Fenwick shuts out D-II state champs

With 5 starters out, deep bench leads way in 4-0 win over Madeira.

Frazier’s home run lifts Reds to 5th straight win
10:20 a.m.
Spartans head to regional final
5/24/12
Fenwick’s tourney run ends in regional semis
5/24/12
2 Middie jumpers qualify for state
5/24/12
College baseball: Miami tops Toledo in MAC tourney
5/23/12
> More sports headlines

Updated 5:18 PM Friday, August 26, 2011

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — The domination produced a simple question: How good will Fenwick High School’s girls soccer team be at full strength?

The Falcons opened the season with five starters out Thursday night and dropped a 4-0 hammer on visiting Madeira, the defending Division II state champion.

“That’s the beauty of having a deep bench,” said Fenwick coach Tom McEwan, who has 12 seniors. “We should play well because we have a lot of talented players and a lot of leaders. Our expectations are very high. Now it’s a matter of executing on the field and making that happen.”

Senior Emily Schaffer collected her first career hat trick and added an assist. She hit the post with a shot in the first half and did all of her scoring after the break.

“Having some players down, we had to play twice as hard,” Schaffer said. “We were coming in confident. The game plan was to keep possession, exploit their weak spots and shoot it through.”

Freshman Emma Matix scored off a Schaffer pass in the opening five minutes. The Amazons (1-1-1) looked stunned and never recovered.

Senior goalkeeper Morgan Madden earned the shutout with two saves for Fenwick. It was Madeira’s first loss since the 2009 regional finals.

“We can’t match up with their speed and physicality,” Amazons coach Dan Brady said. “We’re very young. Our goal was to get to halftime 0-0, make some adjustments and go for the win. That early goal just chopped us down.”

The Falcons were shorthanded because two players were suspended for disciplinary reasons and three were injured. Of those five, four are seniors.

“They’ll be right there in the Final Four,” said Brady, whose squad will compete with Fenwick in Division III this year. “They’ve got a lot of seniors. They look a lot like we did last year.”

Jess Wolski and Selby Smith notched assists for the Falcons. Schaffer bested Madeira goalie Caitlyn McCullough three times in a span of just over 18 minutes.

“I was going after every ball hard, maybe even harder than I normally would,” Schaffer said. “We had to come out strong. The first game really sets the tone for the season.”

Said McEwan, “On a typical night, Emily might not have been out there. Finishing has been her Achilles’ heel, but she showed a lot of poise and confidence tonight.”

Fenwick continues nonleague play at Indian Hill on Monday.

Share this article