“We’re Goin’ to the Ship”

With just more than three minutes remaining in their IAAM B Conference semifinal match-up, Thursday, and a foul being called in front of the Mount de Sales goal, John Carroll Head Coach Megan Deroba had no question which player she was sending to take the penalty shot.

“There was no doubt that Allison was going to take that shot,” Deroba said.  “Allison has been a true leader for the last two years on our team.  She is one of our captains and practices them all the time in practice, so it was 100 percent Allison.”

Fighting the nerves, nagging rain and knowing that her next shot determined the Patriots’ entire 2010 season, Allison Siegel cranked a shot into the lower-left corner of the goal before being mobbed by her teammates for scoring the 3-2 overtime winner.

“I play club ball, so I have taken 1,001 penalty shots,” Siegel laughed.  “All I knew was I needed to place the ball in a low corner and place it fast.  I just knew I needed to do what I have done in practice every single day this season.”

The plastic ball slamming against the damp wood was a sound the John Carroll (14-2) offense had all but forgot, having not scored a goal in nearly 52 minutes since their two-goal lead in the first half.

Jumping out to their first two goals, the Patriots were on the board in the first 12 minutes of the game when Sarah Dennison swept a ball past the Sailor goalie for a 1-0 lead, and teammate Siegel came in three minutes later with a goal-rattling shot to extend the John Carroll lead to 2-0.

“The two goals in the first half were just about connections on passing,” Siegel explained.  “We were really adamant on getting our sticks down and making sure that we got to each other.  We made sure we dodged and got around the girls instead of going through them.”

But the Sailors came out a different team in the second half, and, holding the Pats scoreless in the final 15 minutes of the first half, kept their foes scoreless on the second half while adding two goals of their own to tie the game, 2-2.

Not 10 minutes into the second half, the Sailors’ Kayley Jones took a pass from Abbie Tucker on a corner play and ricocheted it off the Patriot goalie for Mount de Sales’ first score.

Less than a minute later, it was Tucker again who would assist, this time to Amanda Ignacio to finish a two-on-one, bringing the Sailors to a 2-2 tie with the Patriots.

“They decided as a group that they wanted to come out in the second half and support each other, talk more and play as a team,” Sailors’ head coach Mary Gentner said.  “They played with heart and hustle, and they are just an amazing team.”

“I think Mount de Sales came out on fire,” Deroba said.  “We were put back on our heels a little bit, and they were able to take advantage of that opportunity.  But, luckily, [we] were able to come together and hold strong till the end.”

Mount de Sales ended their 2010 season 10-6-3, a season that Gentner is quite pleased with.

“A couple of the losses that we had were close,” Gentner explained.  “We have had good ties and a great game against [Seteon] Keough coming in, shutting them down 2-0.  They are just a great group of girls.  I thought for sure this was the year we were going to the championships.

“I thought they played phenomenal.  It all comes down to one shot and it is a hard one for a senior goalie to go out on.  She is a phenomenal, phenomenal goalie.”

The John Carroll win marks the second time the Patriots have declared victory over the Sailors, beating them by a one-point margin Oct. 19, but the Pats still have one more to go.

In just her second season with John Carroll, Deroba is taking the Patriots to the IAAM B Conference Championship, facing top-seeded Glenelg Country School.

“We just have to focus on the basics,” Deroba said.  “All these teams are very challenging for us, so paying attention to the little details of passing accurately and making sure that defensively you are on your mark.

Glenelg Country won the previous meeting between the two teams, 4-1.

“We are going to have practice tomorrow and practice Saturday,” Siegel said.  “We are going to work on our control within the circle; make sure we are connecting and to make sure that we are talking a lot.”