Marauders win battle of unbeatens
Sylvia Fedak lives up to her role as the defensive stopper for the A.N. Myer varsity girls soccer team.
Her spot on the field is where offence goes to die and she had another fine game Monday afternoon as the Marauders recorded a 2-0 victory over the visiting Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association play.
“She controls the whole midfield whether it is moving up or coming back,” Myer head coach Joanne Thomson said.
Fedak has a real presence on the field.
“She has a lot of presence and the girls have a lot of faith in her. It’s nice for them to have the confidence that she is going to get the ball and she is going to make the play.”
She also leads by example.
“She is a quiet leader but she is a leader,” Thomson said.
The Grade 12 student is seeing plenty of soccer action this spring. In addition to playing for Myer, she is a member of St. Catharines Club Roma Wolves women’s League 1 reserve team.
“It is great,” she said. “The competition is there and that is what helps everything get to the next level. And it’s fun.”
The 17-year-old is hoping to be accepted into the health sciences program at McMaster or the University of Toronto and would love to play soccer at the university level.
“I am definitely going to try out.”
She is having a great time playing soccer for the Marauders.
“No one can say high school soccer is incredible but it is where I have made so many friends and it’s fun to play with everybody.”
She is glad to be back representing her school.
“I love it. I missed it so much because I have only played in Grade 9 so far. It is a whole new team but I love everybody here.”
Playing at the high school level also improves her game.
“It builds up a lot of confidence because you only play so many games during the season. In high school, you get more touches on the ball and a lot of times I don’t normally shoot but I do it here.”
Fedak takes a lot of pride in shutting down other teams’ attack.
“Somehow my brother (Cookie) helped me with that. Him and I have always been competitive so when he can run faster than me I have to run faster than him. He is a year younger but he has always tried to keep up with me. When I am on the field, I know I need to get the ball.”
The two siblings go to each other’s game to cheer.
Myer (2-0-1) remained unbeaten following Monday’s victory.
“We have a good mix of juniors and seniors and playing outside has really helped them get back to playing some good Myer soccer,” Thomson said. “Even though they are all on their outside teams, they have really come together and the passing and work ethic is great. They are really nice girls to coach too.”
She likes where her team is heading.
“They are rely progressing and they are doing exactly what we are asking the to do as far as spreading the field and their one-touch passing. Every game has gotten a little bit better.”
With their first loss of the season, the Bulldogs fell to 3-1 in NRHSAA play.
“It was a good time to have a loss too,” Churchill head coach Steve Mouck said. “We learned a lot today. I thought we defended well until the last few minutes but our midfielders learned that we were too narrow. When we were attacking, we kept having that same narrow shape.
“The girls on the bench could see it which is important so it’s not a bad time to take a loss.”
Mouck likes the roster he has assembled this spring.
“We have a few kids that are away and a few unfortunate injuries right now but I love this team,” he said. “We have some young players who play with heart and they are getting that from the senior players. They see how the senior girls are giving everything and some of the younger girls are really buying in.”
Mouck had no issues restarting the team after a two-year pandemic pause.
“It was really easy,” he said. “The girls were asking when we could start, if we could start in the gym or if we could clear off some snow and start on the pitch. We’ve had a couple of tournaments and I think we are back in the swing of things.”
STATS PACK
Marauders 2 Bulldogs 0
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Myer’s Sylvia Fedak.
For the A.N. Myer Marauders: Goals by Kylie Black and Rhiannon Pietrangelo. Shutout by Kayla Etezadi.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: No scoring.
