Masternick's milestone

The Boardman High senior needs 10 goals to reach 100 for her career.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- A soccer player scoring 100 goals in a high school career is about as rare as a basketball player scoring 100 points in an NBA game.
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. Boardman High School senior Janeen Masternick is on the threshold of reaching the 100-goal plateau later this season.
Chamberlain was nicknamed "Wilt the Stilt" because of his 7-foot-1 height. Masternick can be called, "Janeen the Scoring Machine," because of her prolific ability to find the back of the net.
In a consistent offensive career that has resulted in her being the top goal scorer in Boardman High history, Masternick tallied 28 goals in 16 varsity games as a freshman, 27 as a sophomore and 25 last year.
Through 11 games this season, she has scored 10 times, giving the diminutive forward 90 goals in 59 matches, or an average of 1.52 goals per game. She's also tallied 34 assists.
Creeping closer
Boardman has five more regular season games and Masternick figures to be in the lineup, despite suffering a dislocated shoulder last week.
"She's a natural player," said Boardman's second-year coach, Fawzi Mujahed. "She can use both feet. She dribbles well. She can cut from outside at different angles. She understands the position exactly."
Mujahed officiated a Boardman game against Salem when Masternick was a sophomore. She scored five second-half goals after the Spartans trailed 3-0 at the half, rallying to win 5-3.
She was injured late in that game and missed her next five starts. Boardman did not score during her absence.
Masternick is first academically in her class with a 4.0 grade-point average.
She has narrowed her choice of colleges to John Carroll, Case Western Reserve, Baldwin-Wallace or Malone.
Her father is Dr. Joseph Masternick, and medical school could follow her undergraduate work.
Injuries
Injuries have followed her through her athletic career.
After setting five Glenwood Middle School and three county track records, an injured back stopped her from running the hurdles and sprints in high school.
She now plays with a special restrictive shoulder brace to support the joint first injured as a sophomore.
Masternick can't extend or flex the left shoulder while wearing the brace, but she did score twice against a good Poland High team last week.
"The thing about Janeen Masternick is whether the ball is on the 50-yard line or right in front of the net she treats it the same," said veteran Poland coach Jim Sutman.
"Scoring a goal does not intimidate her. I haven't seen a player in my 10 years that is so unnerved by that. She can just score.
"Whether it's 4-1 she's losing, or they're winning 4-1 she's just very consistent. She's pretty stoic."
As a junior, Masternick was named second-team All-Ohio, made the All-Steel Valley Conference team the third time, and was picked the district player of the year.
Masternick deflected praise for her scoring ability to her teammates, especially senior Maggie Mills, whom she called a fine passer.
Masternick also never regretted giving up on track and gymnastics for soccer.
"Soccer is something I love to do," she said. "I love going to practices. I love going to games.
"I get excited. I get anxious. I want to play."
Mujahed said, "She has a talent and can play anywhere in college."
Sutman said of Masternick's two-goal effort, "We had her covered. Give her a yard in front of the net, she doesn't make a mistake."