MONROE - The Cheesemakers' defense didn't put up much of a fight in a 3-0 loss to Monona Grove Tuesday, according to Monroe senior goalkeeper Gail LaVoie.
"It is not fun when people aren't marking up on their girls and they are making runs and getting past us," LaVoie said, after the game. "We didn't have a very good game. We didn't go to the ball. We were intimidated by their speed and their skills."
Monona Grove's Kelly Peiss put the Silver Eagles on the board early in the first half and teammate Shanda Roeming took a pass from Cassie Blazer moments later to quickly make the score 2-0.
"In the first half they were getting to every ball before we were getting to it," Monroe head coach Miriam O'Neill said. "They were making very good runs, distributing the ball well and doing everything right. We were a little bit flat out there in the first half."
LaVoie made a terrific kick save with seven minutes left, but continually had to position the defense to help her out.
"When they get past us, then it's just me. I'm left there to defend this huge goal against the fast girl with the ball," LaVoie said. "We could have done better, but we didn't. It's frustrating, but that's your team. You have to keep them up and keep on encouraging and telling them that they can do it."
Despite LaVoie barking defensive positioning orders, Monona Grove again sent a ball passed Monroe's midfield and defenders, allowing Roeming to score a second time, making it 3-0 with just under five minutes left in the first half.
"At halftime I usually don't yell at them too much because usually they go out there and play their best. But at halftime today I really yelled at them," O'Neill said. "I told them that "I know you can do better and you know you can play better than this. You can play a better game than this.' I was pretty hard on them."
O'Neill said her team came out with a little extra fire in the second half, taking control of the ball more often and setting up several scoring opportunities.
"I think they went out and were determined to show that they can play their game and I think they did that. Unfortunately we were already down three goals, but they did play a much better second half," O'Neill said.
Four times in the second half Monroe had free kick opportunities, all of which came with little fanfare. In all, Monroe took seven shots on goal, most of which were in the second half. Monona Grove took 10 shots.
"We had some good opportunities and were making some good combinations. Unfortunately we just couldn't finish on anything," O'Neill said. "There were some good things happening in the second half, but it was just a little bit too late."
Monroe had some new faces getting to see a lot of action. Injuries and illness forced the Cheesemakers to dropped the junior-varsity program.
"We've had injuries and illness. We have very small numbers, so if we have one person off or one person missing, it changes the game for us. We just need to take one game at a time," O'Neill said, adding that she saw a few players continue to step up their game. "Chrissy Marti had another great game as sweeper and Lily (Priewe) had another great game. (Priewe) was marking up on Cassie Blazer, who is really a great player and usually is Monona Grove's leading scorer."
Monona Grove's Kaitlin Fritsch and Monroe's Briana Beck received yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct with under two minutes to play. The pair were vying for possession of the ball deep in the right corner of the Silver Eagles' defensive half.
With playoffs around the corner, O'Neill and her seniors know that the team must come together more now than ever.
"More hustle, more determination, more talking on the field - we need to know who is going to every ball. We just don't talk enough and communicate to each other," LaVoie said. "But we can do this. Practice (Wednesday) may be a little more difficult than it was on Monday because we have a lot of things to talk about. We have to learn from these mistakes and try to do better next game."
"It is not fun when people aren't marking up on their girls and they are making runs and getting past us," LaVoie said, after the game. "We didn't have a very good game. We didn't go to the ball. We were intimidated by their speed and their skills."
Monona Grove's Kelly Peiss put the Silver Eagles on the board early in the first half and teammate Shanda Roeming took a pass from Cassie Blazer moments later to quickly make the score 2-0.
"In the first half they were getting to every ball before we were getting to it," Monroe head coach Miriam O'Neill said. "They were making very good runs, distributing the ball well and doing everything right. We were a little bit flat out there in the first half."
LaVoie made a terrific kick save with seven minutes left, but continually had to position the defense to help her out.
"When they get past us, then it's just me. I'm left there to defend this huge goal against the fast girl with the ball," LaVoie said. "We could have done better, but we didn't. It's frustrating, but that's your team. You have to keep them up and keep on encouraging and telling them that they can do it."
Despite LaVoie barking defensive positioning orders, Monona Grove again sent a ball passed Monroe's midfield and defenders, allowing Roeming to score a second time, making it 3-0 with just under five minutes left in the first half.
"At halftime I usually don't yell at them too much because usually they go out there and play their best. But at halftime today I really yelled at them," O'Neill said. "I told them that "I know you can do better and you know you can play better than this. You can play a better game than this.' I was pretty hard on them."
O'Neill said her team came out with a little extra fire in the second half, taking control of the ball more often and setting up several scoring opportunities.
"I think they went out and were determined to show that they can play their game and I think they did that. Unfortunately we were already down three goals, but they did play a much better second half," O'Neill said.
Four times in the second half Monroe had free kick opportunities, all of which came with little fanfare. In all, Monroe took seven shots on goal, most of which were in the second half. Monona Grove took 10 shots.
"We had some good opportunities and were making some good combinations. Unfortunately we just couldn't finish on anything," O'Neill said. "There were some good things happening in the second half, but it was just a little bit too late."
Monroe had some new faces getting to see a lot of action. Injuries and illness forced the Cheesemakers to dropped the junior-varsity program.
"We've had injuries and illness. We have very small numbers, so if we have one person off or one person missing, it changes the game for us. We just need to take one game at a time," O'Neill said, adding that she saw a few players continue to step up their game. "Chrissy Marti had another great game as sweeper and Lily (Priewe) had another great game. (Priewe) was marking up on Cassie Blazer, who is really a great player and usually is Monona Grove's leading scorer."
Monona Grove's Kaitlin Fritsch and Monroe's Briana Beck received yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct with under two minutes to play. The pair were vying for possession of the ball deep in the right corner of the Silver Eagles' defensive half.
With playoffs around the corner, O'Neill and her seniors know that the team must come together more now than ever.
"More hustle, more determination, more talking on the field - we need to know who is going to every ball. We just don't talk enough and communicate to each other," LaVoie said. "But we can do this. Practice (Wednesday) may be a little more difficult than it was on Monday because we have a lot of things to talk about. We have to learn from these mistakes and try to do better next game."
