John Jay Settles for Tie Versus Byram Hills

On Monday, September 12, John Jay took to Contest Field and hoped to begin a winning streak against Byram Hills. Controlling the play in the first half, the Wolves were unable to grab a lead. So the Bobcats did the honors and jumped out to a 1-0 lead moments after intermission. The irony was not lost on the home team either. “It was like a slap in the face,” said Shannon Nolan, and the girls responded with two goals to take the lead. But two overtime periods passing, John Jay still had to go home with half a smile.

“It’s really unfortunate. We played a really good game, but in the end, we didn’t capitalize,” said Nolan after the 2-2 tie.

John Jay went right to work nonetheless. Showing off her speed, Maddie Slogoff ran down Ella Kerman’s lead pass for a shot on goal, and Sloan Wasserman put a chip shot into the crease to get the juices flowing for the John Jay faithful.

The clear made, John Jay would soon get a look at what they would face the rest of the game. Amelia Dougherty retook the ball deep in the John Jay end, and dribbling into space, her centering pass almost made a chance. But Brooke Habinowski was able to get disrupt the incursion at 37:02.

Of course, Dougherty was far from done. She took the goalie kick at midfield and danced her way through multiple defenders. Finally, cornered, she put a centering pass on the crease, but the deflection was easily handled by Ilana Posner at 22:40.

John Jay then took their turn, and it again started with Slogoff getting a step on the sideline. The corner kick was forced and Wasserman’s drop landed on the foot of Vivian Kowalczyk.

Unfortunately, the attempt went off the crossbar of the football goal post, and the hollow twang was not done being heard from. After the John Jay defense converged, Kerman got the free ball and led down in the corner to Jordan Kauftheil. Her pass went into Nolan and perched to poach, the forward’s shot again hit the yellow crossbar.

And the chances kept coming. But Byram would close with a flurry, and Posner had to lay out twice to thwart Dougherty. “The only way to stop her was to literally throw my body in front,” said the goalie.

No real abrupt change in possession after intermission, Byram Hills did make the most of an unnecessary clear by Haley Fiderer. The throw-in came to Jordyn Wolf, and her nudge to Abigael Rondeau found the net at 35:33.

So now there was urgency, and Slogoff verbally led the charge. “Maddie was hyping everyone up,” said Nolan, and Fiderer was all ears.

She got some free space at the fifteen and went over the goalie at 34:10. Taking the criticism and holding herself accountable,” said Coach Dave Nuttall, “It’s good that she responded.”

Dug in now, John Jay kept the pressure on. Wasserman went cross field for an open Fiderer, and while the shot went high, Kerman and Slogoff made Byram pay by keeping their nose to the ground. Kerman cut off a loose ball at midfield, led Slogoff and the wing ran down the ball to shoot a 2-1 lead at 31:08.

Even so, Dougherty wasn’t taking the deficit lying down. She got a shot on goal from the corner with 28 minutes to go and next won the race to the ball in the corner. Already knowing the drill, Posner threw her body and left only the far crease as the target.

But there was no way to completely shut down this thoroughbred. The forward willed her way through multiple defenders and her shot from the right beat Posner on the left.

A 2-2 tie with 17:05 remaining, John Jay still refused to let the Bobcats stymie their synergy. Slogoff chased down in the corner, passed back to Fiderer and she connected with Nolan’s head in front of the goal.

Deja Vu, the goal post got in the way again and Dougherty was soon up for another chase. She got the outlet, and Posner matched again by putting her body on the line. The John Jay goalie won the race and preserved the tie with two 2:50 remaining.

Overtime had Dougherty and Posner dancing again at the eight minute mark and results were the same. The only thing left was for John Jay to hit the goal post again. Even if Slogoff’s shot came on an offside, Nuttall summed up the moment and overall sentiment. “Frustrating,” he concluded.