Week 9: Nicole Sperl

Friday - Detroit

We had to leave for Detroit on Thursday afternoon, and thankfully our trainer Chad had brought “The Proposal” for us to watch. Otherwise, our assistant coach Chris picks out the worst movies ever for us to watch (no offense Chris). We woke up Friday and ate a good breakfast and we were ready for the game. We were especially pumped for the game because Mike didn’t make us go on a walk after breakfast! We got to their field and the weather was deceiving. The sun was out and when the wind died down it was actually very nice considering the weather we’ve already played in. We came out a little slow, but we got a free kick a little outside the 18 on the left side of the field. There was a quick start and Megna took the ball down the line and had a hard serve, and Apple came crashing in with a diving header. Once again Megna served a ball into the box and Apple ever so calmly tucked it away. Jamie Forbes came up big for us with a one handed save on a breakaway.

Sunday - Wright State

After the Detroit game we drove back home, preparing for Sunday. It was our Pink Out game, Senior Day, possibly the last game at Engelmann for the year, and we could clench the conference title. Everyone was pretty excited for this because a lot was riding on it and we got to wear pink and white jerseys. This was probably one of our toughest games we have faced this year. In the first half we both had some chances, but in the second half we were on the prowl. We out shot Wright State 21-2, but only found the back of the net once. Keara hit the cross bar, so typical. Megna and Apple hooked up again in the 77th minute. And then, we were able to hold them off, especially in the last two minutes when they pressured us hard. This is the 10th-straight year we have won conference. We travel to Green Bay on Friday to finish up regular season.

Week 8: Nicole Sperl

Editor's Note: After a week hiatus, the Women's Soccer Player Blog is back with junior Nicole Sperl.

Cleveland State Friday
We were excited to be back at home under the lights of Engelmann field, despite the nasty cold, rainy weather. Our opponent, Cleveland State, came off a big weekend, beating Detroit and tying Loyola, so we were prepared for a game against a scrappy team. Sophomore Laurel “Caribou” Ragalie started off the scoring under 20 minutes into the game and then found the back of the net 10 minutes later, off an assist by Kate “Baby Face Magy” Megna—which broke the career record for assists. We really are very proud of her!!!

We went into half time with a 2-0 lead, knowing that we should have finished more of our chances. We came out strong in the second half, Kate and Sarah “Apple Big Head” Hagen got the ball rolling off a corner kick. Then a short time later, our newly-appointed right back Erin “Come Again” Kreuser, showed her lighting speed and the only way of stopping her was to trip her in the box. Apple calmly stepped up to the penalty marker and slid the ball right past the keeper. Once again “Baby Face” Megna served up yet another sick ball to Apple, giving her back-to-back games of scoring three goals, aka a “hat trick”, while Megna continues to make her record untouchable.

Kenzie “I wear headbands” Gillaspie had probably the goal of the game… from about 25 yards out—fired a shot and hit the bottom of the cross bar and went in. Then, Sammy “Too fast to handle” Vovos jumped over a Cleveland state defender to finish a nicely served ball from Laurel. Our eighth and final goal came from freshman Meghan “Elvi” Elvington, who had an unassisted goal from 15 yards out, the first of her college career.

Youngstown State Sunday – Parent’s Day
After coming off a good game of finishing, we knew the expectations would be just as high on Sunday. We were also honoring our parents and wanted to make them proud. We jumped on YSU early within five minutes Laurel Ragalie started off the scoring from an assist from Megna. We held possession well and found the back of the net again this time Nicole Hirsch giving the assist to Keara Thompson. They had a quick transition goal on us and made the score 2-1, but we responded well and scored within two minutes of their goal. Once again Apple gave us the third goal by following up and getting a rebound and tucking it away. The clock was dwindling down to the last couple minutes of the first half when Sarah Talbert passed the ball to Keara, who then beat a couple of defenders and hit a shot from 20 yards out. Seconds later Megna served a ball just behind the defense; Apple ran on to it and was able to chip the goalie. So we ended the half 5-1.

Youngstown came out a little bit more defensively on us, making it very difficult for us to generate much offense. But, Sammy Vovos was able to give us a little spark after beating a couple of players out wide and serving the ball to Louis Vraney who tucked it away in the corner. We were able to keep them from generating any threatening chances. Coming away with a 6-1 win on parents’ day, now we are looking to prepare for our away game on Friday at Detroit. After that, we come home for Pink Out/Senior Day against Wright State next Sunday.

Hope to see you there!

Week 6: Louise Vraney

The start of the Horizon League is like the start of a new season. While games early in the season certainly do matter, if we lose one it doesn’t have much of a consequence in the next game. In conference play, however, our record decides who hosts the Horizon League Conference Tournament and whoever wins the tournament gets to go on to the NCAA tournament. And starting the first game of the conference was one our biggest foes, Loyola.

We always expect Loyola to come out their hardest when they play us, and it usually takes close to our best play to beat them because they have a desire to win. So we knew it would not be an easy game at all, even though they were missing their star forward (Cynthia M.A.).

Late in the first half, Keara Thompson served a great ball into Sarah Hagen’s head, which she calmly placed in the left corner of the goal. I think that first goal really helped our mentality going into the second half. We knew we had the advantage and we just wanted to get more goals. Which we did! Sarah Talbert had a stellar finish off a cross from Apple as well as a rocket into the lower left corner from 25 or so yards our to tally two goals, and Apple had one more goal as she broke away from the defender that was grabbing her arm to put another one away. I love when Apple gets on those breakaways because short of fouling, there isn’t a whole lot the defense can do to stop her. Lastly was Nicole Sperl’s goal which was a ball she served in, and Kelly McGrath did a great job of getting in the keepers way to let the ball slip through.

The whole game was played in the rain which made the surface slippery and caused a lot of falls, but none of it mattered after the game was done and we had won 5-1. The night continued to be fantastic because the coaches informed us that we had two practices off, which was much needed after a month of combined soccer and school stresses were taking their toll.

On Sunday morning the team did the run for breast cancer, and it was amazing to see so many people out supporting the cause. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and it was a very enjoyable event. Countless people came up to me as I was walking home and told me how much they appreciated the athletic teams doing that--even away from the race site! It was a very humbling, enjoyable experience.

All in all, it was a great way to start off our season and a fantastic weekend!

See you all soon at Butler and Valpo!