BELLEVILLE - "Go Pink Night" Friday probably couldn't have finished any better for the Sugar River and Monroe girls soccer teams.
Spending more than a month getting donations to fight cancer locally, coupled with the area youth soccer teams being presented at halftime and a large crowd, the 3-3 tie couldn't have ended any better.
"The cause was great, the sportsmanship was great, and the girls all played a great game," said Sugar River coach John Ziperski.
With the Raiders leading 2-1 with less than six minutes to play, Monroe, decked out in bright green T-shirt jerseys, scored two goals and Sugar River - dressed in bright pink attire - added another in what seemed to be a heightened sense of exuberance throughout the stadium.
"That was really exciting," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said of the game's ending. "It's nice to have something more with the game than just playing soccer. That's what the whole 'Go Pink' was about. Everything we raised will go back to someone in our community. And with this rivalry and what was going on, it really was good that it ended in a tie."
The Cheesemakers got on the board early in the first half as Kylee Ritschard flipped a shot into the net with her left foot. The Raiders' Kaitlyn Schluter countered, scoring with 7 minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the score.
Both teams went into the break even, and when the second half started, the players and fans became more vocal. Just 1:12 into the second half, Monroe was called for a controversial penalty after a Raiders player was seen laying on the ground in the box, despite the pink ball getting sent across midfield.
Sophomore all-state forward Hannah Kernen took the penalty kick and floated it just inside the frame and beyond the reach of backup goalkeeper Gail LaVoie to give Sugar River a 2-1 lead.
"Our starting keeper is injured, so Gail was getting basically her first full game in goal," O'Neill said. "She played really well."
The Cheesemakers had a tough time getting a good shot off against Sugar River's stingy defense. However, as the clock ran to under 6 minutes, Kalyn Kundert followed a weak kick in open land toward the goal. Both the Raiders defender on Kundert, as well as goalie Brittany Harried, went to clear the ball, but Kundert stuck her foot between the others and punched the ball beyond the defenders and into the net with 5:45 left.
"That was a really nice play to keep on following through. She attacked until the very end, which is what we always tell them to do," O'Neill said.
Monroe kept the momentum, and after a corner kick failed to produce action in front of the net, Abbey Schneider sent a left-footed hook shot up and over Harried to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead.
Just as the game looked to be ending in Monroe's favor, Sugar River had a shot at a corner kick with less than three minutes left. As the ball crossed in front of the net, Kernen used her head to lay the perfect strike into the back of the goal to tie the score once again.
"I was really happy to see how we responded after a couple of errors late in the game. I have to give credit to my girls for getting themselves back into the game with three minutes left," Ziperski said. "To walk away with a tie is OK."
The Raiders had one last shot, as the ball again went out of the back line with under 20 seconds remaining. This time, Monroe kept the ball out of the net by blocking a slew of Raiders from heading the ball as time expired.
"We've actually never tied Sugar River," O'Neill said. "Quite a few of these girls have all played together before, so that helps in building this little rivalry."
Monroe next goes on the road to Milton in a conference game on Tuesday. Sugar River will spend this weekend at the DeForest Quad.
Spending more than a month getting donations to fight cancer locally, coupled with the area youth soccer teams being presented at halftime and a large crowd, the 3-3 tie couldn't have ended any better.
"The cause was great, the sportsmanship was great, and the girls all played a great game," said Sugar River coach John Ziperski.
With the Raiders leading 2-1 with less than six minutes to play, Monroe, decked out in bright green T-shirt jerseys, scored two goals and Sugar River - dressed in bright pink attire - added another in what seemed to be a heightened sense of exuberance throughout the stadium.
"That was really exciting," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said of the game's ending. "It's nice to have something more with the game than just playing soccer. That's what the whole 'Go Pink' was about. Everything we raised will go back to someone in our community. And with this rivalry and what was going on, it really was good that it ended in a tie."
The Cheesemakers got on the board early in the first half as Kylee Ritschard flipped a shot into the net with her left foot. The Raiders' Kaitlyn Schluter countered, scoring with 7 minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the score.
Both teams went into the break even, and when the second half started, the players and fans became more vocal. Just 1:12 into the second half, Monroe was called for a controversial penalty after a Raiders player was seen laying on the ground in the box, despite the pink ball getting sent across midfield.
Sophomore all-state forward Hannah Kernen took the penalty kick and floated it just inside the frame and beyond the reach of backup goalkeeper Gail LaVoie to give Sugar River a 2-1 lead.
"Our starting keeper is injured, so Gail was getting basically her first full game in goal," O'Neill said. "She played really well."
The Cheesemakers had a tough time getting a good shot off against Sugar River's stingy defense. However, as the clock ran to under 6 minutes, Kalyn Kundert followed a weak kick in open land toward the goal. Both the Raiders defender on Kundert, as well as goalie Brittany Harried, went to clear the ball, but Kundert stuck her foot between the others and punched the ball beyond the defenders and into the net with 5:45 left.
"That was a really nice play to keep on following through. She attacked until the very end, which is what we always tell them to do," O'Neill said.
Monroe kept the momentum, and after a corner kick failed to produce action in front of the net, Abbey Schneider sent a left-footed hook shot up and over Harried to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead.
Just as the game looked to be ending in Monroe's favor, Sugar River had a shot at a corner kick with less than three minutes left. As the ball crossed in front of the net, Kernen used her head to lay the perfect strike into the back of the goal to tie the score once again.
"I was really happy to see how we responded after a couple of errors late in the game. I have to give credit to my girls for getting themselves back into the game with three minutes left," Ziperski said. "To walk away with a tie is OK."
The Raiders had one last shot, as the ball again went out of the back line with under 20 seconds remaining. This time, Monroe kept the ball out of the net by blocking a slew of Raiders from heading the ball as time expired.
"We've actually never tied Sugar River," O'Neill said. "Quite a few of these girls have all played together before, so that helps in building this little rivalry."
Monroe next goes on the road to Milton in a conference game on Tuesday. Sugar River will spend this weekend at the DeForest Quad.
