October 21, 2010
Patriots set win mark
Gabrielle Povolotsky assisted on two goals in the first half for Secaucus.
Click Here for more photos from Queen of Peace at Secaucus.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
SECAUCUS – For the Patriots, the past few weeks have been as much about survival as winning. With multiple starters out of the lineup due to injury Secaucus has been challenged all season long.
Despite these challenges, they have continued to thrive. The short-handed Patriots blanked Queen of Peace 3-0 to set a school record for wins in a season yesterday at Laurel Park.
“My freshman year we had a really good team. And then after that it’s really been a building year since that,” said senior goalie Kelsey Snedeker, a three-year starter. “We’ve been building up to this. It’s big.”
“That’s excellent,” head coach Gino DePinto said. “It means the soccer program is moving up.”
In particular, Secaucus’ 13-4 record is a testament to its depth and resolve through a seemingly endless string of injuries. No one has been immune to the injury bug as the Patriots have played virtually every game without their full projected starting lineup.
“It’s bad,” said forward Ariana Simon, who missed a couple games earlier in the season. “Everyone has just been going (down) one by one by one.
“In each of the last five games before today, we had people get hurt,” said Snedeker who was also out earlier in the year. “We have a lot of girls stepping up in their place and it’s really nice.”
Despite the absence of starting sweeper Jubeth Buitralgo and defender Gabrielle Vissagio in the back, the Patriots defense helped ensure a quiet day in net for Snedeker. She only needed four saves to earn the shutout, Secaucus’ 11th of the season.
The defense has been working with a thin margin of error as goals have been few and far between for the Patriots for most of the season despite routinely putting up 15 shots per game. After scoring just seven times in the previous five games, yesterday’s hat trick from Simon was a welcome sight for Secaucus.
Simon, a sophomore, scored in the eighth minute giving the Patriots a rare cushion early in the contest.
“It was very big to score finally in the beginning game,” DePinto said. “We usually wait until the last minute to score a goal.”
“It’s so much easier for everyone and it’s a little more relaxed and everyone’s more calm,” added Snedeker.
Simon scored her second goal in the 30th minute when she knocked home a rebound from teammate Gabrielle Povolotsky. In the 77th minute Simon completed the hat trick to give her a team-high 11 goals on the season.
Povolotsky assisted on both first half scores and Gabrielle Fumia also had an assist.
Shawna Garcia made 15 saves in defeat for Queen of Peace (3-8-1).
Sophomore Ariana Simon scored three times for Secaucus.
1st |
2nd
|
Total |
|
| Queen of Peace Golden Griffins (3-8-1) | 0 |
0 |
0 |
| Secaucus Patriots (13-4) | 2 |
1 |
3 |
| S: Ariana Simon (Gabrielle Povolotsky) 8th minute | |||
| S:Simon (Povolotsky) 30th minute | |||
| S: Simon (Gabrielle Fumia) 77th minute | |||
Goalies: Q: Shawna Garcia (15 saves); S: Kelsey Snedeker (4 saves). |
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