Talking sports

The ebb and flow of soccer mirrors life

By TED WADDELL
Posted 9/29/21

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — “The heart of a man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too,” penned Vincent Van Gogh, famed …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Talking sports

The ebb and flow of soccer mirrors life

Posted

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — “The heart of a man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too,” penned Vincent Van Gogh, famed Dutch post-modernist painter (1853-1890).

On Monday, September 20, the Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs soccer squad (5-1) hosted the Lady Yellowjackets of Eldred (0-1-1), in a match that flowed like the sands of time through a crystal hourglass, mirroring the ebb and flow of life.

Hoping for their initial win of the season, Eldred scored the first goal of the match off the foot of Bryn Greenfield, but then the tide of fate surged in with three consecutive goals by Sullivan West.

Eldred rode the waves in the second half with their second goal of the game, only to watch the home team booters surf back with two more goals to take the contest 5-2.

Scoring (first half)—Bryn Greenfield (E) 13:07, Grace Boyd (SW) 30:52, Violia Shami (SW) 38:32.

Scoring (second half)—Grace Boyd (SW) 08:22, Anne Davis (E) 10:16, Violia Shami (SW) 27:58, and  again Violia Shami (SW) 39:24, who with her third goal of the game posted a hat trick.

Stats—shots (SW 33, E 10), shots on goal (SW 19, E 7), corner kicks (SW 7, E 2), keeper saves (SW Abby Paruki 5, E Lily Gonzalez 5).

Jordan Lepes, a former soccer star forward at Eldred, is now the head girls soccer coach. When asked how her teams of 2013–2017 compare to the current squad, replied that in her day, the team was mostly made up of three-sport athletes, while in 2021 it is composed of a lot of softball players.

Goals for the season?

“Our biggest goal is just knowing our roles on the field… learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses… so it’s different,” said Lepes.

This season’s team has five seniors: Jailyn Labuda, Annie Davis, Jada Reed, Dana Donnelly and Lily Gonzalez.

Captains: Reed, Donnelly and Molly Mckerell.

Anthony Durkin, first-year helmsman of the home team booters, has been with the girls’ soccer program for over a decade, including one year during which he corralled a snake during a match, something never to be forgotten.

He is backed up by former coach Mike Ellmauer and resident statistician Kurt Scheibe, both of whom serve as assistants.

Goals and a progress report?

“We’ve been working on distributing the ball, passing the ball, and working as a team to create opportunities,” said Durkin.

But alas, sadly nothing about chasing snakes!

Seniors: Taylor Brustman, Riley Ernst, Riley Johnson, Abby Keller, Mia Nunnari, Annabelle Rutledge and Taylor Wall.

As for captains, Durkin rotates the role of leadership on the field among the six-pack plus one of upperclassmen.

“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”—Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and abolitionist (1811-1896).

soccer, ebb and flow, girl's soccer, Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs, Eldred Central Lady Yellowjackets

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here