Dominant girls soccer slices and dices its hapless league foes(4/04)

By Administrator

Apr. 30, 2004

From their perch high atop the H division, the girls varsity soccer team can watch the scramble for the playoffs from a comfortable distance.

With only four games left in the regular season, the Cardinals have already clinched their division with a 9-0 record, while the second place Phoenix rest in second place with a 3-4-1 record.

Washington is shaping up to be the Cardinals opponent in the playoffs, as they have posted a 8-1 record so far in regular season play. Lowell gave them their lone loss, a 4-0 rout.

Senior Kate Gong - she of the golden foot - unleashes one of her trademark strikes in practice on May 7.
Keane Ng

Non-league games have proven to be more exciting than the competition offered in the city. These games have featured opponents who are stronger, faster, bigger and more skilled than those in the AAA.

Oyosoos, a Canadian team on a U.S. tour, played here at Lowell on March 17. The frisky Canadians challenged the Cardinals right from the start. The referee awarded the Canadians a corner kick in the first minute, and they nearly scored on a scramble in front of the goal, but freshman keeper Katie Wheeler-Dubin scooped it up and away from danger. Lowell recovered quickly, with junior Elizabeth Adams scoring in the third minute off a cross from senior forward Kate Gong.

Although Oyosoos was clearly the more physical team, Lowell eventually found its groove. Senior defender Haley Shannahan fearlessly mixed things up with the larger Canadians. A huge central defender stymied Gongs efforts for a time, while a Sasquatch-esque goalkeeper provided a formidable challenge for the rest of the Cardinals offensive efforts.

Eventually, the Cardinals technique won out over the Canadians size, and the Lowell strikers broke through more and more often, with freshman forward Erica Wheeler-Dubin scoring in the 20th minute and Adams netting one in the 36th to bring the Cardinals to a 3-0 lead going into halftime. The Cardinal charge continued in the second half, with Gong scoring in the 49th minute, sophomore Francesca Wedemeyer scoring in the 57th and junior stopper Lauren Longley smashing one in from 30 yards out to finish the scoring, securing a 6-0 win for team USA.

The Cardinals have played other non-league games, including ones against Head-Royce of Oakland, which had a much closer 1-0 result, and a more lopsided 5-0 win over Drew.

In league play, the Cardinals last faced International Studies Academy. The Dragons could only field a team of eight players, a world of difference from the traditional 11. As a show of sportsmanship, Lowell took away their forward line and played with eight.

That didnt hold back the Cardinals, and in the third minute sophomore midfielder Jessica Abad broke through for a goal. Eight minutes later, Francesca Wedemeyer put one in, and her sister, freshman midfielder Angelina Wedemeyer, scored in the 13th minute.

The Cardinal midfield dominated the rest of the game, controlling the tempo.

The flurry of goals in the opening minutes of the game came as a result of Lowells advantages in size, skill, speed and organization. These discrepancies spurred head coach Ernst Feibusch to order the girls to put a cap on the scoring from there on out when the Cardinals were leading with a 3-0 score which hardly reflected the lopsidedness of the game. Nobody wants there to be a blowout, Feibusch said. A blowout would make them want to drop out of the league, and that would further take away from our league here in the city. Teams from Marin, the East Bay and South Bay are our best opponents.

The Cardinals play at Burton today at 3:30 p.m.