Newark Post
4/28/00
Yellowjackets no match for Tigers
by Marshal Manlove - Sports Editor
Greenville, DE - The seventh ranked girls soccer team from Newark was no match for the defending state champion A.I. duPont Tigers. The Tiger's handled the Yellowjackest easily in a 4-0 win.
The Tigers started the game without three key players; Tracey Withrow, Andrea Ahearn, and Kristen Hanna. They also finished the game without 1999 player of the year Beth Belanger.
Newark (7-1) forgot to bring their offense to this Flight A game. They played on the Tiger's side of the field for less than ten minutes of the 80 minute game.
Newark directed two weak shots towards the Tiger's net, but the goalies weren't credited with any saves for A.I.
Belanger was credited with a goal on an assist from Junior Katie Mazzio. Her shot deflected off of a Newark defender for the goal.
Mazzio, who might actually be the best player on this team, dribbled and passed the ball at will through the Newark defense al evening long. She scored two goals of her own, one in the first half, and one in second.
A.I. peppered Yellowjacket goalie Alexis Bastien all evening. Bastien single-handedly kept Newark in the game with 14 saves on 25 Tiger shots.
The Tigers (7-0) could have easily scored 12 times in this game if it weren't for four empty-net misses and a few superb saves by Bastien.
But the key moment of this game came late in the first half when Belanger and Bastien collided in front of the Jacket goal. Bastien dove on a loose ball and also landed on Belanger's shin, causing compound fractures in two bones in her leg.
Belanger crumbled instantaneously and her scream of pain could be heard in the stands. Tiger trainer Nelson Min immediately dialed for an ambulance when he reached the fallen star. Some who came to Belanger's aid couldn't bear to see the injury.
Tiger head coach Shibaji Chakraborty said, "I did not see how she got hurt, but some of the players thought they heard something snap. Obviously it could be a serious injury."
Belanger had surgery on the leg the following day at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. She will miss the balance of the season and is out for a total of four months.
Still hope left
The Yellowjackets are a young team with only a handful of seniors. Despite the loss, they can take some comfort in knowing that only St. Mark's has played the Tigers any closer as far as a game score is concerned. The Tigers have scored over 10 goals in a game three times so far this year.
With a solid finish of their regular season schedule, the Jackets should be one of the top eight seeds in the state tournament which begins in just a few weeks.