By Dylan Butler
John Jenkins liked what he saw. With a gusty wind at its back, the St. Francis Prep girls' soccer team had a 1-0 lead over Kellenberg in the first half of the Nassau Suffolk Catholic High School Girls Athletic Association semifinals Saturday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, L.I. If the Terriers could hold on to the lead through the next 63 minutes, including the final 40 into the strong wind, St. Francis Prep would advance to the finals against a Sacred Heart team they already beat in the regular season.
But then Kellenberg struck. First with a goal three minutes before the end of the first half and again three minutes into the second half as the Firebirds instead advanced to the championship game with a 2-1 win.
“They scored on two good shots,” Jenkins said. “You can't take anything away from Kellenberg, they played a good game. We played a good game too. Someone had to lose, unfortunately it was us.”
The Terriers ended the year with an 11-3-1 record, a very respectable mark. But that didn't stop the tears from flowing on the Prep sideline after the game.
“We had a really good season,” said junior Lynne Dunham. “We're upset for the seniors because they have to leave, but I hope we can get some good players next year and have another good year.”
Dunham put the Terriers on the scoreboard in the 17th minute when she chipped the ball over Kellenberg junior keeper Janet Powell from 18 yards out to give Prep a 1-0 lead.
“I was looking to pass to someone, but then I heard Fillipa [Petruccelli] say, 'shoot'” Dunham said. “I was missing shots in practice, but I just shot it and it went in.”
Dunham had another chance nine minutes later, when she intercepted a bad clearance by the Firebirds defense, but her shot from 15 yards out sailed just over the crossbar.
Just as it looked as if the Terriers would go into the break with a one-goal lead, Kellenberg (11-4) scored. Senior forward Catherine Monfort picked up a loose ball and sent a rocket from 30 yards out into the upper right corner of the net to tie the score at 1 in the 37th minute.
“That goal was probably worth 10 goals for us,” said Kellenberg head coach Melanie Dougherty. “We were really relying on the wind in the second half. Winning the coin toss before the game was the key right there.”
“That was crucial,” Jenkins added. “She hit a good shot.”
Kellenberg capitalized on its wind advantage right away in the second half when senior midfielder Meghan DeRosa lofted a ball from 25 yards out that went off Prep keeper Michelle Gutierrez's fingertips and into the net to give the Firebirds a 2-1 lead in the 43rd minute.
St. Francis Prep tried valiantly to net the equalizer, but the biting wind, along with a strong defensive effort by Kellenberg, stopped the Terriers in their tracks.
“We were trying to work as a team, trying to be organized,” Dunham said. “We had a good strong attack, but we just couldn't get one in the net.”
St. Francis Prep 4, St. Dominic's 0. Petruccelli scored just before the end of the first half to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead over St. Dominic's (2-9-2) in the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Long Island Soccer Park in Plainview, L.I. Petruccelli scored again in the 51st minute off a pass from Katie Purcell. Sandra Belo added the final two goals, six minutes apart midway through the second half to lead the Terriers.
Notes: Marisa Barriere and Petruccelli were named Soccer All-Long Island, while Belo and Catherine Galiano picked up Soccer All League honors.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.