Road trips are hard in sports. Riding buses, sleeping in motels, changed routines. Add in the spring, with the pollen like snow throughout Virginia and it is downright hard to play well against a skilled opponent on their home field. Ireton’s girls struggled in their first two outings of a 4-game road trip, but used strong second half performances to stop Camp Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach 14-5 and St Catherines of Richmond 13-8 during the Easter recess.
The Cardinals labored in the first half against Cape Henry to a 4-4 stalemate. Unforced errors, mental mistakes and an unseasonably warm day took its toll early. It was a different team the second half, however, as Coach Steve Tela’s charges outscored their hosts 10-1 to pull away for the win. Sophomores Ellie Marrin and Eva Irwin paced the Alexandrians in the contest and goalkeeper Maggie Covert enjoyed stronger defensive play in the second period to shut down the home squad.
After a Wednesday visit to William and Mary, a trip to Busch Gardens and a Thursday bus ride to the University of Richmond, the Cardinals rolled into the sports complex of the Saints of St Catherines. Although the Ireton squad steamrolled the Saints in Alexandria last year, the home team came out to grab a 2-0 lead early. After the redbirds tied it at 2, the Saints again raced out to a 4-2 advantage. The Cardinals fought back to take a 5-4 advantage in the halftime, but St Catherine’s promptly tied the game at 5 to open the second half.
Senior Janet Tela’s 4th goal of the contest gave Ireton a momentary 6-5 lead, she would end the contest with a team high 5 tallies, but a Saints goal from a free position tied the score yet again. Time out Ireton. The Cardinals, desparate to win a draw or ground ball in the contest, apparently received the appropriate inspiration during the timeout. Whatever it was, the Cards came out on fire and scored three unanswered goals to take a 10-7 lead with 14:25 to play.
The Saints would not get on the board again until 7:33 remained to pull to within 11-8. Maddy Connor, battling wisdom tooth extractions and pollen, found her touch and the draws started to go Ireton’s way at the critical stage of the game. Sarah Rupp scored at 2:20 to go to give Ireton a 13-8 lead, with Connor winning three of the final 4 critical draws and Ireton controlled the ball to run out the clock.
Sophomore Maddy Ziegler recorded five assists and a goal in the contest, while Maddy Irwin collected 5 ground balls, Katherine Simmons three for the Cardinals. Ireton was outshot in the contest 28-23, but the steady improvement of junior Maggie Covert continues as she recorded 16 saves for Ireton. The Cardinals, 5-4 on the season, head to Charlottesville to face an opponent they have never beaten, St Anne Bellfield at 2pm on Saturday before winding up the road trip Monday at Paul VI for a 6:15pm WCAC matchup.
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