Posted Saturday, April 1, 2006, The OG, sports

Despite dropping its fourth straight game, the Uni High varsity girls soccer team came out of Friday night's 3-0 loss to Class AA Centennial with renewed confidence.

“The team played really well tonight,” senior co-captain Annie Fehrenbacher said. “Centennial must have made [a huge number of] shots, but barely anything went past Mandy [junior goalie Mandy Grill]. She was incredible tonight. She seems to be back into the groove that she had last season.”

The Illineks' scoring drought continued as they fell to 0-4 on the season with no goals yet, but their defense kept them in the game, holding Centennial scoreless in the first half.

“Our defense was phenomenal — noticeably better than Tuesday's game against Normal Calvary Baptist,” Fehrenbacher said. “[Juniors] Amelia Breault and Krista Olson were particularly impressive as sweeper and stopper, respectively. We were able to control the box, but we couldn't seem to put anything together when we got over the half. We were still able to get off a few shots, though we didn't have many good open looks. We definitely need to work on more offensive drills.”

Because Centennial has lights on its field, the Chargers opted to play the JV game first (varsity usually plays the first game in soccer). Uni's JV squad also played well, losing 2-0.

“Unfortunately, Colette DeJong and Lillian Soong, both seniors, sustained injuries during the JV game, so we weren't able to utilize them for varsity,” Fehrenbacher said. “Colette, in particular, definitely would have made a big contribution in the varsity game because she has great speed and stamina.”

The varsity was also without the contributions of junior Eleanor Unsworth and seniors Roveiza Irfan and Lucy Schiller.

“So, most players didn't have a sub the entire 80 minutes,” Fehrenbacher noted. “Nonetheless, I
think this game was by far our best showing so far this season.”

The team will visit Urbana High on Tuesday for a 4:15 p.m. match, followed by home games Thursday against Monticello and Friday against Judah Christian. Both home matches will start at 4:30 p.m. Visit the team's home page for a complete 2006 schedule.

— Gargoyle staff