Dec. 10, 2007
Seasons Greetings!
2007 was an amazing and exciting season for us. We started the year in Italy on a spectacular 10-day trip to Italy. We visited Capri, Rome, Florence, Montecatini, Pisa, Lake Como and finally Bellagio. It was a truly amazing experience with memories for us all to cherish for a lifetime.
We also played three games against some of the greatest backdrops. Our first game we played in the shadows of Mt. Vesuvius, our second in the Tuscan countryside, and our final game outside of Pisa. We won all three. Their idea of a squad includes about 16-18 players and I am pretty sure our 27 fit players overwhelmed them!
We then returned to the states and opened our season with a big 5-0 win against Heidleburg, 1-0 vs. Depauw, 4-0 vs. Calvin, 2-1 vs. St. Olaf and 2-0 vs. Illinois Wesleyan to begin the season 5-0.
Then we hit a couple of bumps. I actually broke my leg after the Heidelburg game so it was a bit challenging to coach at practice. For those of you who know me, sitting and watching practice while giving instruction is not how I typically coach.
We then went on the road and tied #5 UW-Eau Claire 1-1 on a goal with under five seconds left in regulation by Amanda Catalano. At Carthage we then lost a tough 3-2 decision in a very physical game which saw a season ending injury to Sarah Loh, a first-year from Michigan who had already scored five goals.
Then we returned home only to have our home undefeated streak snapped at 35 games in a 2-1 loss to UW-Stevens Point. We gave up a couple of early goals and then dominated the game and were just unable to put home a second goal. It was just one of those frustrating days!
Finally conference opened with a solid 0-0 tie vs. then #4 Emory at home. Again we played very well and just could not get a goal. Unfortunately we lost Kaitlin Meyer for the year to a refracture of the bone she broke last year!
We got back on the winning side with an ugly 1-0 win over Lake Forest and then had another disappointing effort and loss at Carnegie Mellon.
Then we headed East for our Boston/New York trip where we opened up the Brandeis game finally scoring first off a beautiful header by Claire Gill, only to see Brandeis return the favor and score a beautiful goal against us! Again we were unable to convert and find the back of the net and had yet another tie! Needless to say at 6-3-3 we were not happy at all. As one of our dads said, if you didn't have bad luck you would have no luck as we lost both Christine Farmer and Siggy Nachetergaele to injury in that game as well.
The turning point happened at NYU with only 15 field players when we finally converted and scored goals. We scored three goals in the first 5 minutes against the best NYU team in years. Claire Gill, Olivia Ndyabagye and Eva De Laurentiis scored and Amanda Catalano finished the scoring with a goal scored directly on a corner.
Then we beat UW-Lacrosse 4-0 and again played very well. We then headed into a weekend showdown with our crosstown rival and #1 team in the country Wheaton College. We went down to a 2-0 deficit again but fought hard and scored two goals in the last twelve minutes. One by Melissa Plesac in the 79th minute and by Kate Manuelli in the final 10 seconds - again this team showed a penchant for never giving up and finding a way to score in the final seconds. We then headed to OT where we saw our best chance to win off a finish kicked off the line by the Wheaton keeper. Of course then Wheaton headed downfield and scored on the ensuing play. Maybe that explains why again they found themselves as National Champions in 2007. Congrats Again.
Finally we headed into our final three conference games. We beat Case 3-0 on a fine effort and Rochester 1-0 in a typical UR-UC game. It was physical and intense all the way through.
Finally came our showdown with Washington University who was ranked #10. Again we went down 1-0 and had to fight back. Brooke Bontz connected on two goals in six minutes to put us ahead for the 2-1 victory. It was a great victory and a great run for an amazing group as we finished the year on 5-1 run, ending the season with an 11-4-3 record and a chance at making the tournament.
We sat anxiously at my house waiting for the announcement on Sunday evening and finally received the great news, we were in. I was so happy for our fourth years who gave their heart and soul to this year's team. It was clearly their effort and attitude which helped assure our success.
The really great news came on Monday when we were picked to host. We opened the tournament versus Aurora. Again we struggled to score and had to go to OT to finally get the job done, with a goal by Katie Klamman. As those of you know we love to celebrate on our field! We of course turned around to play UWSP the next day. We saw many great chances go without a goal and headed to PK's 0-0. It was as you know a disappointing end as we lost 5-4 in PK's. Amanda Sutter was amazing in goal and made a save at 4-4 to keep us in the shoot out.
Although not how we wanted to finish, it was an amazing year for us all and one we will never forget! To our seniors, Meryl Prochaska, Christine Farmer, Katherine Gasho, Eva De Laurentiis, Amanda Sutter and Amanda Catalano, we say thank you and we WILL MISS YOU. As always you will be a part of who we are forever!
Best wishes to all for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season,
Amy
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