October 12, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Injuries hurt Springside soccer in league loss
by TOM UTESCHER

Springside’s Sophia Petrillo with Episcopal Academy’s Tracey Biederstadt, who scored the last two goals for the Churchwomen. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

With most of the athletic events scheduled for last Friday being postponed due to a heavy overnight rainfall, the soccer game between Springside School and visiting Episcopal Academy was just about the only show in town.

Unfortunately for local fans, a spate of injuries meant that the host Lions were at nowhere near full strength for this performance. After the Episcopal Churchwomen took a 2-0 lead in the first half, they pumped in three goals in the first five minutes of the second stanza to take away a 5-0 victory.

Episcopal’s two goalies, senior starter Victoria Pratt and freshman reserve Kristen Robinson, split time in the nets, each recording three saves in the contest. The Churchwomen, who had beaten Baldwin and lost to Penn Charter in their two previous Girls Inter-Ac tilts, got two goals apiece from Alexa Buckley and Tracey Biederstadt as they lifted their league mark to 2-1. Springside came away still looking for its first league win after five Inter-Ac contests, and the Lions’ overall record was 3-7.

The Lions have suffered a series of physical maladies just as they’ve gotten into the thick of the league schedule. On the injured list at the start of Friday’s match were goalie Tori Baggio, defenders Kira Theuer and Katherine Roberts, and midfielder Courtney Caputo. Springside was also missing midfielder Grayce Selig, who was away on a college visit.

Springside senior Nan Weisel played out on the field in the first half and in the goal in the second half following an injury to starting keeper Emily Duffy. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com.

That wasn’t the end of the bad news. Emily Duffy, who moved into the role of starting goaltender, hit the ground clutching her knee with just 30 seconds to go in the first half. When midfielder Nan Weisel changed jerseys and took Duffy’s place in goal, the Lions were, in effect, playing without five of their first-string field players.

“Basically, the backbone of our team wasn’t there,” pointed out Springside coach Gary Stephenson. “We especially miss a player like Kira, not just for her play on the field, but for her vocal presence and her leadership.”

After an early shot by Springside was saved and a corner kick play for the Lions was broken up by the Churchwomen, Episcopal took the initiative. Duffy (six saves) stopped shots by EA’s Ashley Aruffo and Emmaline Imbriglia, but 14 minutes into the game the visitors went ahead when Buckley beat a Springside fullback to get off an open shot at the goal. On a hard outside shot by Buckley 10 minutes later, Duffy got a hand on the ball, but it continued on into the cage.

After Duffy was hurt, Weisel (three saves) finished out the final half-minute of the first period, then was greeted by a flurry of Episcopal shots at the beginning of the second half. Three minutes in, Callye Komlo booted in a loose ball in front of the cage following an EA corner kick, and over the next two minutes back-to-back goals by Biederstadt boosted the Churchwomen to a 5-0 advantage. There would be no more scoring that afternoon.

“We were a little flat at the start of the second half, and those three fast goals for them did us in,” Springside’s Stephenson said. “Our girls were playing hard at the end, as they usually do, but we could’ve used a little more of that earlier. Some of it was just having inexperienced players in there against Episcopal, which I think is a strong side. We have a lot of sophomores and freshmen playing to begin with, and when we have the injuries like we’ve had lately, we become a very young team.”