she’s going to wait for that teammate to make a play.
“We knew going in that she’s not a selfish player.. We knew we had to keep an eye on her, but the goal they scored on us we got lazy, and we learned from it. We had to really stay a little bit closer to our marks.”
Intermittent showers became more persistent late in the second half and into overtime.
Both teams were able to get a player behind the defense for a scoring opportunity during the second extra session.
Bella Mitrano comes off her line to take away a scoring opportunity. pic.twitter.com/f9CumR2z51
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 23, 2022
Mercy’s Bella Mitrano stopped Emily McMichael in a one-on-one situation.
Moments later, Emilee Montagliano matched her counterpart when the Athena keeper denied Oleksyn a chance for her second marker of the night.
“It was a matter of could either team finish,” Bergan said. “As you saw, in overtime, big save from our goalie. Big save from their goalie. Fun game.”
Emilie Montagliano matches her counterpart and takes away a scoring chance. pic.twitter.com/GKV0CjMA1F
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) September 23, 2022
Mercy (5-3-2) is unbeaten in three of its past four games. The Monarchs will host Brighton next Friday, September 30th.
“I’m really happy,” Trost said of the outcome. “We haven’t been able to play Athena in a long time. It was nice to be back here. We knew they are a good team, so it was good to play them.”
Athena has 5 wins with 2 losses and a tie on the season. The Trojans will host Pittsford Sutherland in a rematch next Wednesday.
“They are solid from front to back,” Bergan said of Mercy. “Every single player on the field is quality. We knew it was going to be like this the whole time.”
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