Program Notes for the Week of 7/23/2012:
Strongsville Showcase Wrap-up:
Another hot weekend of soccer in Strongsville! Our Varsity team did well against a difficult schedule and went 1-2-2 on the weekend and were competitive in every game. Still a lot of things to work on, but the girls got off to a good start. The JV team went 3-1-1 and the Freshman team was strong also. The girls have this week off and then it is back to conditioning on the week of the 30th and then the following week it will be tryouts with the start of the season not far behind.
Continental Cup:
We had 3 girls from our Shoregals play in the Continental Cup a few weeks back. Clare Adams, Sarah Nasr, and Rada Zunich played as a part of the Cleveland United U15 team. Their team played an age group up and went on to win the U16 age bracket by beating four teams from Canada and one from Puerto Rico. In the semi-final game, which went to penalty kicks, Sarah Nasr scored the tying penalty kick to help her team to victory. United then went on to win the finals game by a score of 2-0 over St. Catherines, Ontario. For the weekend, the United team gave up only 1 goal in 6 games.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature Megan (Ryan) Lamb:
Meg Ryan was one of the greatest athletes to ever wear a Shoregals uniform. She was a 3 sport player who earned 12 letters in her HS days. In soccer, Meg was a 4 year Varsity player whose career spanned the years from 1996-1999. She is the Shoregal career leader in goals scored (59), assists (49), and points (167). She also holds the record for most assists in a season with 19 and most points with 69. Consider her stats from her sophomore season of 1997 - 25 goals and 19 assists for a total of 69 points - Wow! Of course, she picked up many honors along the way including All Greater Cleveland 1st team- soph. junior, & senior years. All Lorain County 1st team - soph. junior & senior years. Team MVP - soph, junior, & senior years and All-Ohio 3rd team her senior year.
As good as a soccer player that she was, she may have been even a better basketball player. She was a four year Varsity player with the Shoregals who scored over 1,000 points in her career and was on two conference championship teams. She racked up many honors in basketball also including SWC 1st team - soph, junior, & senior years. All Lorain County 1st team - soph. junior & senior years. Team MVP - soph, junior, & senior years. Topping it off with Honorable Mention All-Ohio - soph. junior, & senior years.
In the Spring, she also ran Varsity track for all 4 years. Her Senior year, she was named as the ALHS Outstanding Female Athlete and it is pretty easy to understand why. She set a high standard for future Shoregals to try and match.
Shorty Sez:
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard".
This phrase has been quoted by many people including most recently Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder & the USA Olympic team. Herb Brooks, coach of the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 US Olympic hockey team has used this quote. Tim Tebow has also used this quote. It is a good one and kind of fits our team this year.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
News for the Week of July 16, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 7/16/2012:
Weekly Schedule:
This is a coaches contact week and the schedule will look as follows:
Two a day practices on Mon., Tues., Weds. 716 - 7/18
7:30 - 9:00 am - Fitness training at Troy
3:30 - 5:00 p.m. - Skills practice at Troy
On Saturday 7/21 & Sun. 7/22 we will have 3 teams entered in the Strongsville Showcase. Schedules have been sent out by e-mail and may also be viewed at:
http://www.anss.us/teams/girlsschedule/
Alumni Game & Picnic:
Fun time at the Alumni game on Saturday for those who were able to attend. We had 18 alumni come out and they had the most fun, of course, as they prevailed 4-1 over the Shoregals. Alumni goals were scored by Ali Kenny, Jamie Bush, & Danielle Liszka. The Alumni have a number of All-Ohio players on their side and a bunch of other really good athletes, so they are always going to be competitive for the foreseeable future. Just wait to next year old timers!!
The Alumni squad was made up of the following:
Sarah Lyons - Class of 2007
Alana Bilancini - Class of 2008
Jamie Bush - Class of 2008
Nicole Haas - Class of 2008
Bri Kenny - Class of 2008
Sammy Stuart - Class of 2008
Ali Kenny - Class of 2010
Tani Lopez - Class of 2010
Bridget Lyons - Class of 2010
Mary Donegan - Class of 2011
Sarah Hudson - Class of 2011
Morgan Srail - Class of 2011
Paige Glasser - Class of 2012
Danielle Liszka - Class of 2012
Annie Lyons - Class of 2012
Lindsay Quintero - Class of 2012
Dana Strimbu - Class of 2012
Jillian Strimbu - Class of 2012
Also Maddie Bernard '11 came over to visit. A big thank you goes to Dawn Corrigan who was my main assistant for the event.
Shorty Sez:
“The Vision of a Champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, and at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching.”
-- Anson Dorrance, Head Women's Soccer Coach, University of North Carolina
Weekly Schedule:
This is a coaches contact week and the schedule will look as follows:
Two a day practices on Mon., Tues., Weds. 716 - 7/18
7:30 - 9:00 am - Fitness training at Troy
3:30 - 5:00 p.m. - Skills practice at Troy
On Saturday 7/21 & Sun. 7/22 we will have 3 teams entered in the Strongsville Showcase. Schedules have been sent out by e-mail and may also be viewed at:
http://www.anss.us/teams/girlsschedule/
Alumni Game & Picnic:
Fun time at the Alumni game on Saturday for those who were able to attend. We had 18 alumni come out and they had the most fun, of course, as they prevailed 4-1 over the Shoregals. Alumni goals were scored by Ali Kenny, Jamie Bush, & Danielle Liszka. The Alumni have a number of All-Ohio players on their side and a bunch of other really good athletes, so they are always going to be competitive for the foreseeable future. Just wait to next year old timers!!
The Alumni squad was made up of the following:
Sarah Lyons - Class of 2007
Alana Bilancini - Class of 2008
Jamie Bush - Class of 2008
Nicole Haas - Class of 2008
Bri Kenny - Class of 2008
Sammy Stuart - Class of 2008
Ali Kenny - Class of 2010
Tani Lopez - Class of 2010
Bridget Lyons - Class of 2010
Mary Donegan - Class of 2011
Sarah Hudson - Class of 2011
Morgan Srail - Class of 2011
Paige Glasser - Class of 2012
Danielle Liszka - Class of 2012
Annie Lyons - Class of 2012
Lindsay Quintero - Class of 2012
Dana Strimbu - Class of 2012
Jillian Strimbu - Class of 2012
Also Maddie Bernard '11 came over to visit. A big thank you goes to Dawn Corrigan who was my main assistant for the event.
Shorty Sez:
“The Vision of a Champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, and at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching.”
-- Anson Dorrance, Head Women's Soccer Coach, University of North Carolina
Monday, July 9, 2012
News for the Week of July 9, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 7/9/2012:
Shorepal Meeting:
Mark your calendars - the next Shorepal meeting will be held on Tuesday July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Firehouse at the corner of Lake Rd. and Rt.83. We will be making our final plans for the Alumni game and reviewing the rest of the summer's events. Hope to see you there!
Alumni Game:
The annual Alumni Game & Picnic will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 p.m. with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game and have them rsvp with shirt size to sixkennys@oh.rr.com.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 Regional Semi-final game:
The Shoregals first trip to the Regional tournament would, of course, be one of the biggest games in program history. This game would pit the Shoregals against Toledo powerhouse St. Ursula Academy. This would be another emotionally charged game as the death of Gino Strippoli hung over the team. As we wrote about in a previous installment longtime youth coach, referee, and administrator Gino Strippoli had died of an heart attack during the District championship game the previous Saturday. His funeral and burial was held on the day of the game and the girls team was excused from classes to attend the funeral. An event of this magnitude for teenage girls definitely affected their focus on the game and created a strange vibe on the day. On the lighter side, the athletic dept. provided a charter bus for them to ride to the game which took place in Ashland. This was a surprise to the girls and quite a change from the normal yellow school bus.
As to the game itself, as we have written about previously, Avon Lake was a decided underdog in this game as it had been all through the playoffs. The team had finished the season with a .500 record and had started the season 0-4. But the team had gotten hot in the playoffs and won all four of its games by shutting out its opponent in each game. Not one goal given up in the playoffs and this was done with a Freshman goalie in Bridget Lyons. In the first half, the game was very evenly matched as the Shoregals were competitive with heavily favored St. Ursula. About midway through the first half, a St. Ursula player found some open space on the right side of the Avon Lake defense about 30 yards out from goal and sent a rocket towards the AL goal which just grazed off the hands of Lyons and into the back of the net. St. Ursula carried that 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Shoregals came out with a purpose. Head coach Caleb Reutter made some adjustments at half time to turn the Shoregals into a more attacking offensive style. The girls really started to take the game to St. Ursula and created a number of great scoring opportunities, but just could not get the finish that they needed and fell by the 1-0 score. This was a game that they definitely could have won and maybe if the emotional events of the day had been different a more focused team would have been on the field that day. Still a great season for the girls as they ended up 10-7-3 and gave up only that one long goal during the playoffs. The game ended on a down note as with just a few minutes remaining a St. Ursula player hit our Chrissy Ward so hard after a play that it knocked her out of bounds and gave her a concussion. She literally flew through the air and landed on her head and neck. The game had to be stopped for about 20 mins. as an ambulance came to take Chrissy to the hospital. She ended up with both the concession and a neck brace. A rough initiation for the Shoregals to the world of Regional play, but we would love to get back there again and this time win that game!
Shorepal Meeting:
Mark your calendars - the next Shorepal meeting will be held on Tuesday July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Firehouse at the corner of Lake Rd. and Rt.83. We will be making our final plans for the Alumni game and reviewing the rest of the summer's events. Hope to see you there!
Alumni Game:
The annual Alumni Game & Picnic will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 p.m. with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game and have them rsvp with shirt size to sixkennys@oh.rr.com.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 Regional Semi-final game:
The Shoregals first trip to the Regional tournament would, of course, be one of the biggest games in program history. This game would pit the Shoregals against Toledo powerhouse St. Ursula Academy. This would be another emotionally charged game as the death of Gino Strippoli hung over the team. As we wrote about in a previous installment longtime youth coach, referee, and administrator Gino Strippoli had died of an heart attack during the District championship game the previous Saturday. His funeral and burial was held on the day of the game and the girls team was excused from classes to attend the funeral. An event of this magnitude for teenage girls definitely affected their focus on the game and created a strange vibe on the day. On the lighter side, the athletic dept. provided a charter bus for them to ride to the game which took place in Ashland. This was a surprise to the girls and quite a change from the normal yellow school bus.
As to the game itself, as we have written about previously, Avon Lake was a decided underdog in this game as it had been all through the playoffs. The team had finished the season with a .500 record and had started the season 0-4. But the team had gotten hot in the playoffs and won all four of its games by shutting out its opponent in each game. Not one goal given up in the playoffs and this was done with a Freshman goalie in Bridget Lyons. In the first half, the game was very evenly matched as the Shoregals were competitive with heavily favored St. Ursula. About midway through the first half, a St. Ursula player found some open space on the right side of the Avon Lake defense about 30 yards out from goal and sent a rocket towards the AL goal which just grazed off the hands of Lyons and into the back of the net. St. Ursula carried that 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Shoregals came out with a purpose. Head coach Caleb Reutter made some adjustments at half time to turn the Shoregals into a more attacking offensive style. The girls really started to take the game to St. Ursula and created a number of great scoring opportunities, but just could not get the finish that they needed and fell by the 1-0 score. This was a game that they definitely could have won and maybe if the emotional events of the day had been different a more focused team would have been on the field that day. Still a great season for the girls as they ended up 10-7-3 and gave up only that one long goal during the playoffs. The game ended on a down note as with just a few minutes remaining a St. Ursula player hit our Chrissy Ward so hard after a play that it knocked her out of bounds and gave her a concussion. She literally flew through the air and landed on her head and neck. The game had to be stopped for about 20 mins. as an ambulance came to take Chrissy to the hospital. She ended up with both the concession and a neck brace. A rough initiation for the Shoregals to the world of Regional play, but we would love to get back there again and this time win that game!
Monday, June 25, 2012
News for the Week of June 25, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/25/2012:
Shorepal Meeting:
Mark your calendars - the next Shorepal meeting will be held on Tuesday July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Firehouse at the corner of Lake Rd. and Rt.83. We will be making our final plans for the Alumni game and reviewing the rest of the summer's events. Hope to see you there!
Alumni Game:
The annual Alumni Game & Picnic will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 p.m. with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game and have them rsvp with shirt size to sixkennys@oh.rr.com.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature Jeannie (Stuckey) Lewis:
If one player could be chosen as the greatest in Shoregal history, then a compelling case could be made for Jeannie Stuckey, class of 2001, based on her total body of work. Jeannie only played two years with Avon Lake High School as her family moved to Ohio from Gainesville, Fla. for her junior and senior years. She was already a star player in the Gainesville area and was Player of the Year her sophomore season at Eastside HS. She scored an incredible 68 goals and contributed 49 assists her freshman and sophomore years at Eastside. She continued as a high level player at ALHS and scored a total of 41 goals and rang up 21 assists. If you do the math, her career totals were 109 goals and 70 assists. Truly remarkable numbers! Her goal total ranks her 20th all time in the State of Ohio and her assist total ranks her 4th all time! She was the first Shoregal named as MVP of the Southwestern Conference and was 2nd team All-Ohio both in 2000. The Shoregals reached the District championship game in both of her seasons. She also was a part of two of the highest scoring teams in Shoregal history and formed a deadly scoring combination with Meg Ryan in 1999 and Kelsey King in 2000. Jeannie still holds the Shoregal record for most goals in a season with 26.
After high school, Jeannie went on to star at the Unviersity of Akron. She was part of the first Varsity team in school history in 2001 and helped to establish the women's program at Akron. She is still the program's all time leader in points, goals, game winning goals, and assists. She is at the top of practically every offensive category where stats are kept. Just a magnificent career and she remains a big fan of the current Shoregals.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week we are going to present some links from the Women's Sports Foundation that deal with girls dropping out of sports around the time that they enter high school. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Title IX legislation which opened up sports participation to girls on a broader basis. Now it seems that girls are actually participating less frequently in sports and the WSF has some tips on what you can do to keep your daughters involved. See the links below at:
http://bit.ly/LjFM02
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/
Euro 2012:
There will be some great soccer on TV this week as the Euro 2012 tournament is down to 4 teams. On Wednesday 6/27 it will be Portugal vs. Spain and on Thursday 6/28 it will be Germany vs. Italy. On Sunday July 1st, the championship game will be played. All games are on ESPN and will start at 2:45 p.m. Should be great soccer!
Shorepal Meeting:
Mark your calendars - the next Shorepal meeting will be held on Tuesday July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Firehouse at the corner of Lake Rd. and Rt.83. We will be making our final plans for the Alumni game and reviewing the rest of the summer's events. Hope to see you there!
Alumni Game:
The annual Alumni Game & Picnic will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 p.m. with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game and have them rsvp with shirt size to sixkennys@oh.rr.com.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature Jeannie (Stuckey) Lewis:
If one player could be chosen as the greatest in Shoregal history, then a compelling case could be made for Jeannie Stuckey, class of 2001, based on her total body of work. Jeannie only played two years with Avon Lake High School as her family moved to Ohio from Gainesville, Fla. for her junior and senior years. She was already a star player in the Gainesville area and was Player of the Year her sophomore season at Eastside HS. She scored an incredible 68 goals and contributed 49 assists her freshman and sophomore years at Eastside. She continued as a high level player at ALHS and scored a total of 41 goals and rang up 21 assists. If you do the math, her career totals were 109 goals and 70 assists. Truly remarkable numbers! Her goal total ranks her 20th all time in the State of Ohio and her assist total ranks her 4th all time! She was the first Shoregal named as MVP of the Southwestern Conference and was 2nd team All-Ohio both in 2000. The Shoregals reached the District championship game in both of her seasons. She also was a part of two of the highest scoring teams in Shoregal history and formed a deadly scoring combination with Meg Ryan in 1999 and Kelsey King in 2000. Jeannie still holds the Shoregal record for most goals in a season with 26.
After high school, Jeannie went on to star at the Unviersity of Akron. She was part of the first Varsity team in school history in 2001 and helped to establish the women's program at Akron. She is still the program's all time leader in points, goals, game winning goals, and assists. She is at the top of practically every offensive category where stats are kept. Just a magnificent career and she remains a big fan of the current Shoregals.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week we are going to present some links from the Women's Sports Foundation that deal with girls dropping out of sports around the time that they enter high school. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Title IX legislation which opened up sports participation to girls on a broader basis. Now it seems that girls are actually participating less frequently in sports and the WSF has some tips on what you can do to keep your daughters involved. See the links below at:
http://bit.ly/LjFM02
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/
Euro 2012:
There will be some great soccer on TV this week as the Euro 2012 tournament is down to 4 teams. On Wednesday 6/27 it will be Portugal vs. Spain and on Thursday 6/28 it will be Germany vs. Italy. On Sunday July 1st, the championship game will be played. All games are on ESPN and will start at 2:45 p.m. Should be great soccer!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
News for the Week of June 18, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/18/2012:
Father's Day Weekend:
I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with fundraising events over the past weekend. Special thanks go to our Duct Tape festival coordinator Ann Stonecipher, our site coordinators for the Father's Day Tournament - Ken & Suzanne Krause and Paul & Amy Kress. We want to thank our purchasing team of Jill Werling Quinn & Leoma Berroteran. Also, thanks to Jill for letting us use her garage as our HQ. We can't forget Anita & Megan Braye for taking care of our ice requirements. That is a huge help and cost savings for us. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who worked at the various venues during the weekend. We had a number of parents who worked two shifts and that really helped us make the weekend.
Alumni Game:
With Father's Day behind us, it is now time to turn our attention to the annual Alumni Game & Picnic. This year's game will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game.
Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League Scholarship Winner:
We are thrilled to report that senior Annie Lyons was the recipient of a NOGSL scholarship in the amount of $2,000. The scholarship is based on academics, activities, community service, leadership, and an essay on the subject of your most memorable moment playing in the NOGSL. This makes two consecutive years we have had Shoregals receive this scholarship as Annie joins Maddie Bernard from last year. Congrats to Annie!!
Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship:
This scholarship honors the memory of long time Avon Lake coach, referee, and volunteer Gino Strippoli who died while refereeing a game in 2006. Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually to deserving high school seniors who exemplify the spirit of Gino's dedication to soccer and community.
This year's female recipient was Jocey Spitz of ALHS. Congrats to Jocey!!
Past recipients are as follows:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stuart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Concussion Testing:
We are all becoming aware of the dangers of concussions in contact sports such as soccer. With that in mind, ALHS is becoming proactive in this area and will be administering two different concussion tests to our soccer athletes this year. The first one known as the C3 test will take place this Thursday 6/21 at the high school in the gym area. All should be there for this testing as it provides the baseline for future comparisons, if needed, in case of a concussion. This is new this year for soccer players and it is important, so make every effort to be there.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
With all the hectic activity of the Father's Day weekend, we will take a break this week. But, we will be back next week with some more great memories from the first 20 years of Shoregal soccer!
Father's Day Weekend:
I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with fundraising events over the past weekend. Special thanks go to our Duct Tape festival coordinator Ann Stonecipher, our site coordinators for the Father's Day Tournament - Ken & Suzanne Krause and Paul & Amy Kress. We want to thank our purchasing team of Jill Werling Quinn & Leoma Berroteran. Also, thanks to Jill for letting us use her garage as our HQ. We can't forget Anita & Megan Braye for taking care of our ice requirements. That is a huge help and cost savings for us. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who worked at the various venues during the weekend. We had a number of parents who worked two shifts and that really helped us make the weekend.
Alumni Game:
With Father's Day behind us, it is now time to turn our attention to the annual Alumni Game & Picnic. This year's game will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game.
Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League Scholarship Winner:
We are thrilled to report that senior Annie Lyons was the recipient of a NOGSL scholarship in the amount of $2,000. The scholarship is based on academics, activities, community service, leadership, and an essay on the subject of your most memorable moment playing in the NOGSL. This makes two consecutive years we have had Shoregals receive this scholarship as Annie joins Maddie Bernard from last year. Congrats to Annie!!
Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship:
This scholarship honors the memory of long time Avon Lake coach, referee, and volunteer Gino Strippoli who died while refereeing a game in 2006. Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually to deserving high school seniors who exemplify the spirit of Gino's dedication to soccer and community.
This year's female recipient was Jocey Spitz of ALHS. Congrats to Jocey!!
Past recipients are as follows:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stuart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Concussion Testing:
We are all becoming aware of the dangers of concussions in contact sports such as soccer. With that in mind, ALHS is becoming proactive in this area and will be administering two different concussion tests to our soccer athletes this year. The first one known as the C3 test will take place this Thursday 6/21 at the high school in the gym area. All should be there for this testing as it provides the baseline for future comparisons, if needed, in case of a concussion. This is new this year for soccer players and it is important, so make every effort to be there.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
With all the hectic activity of the Father's Day weekend, we will take a break this week. But, we will be back next week with some more great memories from the first 20 years of Shoregal soccer!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
News for the Week of June 11, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/11/2012:
Coaches Contact Days:
Just a reminder that a series of four coaches contact days will be held this week on Mon. thru Thurs. It will be a combination of fitness training along with defensive and offensive skills training. The sessions will be held at Troy at 7:00 a.m. and will last to approx. 8:30 a.m.
New Varsity Assistant Coach Named:
We have some good news to report as we would like to announce a new assistant coach for the Varsity. His name is Todd Kauffman and he is a 2005 graduate of ALHS where he played Varsity soccer all 4 years for the boys team. His senior year he was named to the first team All_SWC along with being named numerous times to All County teams and All Greater Cleveland teams throughout his career. He also lettered in Cross Country and Track for 3 years and was an impressive all around athlete. After high school, he attended Ohio University where he graduated in 2010 with degrees in communication and video production. He is currently an employee with Avon Lake City Schools. Please join me in welcoming Todd to the girls program!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 District championship game:
It is hard to pick out one game as the greatest game in program history, but this game would probably fit that bill. Not only for the importance of the game, but for all the events and emotions that surrounded the game. There were many levels to this game and its effects were felt for years afterward.
The game was played on Saturday afternoon 10/28/06 against a powerful Magnificat team in which the Shoregals were a decided underdog. In fact, it was noticed that the Magnificat parents had a brought a "Congratulations District Champions" cake into the stadium before the game started - that's how sure they felt about this game. No one was picking Avon Lake to win this game as the Shoregals came into the playoffs with a very average record of 6-6-3 and had started the season 0-4. But during the playoffs, the Shoregals got hot and won their first three playoff games all by shutout to reach the District championship game.
The game was originally scheduled to be a home game for the Shoregals, but the night before the Shoremen football game was played in a driving rainstorm in old Memorial Stadium which featured a grass field. The football game rendered the field unplayable for the District game and it was moved to Rocky River which had an all weather turf field. This game ended up being used for years as one of the main justifications for installing the turf field that is in existence today in Memorial Stadium.
As for the game itself, the Shoregals and Magnificat battled to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of regulation time. Avon Lake really had the better scoring opportunities throughout the game as they had 5 solid chances where the Mags goalie was out of position, but failed to put it in the back of the net. Adding to the drama were adverse weather conditions. A typical fall day in northern Ohio where every season was represented. It was a cold day and was raining during many parts of the game. The rain at one point turned to sleet and frozen pellets mixed in with some snow. Then during the second half, the skies cleared and the sun actually came out, but by the end of the game the snow had come back. While the action was taking place on the field, there was also drama in the stands. Word had circulated through the stands that Gino Strippoli a long time coach, referee, and board member of the Avon Lake Soccer Organization had been rushed to the hospital with a heart attack while reffing a game in Lodi.
Back on the field, the girls has finished regulation time in a 0-0 tie which meant that two 5 minute overtime periods would be played with the team that scored first the winner. Through the first overtime period, neither team was able to score. Meanwhile, up in the stands the incredibly tragic news came that Gino had died from the heart attack. A very weird vibe swept through the stands as the sadness of hearing about Gino was mixed with the intense rooting for the girls to win this game. Then it happened - the Shoregals were awarded a corner kick which was taken by Sammy Harris who drove the ball into the middle of the box and a leaping Kimmy Ward, who was a defender that was moved up for the corner kick, headed the ball in for the winning goal and the Shoregals first District championship! Just an amazing victory for a huge underdog team which was given no chance of winning. However, the joy was muted by the knowledge that the girls would be told about the news of Gino within the next few minutes.
There will probably never be a game quite like this again which will end in a bittersweet moment where the elation of winning our first District championship is tempered by the death of a man who personally coached many of the girls on the field that day and would have been so proud of them in their victory, but never got the chance to tell them.
The Shoregals were coached this season by Caleb Reutter who was in the third year of a 4 yr. coaching stint in which he coached the girls to 40 victories and still their only District championship.
Coaches Contact Days:
Just a reminder that a series of four coaches contact days will be held this week on Mon. thru Thurs. It will be a combination of fitness training along with defensive and offensive skills training. The sessions will be held at Troy at 7:00 a.m. and will last to approx. 8:30 a.m.
New Varsity Assistant Coach Named:
We have some good news to report as we would like to announce a new assistant coach for the Varsity. His name is Todd Kauffman and he is a 2005 graduate of ALHS where he played Varsity soccer all 4 years for the boys team. His senior year he was named to the first team All_SWC along with being named numerous times to All County teams and All Greater Cleveland teams throughout his career. He also lettered in Cross Country and Track for 3 years and was an impressive all around athlete. After high school, he attended Ohio University where he graduated in 2010 with degrees in communication and video production. He is currently an employee with Avon Lake City Schools. Please join me in welcoming Todd to the girls program!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 District championship game:
It is hard to pick out one game as the greatest game in program history, but this game would probably fit that bill. Not only for the importance of the game, but for all the events and emotions that surrounded the game. There were many levels to this game and its effects were felt for years afterward.
The game was played on Saturday afternoon 10/28/06 against a powerful Magnificat team in which the Shoregals were a decided underdog. In fact, it was noticed that the Magnificat parents had a brought a "Congratulations District Champions" cake into the stadium before the game started - that's how sure they felt about this game. No one was picking Avon Lake to win this game as the Shoregals came into the playoffs with a very average record of 6-6-3 and had started the season 0-4. But during the playoffs, the Shoregals got hot and won their first three playoff games all by shutout to reach the District championship game.
The game was originally scheduled to be a home game for the Shoregals, but the night before the Shoremen football game was played in a driving rainstorm in old Memorial Stadium which featured a grass field. The football game rendered the field unplayable for the District game and it was moved to Rocky River which had an all weather turf field. This game ended up being used for years as one of the main justifications for installing the turf field that is in existence today in Memorial Stadium.
As for the game itself, the Shoregals and Magnificat battled to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of regulation time. Avon Lake really had the better scoring opportunities throughout the game as they had 5 solid chances where the Mags goalie was out of position, but failed to put it in the back of the net. Adding to the drama were adverse weather conditions. A typical fall day in northern Ohio where every season was represented. It was a cold day and was raining during many parts of the game. The rain at one point turned to sleet and frozen pellets mixed in with some snow. Then during the second half, the skies cleared and the sun actually came out, but by the end of the game the snow had come back. While the action was taking place on the field, there was also drama in the stands. Word had circulated through the stands that Gino Strippoli a long time coach, referee, and board member of the Avon Lake Soccer Organization had been rushed to the hospital with a heart attack while reffing a game in Lodi.
Back on the field, the girls has finished regulation time in a 0-0 tie which meant that two 5 minute overtime periods would be played with the team that scored first the winner. Through the first overtime period, neither team was able to score. Meanwhile, up in the stands the incredibly tragic news came that Gino had died from the heart attack. A very weird vibe swept through the stands as the sadness of hearing about Gino was mixed with the intense rooting for the girls to win this game. Then it happened - the Shoregals were awarded a corner kick which was taken by Sammy Harris who drove the ball into the middle of the box and a leaping Kimmy Ward, who was a defender that was moved up for the corner kick, headed the ball in for the winning goal and the Shoregals first District championship! Just an amazing victory for a huge underdog team which was given no chance of winning. However, the joy was muted by the knowledge that the girls would be told about the news of Gino within the next few minutes.
There will probably never be a game quite like this again which will end in a bittersweet moment where the elation of winning our first District championship is tempered by the death of a man who personally coached many of the girls on the field that day and would have been so proud of them in their victory, but never got the chance to tell them.
The Shoregals were coached this season by Caleb Reutter who was in the third year of a 4 yr. coaching stint in which he coached the girls to 40 victories and still their only District championship.
Monday, June 4, 2012
News for the Week of June 4, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/4/2012:
Father's Day Weekend Signups:
Just a reminder to everyone to sign up for a shift at either the Duct Tape Festival or the Father's Day Tournament concession stand. The sign up sheet is on line and adrres was included in an e-mail to all families. We need everyones help to make this a successful fundraising weekend for the girls program.
Shorepal Meeting:
Our next Shorepals meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at The Old Firehouse which is located at the corner of Rt. 83 & Lake Rd. We will be finalizing our plans for the Father's Day weekend events. Hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
In honor of the ALHS graduation this past weekend, we will feature Annette Ilg who was class of 2006 valedictorian.
Annette Ilg was a 2006 graduate of Avon Lake HS where she was a three sport star excelling in soccer, basketball and track. In soccer, she was one of the finest players to ever don a Shoregal uniform and ranks in the top 3 all time in goals, assists, & points. In basketball, she was a Varsity starter and played on a SWC conference championship team her senior year. In track, she qualified for the state meet her senior year in the 400 meter dash after running it for the first time just a few weeks before the state meet. She was primarily a 100 meter, 200 meter, & relay runner. On top of her athletic accomplishments, she was also valedictorian of her class.
She wanted to play soccer in college, but received little interest from any schools. She finally settled on UC San Diego, a Division II school to play basketball. She played four years of Varsity basketball there and was named to the all conference team her senior year,while earning a degree in biochemistry. The soccer coach was aware of her ability in soccer and persuaded her to join the team for the fall of 2010. She was now going to get that opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing college soccer which seemingly had passed her by. So, Annette enrolled in graduate level classes in Chemistry & Biochemistry and went out for the team. Now UC - San Diego is a national power in Div. II soccer with 7 national championships to their credit, so playing on their team is no small accomplishment. She made the most of her opportunity and had a dream season as she led the team in scoring with 11 goals and chipped in with 5 assists for a team leading 27 points. She led her team to the National Championship game by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over undefeated and No. 1 ranked The College of Saint Rose. Unfortunately, a story book finish was not in the cards as UCSD lost to current powerhouse Grand Valley State in the championship game by a score of 4-0. UCSD finished the 2010 season with a fine record of 19-3-3.
Just an amazing run for a girl who had not played competitive soccer in 4 years. I believe she is the first soccer player from Avon Lake either boy or girl to play in a national championship game. This is an inspirational story whose message is to never give up on your dreams no matter how unlikely it seems that they will be fulfilled. Also, make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. An additional fact to make the story even better is that Annette torn her ACL during her Junior season of basketball and needed to rehab her way back for an outstanding senior year in all three of her sports and then onto college. Yet another chapter in the impressive tradition of Shoregal soccer!!
Father's Day Weekend Signups:
Just a reminder to everyone to sign up for a shift at either the Duct Tape Festival or the Father's Day Tournament concession stand. The sign up sheet is on line and adrres was included in an e-mail to all families. We need everyones help to make this a successful fundraising weekend for the girls program.
Shorepal Meeting:
Our next Shorepals meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at The Old Firehouse which is located at the corner of Rt. 83 & Lake Rd. We will be finalizing our plans for the Father's Day weekend events. Hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
In honor of the ALHS graduation this past weekend, we will feature Annette Ilg who was class of 2006 valedictorian.
Annette Ilg was a 2006 graduate of Avon Lake HS where she was a three sport star excelling in soccer, basketball and track. In soccer, she was one of the finest players to ever don a Shoregal uniform and ranks in the top 3 all time in goals, assists, & points. In basketball, she was a Varsity starter and played on a SWC conference championship team her senior year. In track, she qualified for the state meet her senior year in the 400 meter dash after running it for the first time just a few weeks before the state meet. She was primarily a 100 meter, 200 meter, & relay runner. On top of her athletic accomplishments, she was also valedictorian of her class.
She wanted to play soccer in college, but received little interest from any schools. She finally settled on UC San Diego, a Division II school to play basketball. She played four years of Varsity basketball there and was named to the all conference team her senior year,while earning a degree in biochemistry. The soccer coach was aware of her ability in soccer and persuaded her to join the team for the fall of 2010. She was now going to get that opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing college soccer which seemingly had passed her by. So, Annette enrolled in graduate level classes in Chemistry & Biochemistry and went out for the team. Now UC - San Diego is a national power in Div. II soccer with 7 national championships to their credit, so playing on their team is no small accomplishment. She made the most of her opportunity and had a dream season as she led the team in scoring with 11 goals and chipped in with 5 assists for a team leading 27 points. She led her team to the National Championship game by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over undefeated and No. 1 ranked The College of Saint Rose. Unfortunately, a story book finish was not in the cards as UCSD lost to current powerhouse Grand Valley State in the championship game by a score of 4-0. UCSD finished the 2010 season with a fine record of 19-3-3.
Just an amazing run for a girl who had not played competitive soccer in 4 years. I believe she is the first soccer player from Avon Lake either boy or girl to play in a national championship game. This is an inspirational story whose message is to never give up on your dreams no matter how unlikely it seems that they will be fulfilled. Also, make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. An additional fact to make the story even better is that Annette torn her ACL during her Junior season of basketball and needed to rehab her way back for an outstanding senior year in all three of her sports and then onto college. Yet another chapter in the impressive tradition of Shoregal soccer!!
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