The News Journal
4/2/00
A.I. still team to beat
Belanger's two goals spark Tigers, who haven't lost since '98
by Buddy Hurlock - Staff Reporter
GREENVILLE - The Alexis I. duPont and St. Mark's high school girls soccer teams have built reputations as being the best in the state.
The two certainly fit that bill Saturday night when the No. 1 Tigers were 3-2 winners over the No. 2 Spartans before a home crowd of about 1,300.
A fast-paced and highly skilled contest wasn't decided until eight minutes were left, when A.I. senior Beth Belanger scored on a header off a corner for the second time.
Belanger's game-winner came off a crafty corner kick by fellow Tigers senior Kristin Goldrick. It almost mimicked her first-half goal.
"We prepared for our set plays and corners," said Belanger. "Last year it was our weakness and in our first game [this year] we just weren't connecting. In this game, our set plays made all the difference."
St. Mark's had responded from a lull in the first half, when it fell behind 2-0.
Four minutes into the second half, St. Mark's senior Ashley Dilworth scored on a penalty kick, tying the score 2-2. An A.I. defender was called for a pushing foul in the six-yard penalty area.
But after Dilworth's kick evened the score, it was A.I. that seemed to gain momentum.
"After we scored the penalty kick, A.I. put the pressure on us for a sustained amount of time," said St. Mark's coach Tom DeMatteis.
DeMatteis expressed admiration despite the loss, ST. Mark's first of the season after three wins.
"I feel a whole lot better coming out of this game," DeMatteis said. "Because we competed so much better. The concentration was there and [we had] strong marking."
The Tigers outshot the Spartans 13-10, and A.I. had eight corners to St. Mark's three.
"In the second half, we controlled the ball a lot, but I was always scared of what St. Mark's would do," said Tigers first-year coach Shibaji Chakraborty. "But that's when we started playing like we should. We hadn't been possessing the ball, but we came back well."
St. Mark's started off playing agressively, but the Tigers quickly wrestled away control of the game.
The Tigers would eventually score twice in less than two minutes, with the first goal coming in the game's 12th minute.
Jessica Natalie's near-perfect corner kick found Belanger just in front of the center of the goal, and her simple header put A.I. up 1-0.
Not more than a minute later, Natalie again had the ball about 25 yards away from the goal. After almost losing control, Natalie, a junior defender, spun back to the ball and sent it toward the goal.
It floated into the upper far corner of the net, giving the Tigers a two-goal lead.
St. Mark's looked to be on its heels, but it wasn't ready to gold, and the Spartans became more assertive on offense in the first half's final 15 minutes.
A well-placed ball by St. Mark's sophomore halfback Shannon Bradbury from 20 yards out cut the Tiger's lead to 2-1 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
A.I duPont has won the last four state titles, beating St. Mark's in last year's championship. Raising its record to 2-0 this year, the Tigers are 90-3-4 since the start of the 1995 season.
The Tiger's last loss to a Delaware team came in overtime to Dickinson early in the 1996 season. A.I.'s last loss was in 1998, on the road in North Carolina. It's 1999 team was 19-0-1.
This year, both teams do sport some youth, especially at goalkeeper. St. Mark's freshman Lauren Lewandowski made nine saves, with Erin Tully stopping six for A.I.
The two coaches also got effective play from some other freshmen, such as fullback Joanna O'Donnell for St. Mark's.
A.I. freshman back Danielle Nourie helped pace the Tigers' swarming defense.
"We have a lot of young players this year," said Belanger, last season's player of the year. "And we know we're the defending state champs. At first, Danielle was nervous but she's a key to our defense. She's very strong and I'm happy to be able to play with her."
Both teams were without players ineligble because of academic reasons -- A.I. duPont's Kristin Hanna and Andrea Ahearn, and St. Mark's Renee Brechter.
St. Mark's opened the season with wins over Archmere, Padua, and St. Elizabeth. A.I. started this year by beating Glasgow 11-0.