Fontbonne Hall just couldn’t keep its late season momentum going against Christ the King.
The Bonnies have begun playing their best soccer of the season in October, including a win over diocesan power Mary Louis. The defending champion Royals proved to be a different story during a 2–0 defeat in Brooklyn-Queens girls soccer Wednesday afternoon at Juniper Valley Park. Christ the King scored two first-half goals, and that was enough.
“I feel like we could have played a little better,” Bonnies sophomore sweeper Alex McGuire said.
Fontbonne struggled to finish off its offensive chances against a strong Royals defense. Its final pass of an offensive opportunity was usually too long or met by a Royals defender, much to the chagrin of first-year coach Frank Sarrica. Christ the King was able to quell his team’s energy coming off the victory over Mary Louis.
“Coming in here they were a little more pumped up, but somehow they put them to sleep,” he said.
The Bonnies did have a few chances and peppered the net with shots. Kate Oliver passed a ball up to Erika Cristiano. She jumped over charging Christ the King keeper Kimberly Moreira, but was unable to redirect the ball back into the net before watching it roll wide in the 18th minute. In the second half, Brittany Scheriff missed a chance to kick home a loose ball in the box.
“I tried a couple of different tactics,” Sarrica said. “They just didn’t work. They couldn’t finish. It’s disappointing.”
Christ the King, which won the first meeting 4–0, got two first-half goals from star sophomore Medina Mulic. A mistake by the defense, with McGuire on the sideline, gave Mulic enough room to kick home a cross in the 26th minute. Shortly afterwards, Mulic headed in a Francesca Giglio corner kick to make it 2–0.
“The defense made mistakes,” McGuire said.
The margin could have been much worse if not for McGuire in the back. She displayed speed, smarts and toughness. She ran down Christ the King forward Sarah Nolan on numerous occasions to either make a shot more difficult or take it from her completely.
Fontbonne’s 3-1 win over Mary Louis, their opponent in the diocesan semifinals later this month, still has them confident moving forward. The Bonnies would like to get back to the title game for the first time since 2010.
“It shows a big improvement,” McGuire said. “Last year it was a hard game and this year I think we played better.”
