November 3, 2010
Lipyanka stars in loss
Junior Julie Lipyanka made 16 saves for the Blue Devils in defeat.
Click Here for more photos from Kent Place at St. Dominic Academy.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – After facing a barrage of shots and dealing with the constant pressure from the Kent Place offense, you would think St. Dominic Academy goalie Julie Lipyanka would find the relatively stress-free second half a welcome relief. But what may have been a nerve-wracking start for most, was fun for the Blue Devils’ junior.
“I actually like it when there’s a lot of pressure,” said Lipyanka, adding that it can get a bit lonely being there by yourself when the ball is on the other end of the field. “I get to play rather than when the ball is on the side and I’m doing nothing. It’s more fun.”
Lipyanka got a game’s worth of action in the opening half of St. Dominic Academy’s 1-0 loss in yesterday’s NJSIAA Non-Public, North A tournament game. She made 16 saves on the afternoon, 13 of them coming in the first half to keep the match from getting out of hand.
“She never gets fazed by that (pressure),” Blue Devils head coach Colette Lenaghan said. “She’s so experienced back there and so composed. That’s probably the best thing about her. She just gets saves that make you go ‘how did you do that?’ She amazes me with some of the saves she made.”
In the 28th minute the Dragons’ Anna Doherty was robbed of a goal when Lipyanka used her right arm to bat away the ball just as it was about to cross the goal line. Lipyanka would make another big save moments later, stopping Liz Gully’s shot and a potential Kent Place (12-7-2) rebound was shot wide right.
“Julie’s just unbelievable,” Lenaghan said. “She’s just been doing that all season. She’s so solid back there and she’s made so many saves this season.”
The Blue Devils (10-9) faced 10 corner kicks in the first half as the ball was on their side of the field for nearly the entire 40 minutes of play. St. Dominic’s defense was able to clear away many of those corner kick chances without allowing a shot on net.
“I know I have the best defense I can ever ask for,” Lipyanka said. “They get to every ball, they pick me up when I can’t do my job. I pick them up when they can’t do their job. That’s what’s really important.”
After countless opportunities, Kent Place finally broke through in the 38th minute. Freshman Caroline Groce lifted a shot from more than 30 yards out just under the crossbar and beyond the reach of Lipyanka for the game’s lone goal.
“If you keep shooting, eventually a ball will go in for you,” Dragons head coach Phil Wolstenholme said. “We’re kind of used to that. We create a lot of chances, but our problem has been finishing. You only need one (goal), we played very tight defense and 1-0 suits us just fine.”
Down by one, Lenaghan switched over to a more aggressive offensive strategy in the second half. After getting just one shot in the first 40 minutes, the Blue Devils were able to apply some pressure in an evenly-matched second half, but were unable to convert on a game-tying goal.
Liza Kowalik made three saves (all in the second half) to earn the shutout.
As disappointed as Lenaghan was about the early playoff exit, she’s already looking forward to next season as she returns eight starters.
“We’re a young team,” she said. “We had six freshmen who are very talented, some sophomores and a few very experienced juniors. I’m excited about next season already.”
Defender Lexi Mescavage is one of three freshmen starters who will be back in 2011.
1st |
2nd
|
Total |
|
| Kent Place Dragons (12-7-2) | 1 |
0 |
1 |
| St. Dominic Academy Blue Devils (10-9) | 0 |
0 |
0 |
| K: Caroline Groce (unassisted) 38th minute | |||
Goalies: K: Liza Kowalik (3 saves); S: Julie Lipyanka (16 saves). |
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