Experienced Bay Village sends Mooney girls to the sidelines

Two defensive mistakes were too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WESTLAKE -- When Cardinal Mooney girls soccer coach Alex Simon sat down to write a letter to his team before the 2005 season began, he was hoping for a happy ending.
But as he pulled the letter he penned back in August from his jacket pocket and read it to his squad Wednesday, the tears he saw rolling down his players' cheeks told a different story.
Mooney's season came to an abrupt end as Division II regional tournament veteran Bay Village dealt the Cardinals a 2-1 defeat in a regional semifinal match at the Westlake Soccer Complex.
As for the letter's content, Simon simply wrote from the heart.
"I told them how much I care about them and that no matter how the season turned out, I will be proud of the effort they gave and I appreciate the chance to coach them," Simon said.
"It's tough to see these girls hurt so much right now," Simon said. "I'm sad not because we lost, but because I won't see them at practice tomorrow and be able to spend time with them."
Experience counts
Mooney (16-3-1), making its first regional tournament appearance fell victim to a Bay Village squad that was playing in its 17th straight regional. That team features six seniors that have already won two state titles.
That experience coupled with two defensive mistakes by Mooney proved to be the difference in the contest.
"We just didn't play our game tonight," Simon said. "I don't know if it was nerves or something else, but for whatever reason we just didn't play well.
"Both their goals came on mistakes we made," Simon said. "We didn't do the things we needed to do offensively to score and defensively we didn't play well. I'm disappointed with our play, but not with our effort."
Early lead
Bay Village got on the scoreboard first as Lauren Farver found a crease in the Mooney defense and drilled a breakaway shot into the net for a 1-0 advantage with 34:23 left in the first half.
But Mooney, which was out shot 8-3 in the first 40 minutes, bounced back.
Co-captain Kelly Burke beat the Bay Village defense and tied the game a 1-1 with a goal at the 16:30 mark of the first half.
Bay Village relied on its crisp passing and speed to control the rest of the half. The Rockets took advantage of another Mooney defensive lapse to score the go-ahead goal with 1:45 remaining before intermission.
This time, Farver delivered the assist as she sent a cross over the middle intended for teammate Abby Doyle.
But the pass bounced off a Mooney defender just in front of the goal and Doyle directed into the net to give Bay Village a 2-1 lead.
"Any goal counts," Bay Village coach Beth Gavin said. "Mooney is a very good team and would rank right up with the Division I schedule we play. We were just able to pick up our intensity and use our experience to our advantage.
"I think being here before was huge because we believed that we would win, and we knew what to expect coming in. I think it was a little hard for them because it was their first time. But it was a pretty good game."
Notes
The Cardinals had won 13 straight games after starting the season 3-2-1. It was the final game for Mooney's nine seniors.
Kelli Willis, who is considering Ohio State and Elon as her college choices, finished her prep career with 100 career goals.
Marisa Simon, who will play at Ohio State next fall as a walk-on, ended her high school stint with 59 career goals and 68 assists.