Fast start helps lift Lakeview past Irish

Nikki Bevilacqua had a hat trick for the Bulldogs in the 4-2 victory.

By DOUG CHAPIN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CORTLAND — Momentum is an important element in the game of soccer and nothing changes momentum as much as a goal.

Tuesday in a girls Division II district semifinal, Lakeview High was able to control the momentum behind a hat trick by senior Nikki Bevilacqua in a 4-2 victory over Ursuline. The Bulldogs (14-1-3) advanced to face Mooney Saturday in the district championship.

Lakeview, which lost 4-1 to Ursuline last year in a district semifinal, scored twice in the first 15 minutes Tuesday. The match was played for the most part in windy and rainy conditions on a soggy field.

“Last year we played them in almost the same conditions,” Lakeview coach Shawn Varley said. “Our game style is a little bit of combination in the middle and then in the final third we’re looking for numbers and to score.

“Last year, the field was in horrible condition, it was cold, rainy, and I saw Ursuline playing a lot of direct attack. So this year, with similar conditions, we switched it up and went complete direct attack.”

Carly Chordas opened the scoring for Lakeview with a shot over the outstretched arms of Ursuline keeper Nikka Bonamase from about 15 yards out with 28:13 left to play in the first half. Bevilacqua then tallied her first goal on a breakaway at the 25:31 mark.

Bonamase, who ended up with nine saves, came up with a good one with about 19 minutes to play in the half on a blistering free kick by Mandie Pishotti.

Ursuline (13-3-2) got on the board at the 9:33 mark of the half when Katie Young knocked in a rebound. Dana Hinebaugh set up Katelyn Tondo-Steele for an open shot which was saved by Lakeview’s Jen Ulam (six saves), and the ball wound up at the feet of Young.

The Irish gained the momentum and came close to making the score even a few minutes later when Ulam made another save on Tondo-Steele who was set up nicely by Kelsey Price.

It looked like Ursuline would carry the momentum into the second half when the Irish would no longer be battling the wind. But Bevilacqua changed all that when she scored from about 20 yards away with 22 seconds left in the half.

The Irish made it a one-goal game again less than a minute into the second half when Tondo-Steele scored from right in front off a free kick at the 39:14 mark.

This time, however, Ursuline was unable to muster much momentum off the goal as Lakeview pressed the issue. Two Bulldogs — Laura Griffith and Megan Charnas — hit the crossbar with shots during a flurry about two minutes after the Irish goal. Chordas had a breakaway attempt four minutes after that, but was stopped by the Ursuline defense.

Finally, Bevilacqua pounced on a loose ball and drilled home a shot from 15 yards away with 29:28 left in the game.

“She’s an all-state player,” Varley said of Bevilacqua. “I’m not sure which team she’ll be on, but she is an all-state player. She’s been our leading scorer this year and she has 86 career goals.”

The Irish had just one more good scoring opportunity the rest of the way when Ulam saved the shot of Hannah Snyder who had made a nice move to get off her shot.

“We had a couple mistakes early in the first half going against the wind and couldn’t recover from them,” Ursuline coach Frank Sikich said. “They got up on us and we could never get back into the game. Every time we’d get a goal, they’d put another one in after us. We just couldn’t cut that gap. It was hard to recover in these conditions.”

Varley said his players are pleased to be advancing to the district final.

“A lot of the girls on the varsity team are seniors and it seems every year we get stuck at this spot, the district semifinal,” he said. “Finally we were able to do it. Last year it was Ursuline, the year before that it was Champion. So finally we are getting some rewards and these girls deserve it.”