Posted on 03 November 2014 by wsimmons. Tags: Bishop Ireton tennis, Haley McKeen, Kaila Colley, Mandy Hope, Stephanie Lin
Senior Haley McKeen advanced to the semifinals, along with junior Stephanie Lin, in the 2014 WCAC tennis championships. Finals are Monday, Nov 3rd.
Senior Haley McKeen and junior Stephanie Lin advanced to the WCAC semifinal action on Monday at the Olney Manor Park tennis complex in Olney, Maryland.
McKeen, playing number 3 singles, bested Bishop McNamara’s Kaila Colley while Lin, at number 2 singles, outlasted Paul VI’s Mandy Hope. Â The Ireton senior will face Shayna Brown of St Johns on Monday while Lin draws the Cadets’ top-seeded Milan Graves.
6th seeded Kirsten Parker fell to 3rd seed, Mary Clare Shaffer of O’Connell while the Knights’ Elizabeth Farrell stopped Molly Jeffers in the 4 singles. In the 4 versus 5 seeds, Katherine Tripp of Paul VI topped Emily Owens to advance.
The doubles competition completed two rounds Friday with Ireton’s three squads, Lin/Parker, a three seed, McKeen/Jeffers at three, and Owens/Laney Delaney, a two seed, all ousted by the semi finals.
St Johns and Paul VI advanced the most players into Mondays final day of championship play.
Processing your request, Please wait....
Posted in Game Preview/Recap
Posted on 02 November 2014 by wsimmons. Tags: Bishop Ireton soccer
Bishop Ireton gave eventual 2014 champions, DeMatha, all they could handle for 60 of the game’s 80 minutes, but in the end, it was the defending WCAC champions who prevailed over the 4th-seeded Cardinals 3-0 in Hyattsville on Thursday in the WCAC boys’ Â soccer semifinals.
After a scoreless first half, the clubs continued  a relentless up-and-down pace with the Cardinals equal to the Stags as the game wore on. It was a long blast, perhaps screening Matt Poling, from DeMatha’s Molina that gave the home team a 1-0 advantage.  Another long shot to the upper corner in the 66th minute made it 2-0.
Nick Ducesschi (7 in white) races past a Good Counsel defender. Cardinal captain scored 3 in win over STAB Friday.
Bishop Ireton threw everyone at the Stags in a desperate attempt to get back in the contest and, as is often the case, the pressure in the offensive end leaves the defensive zone more vulnerable. The white-jerseyed hosts capitalized on the opportunity and added a late insurance marker to push the margin to the eventual 3-0 final.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, the disappointment of that setback Thursday was tempered by a chance the next day to advance in the VISAA’s Division I first round of the soccer championships when they played host to St Anne’s Belfield, a 5 versus 12 matchup.
The Cardinals were ready for the Charlottesville visitors and Joey Faddoul and Nick Ducesschi scored in the opening 15 minutes of the contest. Â Ducesschi would score the second of three on the day before the half ended, and Ireton went to intermission up 3-0.
The second act of this play was evenly contested, Ducesschi making a nifty dribble move to deke the goalkeeper on a breakaway enroute to a “layup” for his third score of the day and the Cardinals advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win.
The fifth-seeded redbirds earned a rematch with WCAC rival, 4th seeded Paul VI, Monday at 6:30 pm at Panther Field. The Panthers outlasted Ireton 4-3 in the season’s final regular season contest at Witter Drive field. The game seesawed back and forth during periods of rain before the Panthers scored three straight to pull away. Â Admission to the VISAA quarterfinal is $5/person. Winner advances to Sportsbacker Stadium in Richmond for semifinal action on Wednesday. Â Semifinal and finals are in Richmond and admission is $10 per person.
Processing your request, Please wait....
Posted in Game Preview/Recap
Posted on 02 November 2014 by wsimmons. Tags: Bishop Ireton soccer, Gino Leon, Grace Sklopan
Freshman Grace Sklopan (10) was one a number of young Cardinal soccer players with substantial contributions in the 2014 campaign.
Bishop Ireton’s girls soccer team appeared headed to Germantown and a berth in the WCAC championship until the game unraveled in the contest’s final 5 minutes, falling to Bishop O’Connell 2-1 in Alexandria on Thursday. Â The Knights head to the Maryland SoccerPlex to face perennial powerhouse, Good Counsel.
After a scoreless first half, freshman Grace Sklopan got the Cardinals a lead with her goal in the game’s 43rd minute of play. Â That margin would hold up against relentless pressure by the visiting Knights, victims of a big Ireton second half blitz in 4-1 loss on October 7th. Â This time there would be no second half collapse.
A series of wild, physical plays in front of the Ireton net late in the affair set the stage as an O’Connell shot was initially slowed, but finally, painfully for the home team, trickled across the goal line for the tying marker in the final minutes of regulation. Â Quickly the blue-jerseyed Arlington school was back on the attack, gaining a dangerous corner kick as the time raced away.
A header off a corner kick, those sudden, unpredictable plays in crowd deep the box; they are the plays that put fans on the edge of their seats. Â And this one got fans out of their seats as O’Connell stunned the Cardinals with the game winner in the bat of an eye in the waning moments of the struggle.
With the VISAA sponsoring girls soccer in the spring, unlike the boys in the fall, the 2014 season ended on that sour note for Bishop Ireton (9-6-3) with the setback. Â “Closing out a game, the mental side of soccer, is very hard.” said a despondent head coach, Gino Leon. Â “Against good team, it’s critically important. Â We will have to get better at it, and we will.”
Processing your request, Please wait....
Posted in Game Preview/Recap
