FRANKFORT, NY– It’s safe to say this is a rebuilding year for the Notre Dame Jugglers girls soccer team. “It’s very hard,” Jugglers head coach Kristin Fitzgerald said. “We’re making the transition from modified right to varsity with most of them.”
This transition was especially evident on Thursday night, where they faced a Frankfort-Schuyler team that had outscored their opponents
15-1 during their current four-game winning streak. Unfortunately, where the Jugglers are young in all the wrong places, it was some of
the youngest players for the Maroon Knights that stepped up on Thursday at Lieutenant Ferraro Field.
Frankfort freshman Hailey Traut (30) delivers one of her two goals on the evening. (Photo By – Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging)
Freshman Hailey Traut and sophomore Courtney Madia both had two goals, while seniors Rose Simmons and Billie Rivenburgh added a goal and an assist in Frankfort-Schuyler’s 6-2 victory over the Jugglers.
Just 30 seconds into the game, Simmons would get the Knights on the board first, as she would angle a pass from Traut past goalkeeper Abby
Hawes to put Frankfort-Schuyler up 1-0.
From there, it was the Knights’ half, as they kept the ball in their side of the field, peppering Hawes with shots from all over the box.
Eight minutes after the first goal, Madia would get a pass from Sam Feduccia that she would run all the way down the field. From there, it
was a matter of time before Madia would double the Frankfort-Schuyler lead.
Frankfort’s Courtney Madia (10) settles a ball in front of the ND goal, as Jugglers defender Sophie Wittenbeck (13) looks to break up the play. Madia had two goals in Frankfort’s 6-2 win. (Photo by – Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging).
For head coach Rocco Longo, it was business as usual for the Knights (7-3, 2-2 CSC-II).
“I thought we were very aggressive to the ball tonight,” Longo said.
That aggressiveness showed just about halfway through the first half. Helped along by a chance by Traut and three opportunities by Simmons,
the Knights finally broke down the wall again, as Traut sent a knuckleball past Hawes to give Frankfort-Schuyler a 3-0 lead.
Despite the somewhat lopsided score, Longo praised his opponents from Utica for a well-fought game.
“Notre Dame did not surprise me,” Longo said of the young Jugglers (0-10, 0-6 TVL Small School). “They played hard, they played every
possession. They’re better than their record shows.”
That certainly showed with about ten minutes left in the half. The Knights pulled Traut, who had been a big part of Frankfort-Schuyler’s
offensive showing to that point, and the Jugglers took advantage right away. With about ten minutes left in the first half, the Jugglers
managed to keep the ball in their half of the field, and Sophie Wittenbeck was able to roll one past Frankfort-Schuyler goalkeeper Charlotte Rodio to ruin Rodio’s clean sheet. With Wittenbeck’s goal, the Jugglers went into halftime, confident in the 3-1 score.
“Usually at halftime, we tell them, let’s win this half…they know they’re underdogs,” Fitzgerald said of her Jugglers.
Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, the half did not start out in a winning way for the Jugglers. Frankfort-Schuyler dominated possession early on
in the second half, thwarting Notre Dame attacks seemingly before they started. It finally came to fruition a little more than halfway through the half, as Traut scored her second goal, off a Simmons pass which Traut bounced off of Hawes and into the goal to make the score 4-1 with less than a half hour left to play.
Rose Simmons (17) hammers a second half shot as Notre Dame Keeper Abby Hawes (00) stands her ground. (Photo By – Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging).
Madia, the second part of the double edged attack for Frankfort-Schuyler, would add another one off of a Simmons cross at the thirteen-minute mark that would seemingly put the game away for good.
However, the Jugglers, despite being winless and young, never game up. About four minutes after Madia’s goal, Notre Dame sophomore
attacker, Madison Peyton, would get the ball on a breakaway, arcing it over the head of Rodio, much to the delight of her teammates, who crowded around her after the goal in celebration.
“A goal means more for them,” Fitzgerald said.
However, with just two minutes left in the game, senior Billie Rivenburgh would finally put the game out of reach. Rivenburgh rocketed a pass from fellow senior Britanny Munch that would put the game at 6-2 as the final horn sounded.
Despite the loss, Fitzgerald was very proud of her Jugglers.
“We play above our class a lot,” Fitzgerald said, noting games against New Hartford and Whitesboro, which have contributed to the Jugglers being outscored 76-4 before tonight. However, Fitzgerald was proud of her team’s never-give-up attitude.
“They show a lot of heart,” Fitzgerald said. They try every game and try really hard. Give me a year or so, and we’ll be just fine.”
When that happens, the Notre Dame super sophomores will become super seniors, and then the script may be flipped in the Tri-Valley League.
Frankfort-Schuyler Maroon Knights 6, Notre Dame Jugglers 2
F-S 3 3 6
ND 1 1 2
1st Half
F-S- Rose Simmons (Hailey Traut), 39:30
F-S- Courtney Madia (Sam Feduccia), 31:30
F-S- Hailey Traut (unassisted), 15:32
ND- Sophie Wittenbeck (unassisted), 8:23
2nd Half
F-S- Traut (Simmons), 28:31
F-S- Madia (Simmons), 12:53
ND- Madison Peyton (unassisted), 8:51
F-S- Billie Rivenburgh (Britanny Munch), 2:14
