Lady Gators look to build on positives despite lopsided 12-0 defeat
Geibel Catholic's Megan Greene (37) dashes after the ball during the Lady Gators' game against Greensburg Central Catholic Wednesday afternoon at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Connellsville Twp.
Geibel Catholic's Julia Alvarez (10) and Greensburg Central Catholic's Kristen DeNezza battle for a control of a loose ball during their game Wednesday at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Connellsville Twp.
Geibel Catholic's Taylor Yeardie (4) works to take the ball away from Greensburg Central Catholic's Domenique Stauffer (14) during their game Wednesday at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Connellsville Twp.
Geibel Catholic's Joanna Medofer (14) and Greensburg Central Catholic's Malea Fabean both work to kick the ball away from the other during their game at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School Wednesday.
CONNELLSVILLE TWP. — When a team plays the top ranked program in their class, sometimes it’s best to look for positive things to build on. Geibel Catholic’s girls’ soccer team did that on Wednesday against Class A’s top-ranked team, Greensburg Central Catholic.
The Lady Centurions took home a dominating 12-0 win to maintain their hold on first place in Section 4-A.
GCC (7-0, 7-1) has given up just two goals in its seven wins, all in section play.
Geibel Catholic (1-6, 2-8) played without the services of head coach Ron Hostovich, who missed the game because of vehicle trouble.
Assistant coach Samantha Brown said the Lady Gators can build on some positive work against the Lady Centurions’ relentless offense.
“GCC is tough. They’re on you and close the door really quickly. (Goalkeeper) Amanda (Hanabeck) played really well, and we were better defensively than the first time we played them. We’re looking at the positives to build on for our upcoming games.”
Hanabeck is the only senior on the Lady Gators’ roster, and made 17 saves while facing constant pressure from the Lady Centurions.
GCC took the lead on a goal by Domenique Stauffer three minutes into the game and never looked back.
Frannie Crouse and Italia Biondi each had the three-goal hat trick in the first half, while Megan Shearson and Malea Fabian added single goals as GCC built a 9-0 lead before halftime.
Hanabeck stood tall in making saves on break-ins by Biondi and Crouse early in the game. Also clearing potential scoring plays were Haley Hutchinson, Taylor Yeardie, Ashley Teslevich, and Karly Judy.
In the second half, Sarah Pokol had a big defensive stop while Hanabeck made eight of her 17 saves in the final 40 minutes.
Fabean scored her second goal, while Rebecca Reuss and Cassie Sauter added goals to complete the visitors’ scoring.
GCC goalkeeper Olivia Binda was seriously challenged only twice, and stopped a direct shot from Judy in the second half top preserve her team’s fifth shutout of the season.