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Mooney veterans dominate Orange
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Cardinal Mooney’s Makenna Ozenghar, pursued by Orange defender Arianna Cerqueira, looks to pass during the first half of a lacrosse game Wednesday at Mooney High School. The Cardinals dominated the Lions, 16-0.
Mooney veterans dominate Orange
YOUNGSTOWN
Former Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare closed off winning games with his signature catchphrase of, “there was noooooo doubt about it.”
It didn’t matter if the Pirates won by seven runs or needed extra innings to steal a game by one — Frattare always exclaimed those six words, with extra emphasis on the no, of course.
If Frattare had been at the Cardinal Mooney-Orange girls lacrosse game on Wednesday afternoon, he could’ve got away with yelling it after the first goal.
Leah Finnerty scored at the 20:45 mark in the opening half of the 50-minute contest and the Cardinals rattled off 15 more for a 16-0 blowout victory.
“Yeah,” senior Rachel Lynch said, “it was pretty easy. We still focused on winning early and we went from there.”
The Orange program is just in its second year of existence, but the Cardinals have been at it for only three years. It was a mismatch from the beginning; however Mooney coach Jim Boniface said a game like that is a big step.
“The girls are coming along really well,” he said. “We have some senior players who have started since the beginning, and some newcomers who just came on and they’ve caught on real fast. It still took a great team effort and the girls were focused from the start.”
It was the first time in the three years that the Cardinals held on for a shutout. The Lions couldn’t get their offense going and didn’t advance the ball past the 50-yard line on the Cardinal Mooney field until 12 minutes in.
After Finnerty’s early goal, Jessica Miller and Anna Jackanich each scored twice in the next three minutes.
“We were trying to rack up the goals early and we were really aggressive on offense,” said Jackanich, one of Mooney’s original players. “We came out fast and never really wanted to look back, we just kept going at it.”
Boniface still didn’t call it his team’s most complete game of the year. The Cardinals (3-2) beat a highly touted Wooster squad, 10-8, on March 29.
Lynch, Erin Smith, Kayla Cook, Carly Shutrump, Brooke Fonderlin, Mackenna Ozenghar, Brie Ozenghar and Lauren Illenick also scored for Mooney.
The biggest part of the win came from the Cardinals’ ability to win on the faceoffs, technically known as draws. Ozenghar was called upon to secure many of those possessions.
“The key for me is using my strength in the draw,” the junior said. “My method is to be quick with my hands; I can fling it up and usually get it, but the girls around me are able to scoop it up quickly too.”
It’s going to be a deciding factor in the remaining 12 games, too. Mooney is back in action tonight on the road at the Beaumont School for Girls.
“Possession is everything in lacrosse so getting those set us up nicely,” Boniface said. “It’s a boost right away on the offensive end of things. If you win possession time for most of the game you have the best chance of winning it.”
Erin Smith, the Mooney goalie, faced limited action and stopped every shot when they eventually came her way.