Manville girls set for soccer finale

Team seeks to avenge opening loss

By: John Beisser
   
   An emotional week comes to a crescendo Thursday as the Manville High girls’ soccer team closes out its 2005 season with a home game vs. Mount St. Mary’s.
   The Thursday afternoon tilt will mark the end of the productive careers of seniors Robyn Barb, Christine Bradley, Katrina DeSantis and Danielle Persinko. The game will also mark the end of Mike Shambach’s first season as head coach of the Lady Mustangs. All week, Shambach has been busy doing his part to ensure his seniors go out as winners.
   "I’ll be harping on that theme all week," Shambach said earlier this week. "I know the underclassmen want to see them end their careers on a positive note. The reality has really been setting in for the four seniors. They know these are the last few practices they are going to have and they want to make the most of the time they have left."
   One of those seniors, Barb, is hoping for one last big offensive day, similar to the one she had in Manville’s 3-1 victory over Dayton Regional on Oct. 25. Barb tallied two goals and Rhianna Lebedz added another as the Mustangs copped their fifth victory of the season. The game was scoreless at halftime but Manville came out red-shot in the second half with two quick goals and never looked back.
   "Robyn scored the first two goals," said Shambach. "Christine Bradley fed her with a really nice crossing pass for one of the goals. Rhianna’s goal came on a free kick where she just shot over the wall and into the top corner. That was a really nice goal as well."
   The defense, led by goalie Marta Fabiyan and defenders Monica Ozieblo, Michelina Aichele and DeSantis, shut the door the rest of the way, allowing one harmless late goal en route to the win.
   Two days later, Manville had a frustrating result vs. Roselle Park. The Lady Mustangs led in every statistical category except for the one that counts the most – goals. Through regulation play, neither team could find the net as the game went into overtime tied 0-0. Roselle Park banged home the game-winner on a deflection and Manville had itself a difficult loss to swallow.
   "We dominated," Shambach said. "That’s what makes it so frustrating. We peppered their goalie all game long but we just couldn’t get one home. Their goalie made some nice saves, no question about, but I felt that was a game we definitely should have had."
   A week earlier, Manville dropped consecutive 4-0 games to a pair of powerful teams in Oak Knoll and New Providence. Despite the score, Shambach said she saw many positives in the game vs. New Providence and it carried over into the Dayton game. Following the rousing win over Dayton, Shambach felt his team had plenty of positive vibes heading into the Roselle Park game.
   "You can’t be too upset as a coach when your team plays well enough to win but comes up just short, I guess," Shambach said. "The silver lining is we did play well in that Roselle Park game."
   With a 5-11 overall record heading into the season finale, Shambach is hoping his team can transform that silver lining into a color rainbow of a victory.
   "It would be great for the seniors," he said. "They have given so much to this program. It’s been a really fun year coaching these girls. I really think they are learning how to become soccer players. Soccer is a beautiful game when it’s played right and these girls have come a long way."
   Perhaps the season will come full circle today. Manville lost its season opener to this very same Mount St. Mary’s team by a 5-1 count. It was a 2-1 game before the home team knocked in three late tallies to widen the advantage.
   "It will be a good measuring stick as to how much we’ve improved," Shambach said. "I’m sure they’ve gotten better as a team, too. It should be a lot of fun."