Three Episcopal teams defeat Springside

by TOM UTESCHER

In December of 1862, Union forces led by General Ambrose E. Burnside crossed the Rappahannock River to face a well-entrenched Southern army at the Confederate transportation hub of Fredericksburg, Va. Following the battle, the Federals withdrew back across the river, having suffered one of the most costly defeats of the U.S. Civil War.

Last week on October 9, Springside School sent all of its varsity sports teams across the Schuylkill to Episcopal Academy. The Lions, under the direction of soccer marshal Brooke Fritz, tennis court commander Timothy McGoldrick, and field hockey general B.A. Fish, did not suffer the mortal wounds inflicted upon the troops of the flamboyantly-whiskered Union general (the guy who sported the original "sideburns"), but they went down to defeat on every front before they made the return trip over the river at the end of the afternoon.

The host Churchmen posted convincing victories in tennis, 7-0, and in soccer, 6-1, but in the hockey game the Springsiders valiantly held their ground for over an hour before Episcopal broke through in sudden-death overtime to win 1-0.

As in the Civil War, siblings participated on opposite sides during the conflict. Springside senior Dani Soowal competed for the Lions on the tennis courts, while on the soccer pitch her sister Jenny, a junior, played on the Episcopal team.

In a series of attacks on the left side of the Confederate line at Fredericksburg, Union infantry advanced across a broad open field just beyond the town, presenting long lines of blue targets to rows of rebel riflemen entrenched behind a stone wall, and to southern artillery units above them on a bluff called Marye's Heights.

Springside's tennis team, winless in the Inter-Ac last year and 0-2 in the league on the morning of the 9th (3-6 overall), also faced very long odds against two-time defending league champ Episcopal. Paced by freshman prodigy Courtney Fenimore, the Churchmen were off to a 4-0 start in the league (10-0 overall) and were solid all up and down the line.

Watching the visitors file onto his home courts, EA coach Whitaker Powell had reason to feel just as confident as James Longstreet, the Confederate commander at Mayre's Heights, who was assured by an artilleryman, "General, a chicken could not live in that field when we open on it."

Soccer game

A few hundred yards to the west, in a field bordered by a sleepy suburban street known as Latches Lane, Fritz's brigade of booters engaged the Churchmen. Both soccer squads had suffered their share of setbacks in the fall campaign; Episcopal was 1-2 in the league and 3-8 overall, Springside's record was 0-2, 4-6-1.

In the early stages, the teams appeared evenly matched. Three minutes in, Jenny Soowal assisted Alyssa Boente to get Episcopal on the board, but Springside tied it up when Bunny O'Reilly finished off a play that began with a long punt by Lions goalie Nan Weisel. After Claire Pelura scored for the Churchmen with an assist from Callye Komlo, the score remained 2-1 until late in the first half.

In the last eight minutes of the period, the Churchmen made two more successful assaults on the Springside defenses. Megan McFarland fired the third goal for the hosts, and Episcopal gained a 4-1 advantage for the halftime break when Boente struck for her second goal.

Hockey battle

On the opposite flank of the Episcopal campus, the hockey teams were battling in a meadow next to the old boundary road, City Line Avenue. Springside advanced aggressively through much of the first half. Off of a corner play midway through the period, Emery Maine's cannonshot tracked less than a foot outside of the left post of the EA goal, and later the goalie for the Churchmen, Ashley Heist (six stops total) made a difficult kick-save to halt a charge from the right by the Lions' Rachel Estepa.

The Churchmen spent more time on the offensive during the last ten minutes of the first frame, and this trend continued into the second half. With about seven minutes remaining in regulation play, Episcopal penetrated the Lions' cage, but the apparent goal was nullified as the officials ruled that one of the Churchmen had kicked the ball. Springside keeper Lili Sharpless (who also had six saves) maintained her shutout until the end of the period and the game proceeded into overtime.

Tennis matches

Over on the tennis courts, concentrated volleys by the Episcopal racquetwomen staggered McGoldrick's corps. Relentlessly, the Churchmen mowed down the Lions' singles players in straight sets. EA's Fenimore (6-0, 6-1), Lauren Bobzin (6-1, 6-2), Abbie Pyeritz (6-0, 6-1), and Ali Hillyard (6-1, 6-1) efficiently dispatched Springside counterparts Emily Bilger, Dani Soowal, Liz Clattenburg and Karen Rothschild.

After losing their first set at 6-4 to Christine Galib and Addie Johnston (a former Springsider) at second doubles, Lua O'Brien and Lucy Sorenson of the Lions survived the second set by winning a 7-3 tiebreaker. Galib and Johnston won the third, however, 6-2, and in first doubles Jen Robinson and Jessica Yoo of the Churchmen knocked off visitors Anna Heilbrun and Katie Prejsnar, 6-4, 6-0. Completing the sweep for Episcopal, Elspeth Boynton and Annie Madiera notched a 6-2, 6-0 win at third doubles against Ashley Nikoo and Julia Judd.

Back along Latches Lane, Springside was unable to mount a counterattack during the second half of the soccer match. Pressing their advantage, the Churchmen added a pair of goals by Maxi Prinsen (the second assisted by Komlo) for a final reckoning of 6-1.

Meanwhile the field hockey teams, now reduced to seven players a side for overtime, began their 10-minute sudden-death showdown. Springside had a few chances, but it was Episcopal that ended the match by scoring with 1:29 left in the additional session. The Churchmen couldn't manage a shot directly off of a penalty corner, but after the ball dribbled out past the top of the circle, they sent it back down low on the left. Jane Gartland passed it a few feet inside to Chelsea Calio, who swept the ball across the goalmouth to set up the tap-in by freshman Logan Greer.

Springside argued that the ball had been kicked toward the goal and that the marker should be called back, just as in the sequence late in the second half. This time the refs didn't agree, and the game ended with an Episcopal victory that lifted the Churchmen to a record of 2-1-1 in the league and 5-6-1 against all comers.

Of the three defeats Springside suffered at Episcopal, the hockey setback was the most costly. The school's soccer and tennis squads didn't win any Inter-Ac matches in 2002, but the Lion sticksters tied for fourth in the league last year and were hoping to make further progress this fall.

Now the locals will find it tough to attain that objective, since the outcome at Episcopal dropped their record to 0-3 with four Inter-Ac bouts left on the schedule. Springside's fall teams are due to make another river crossing on October 24 to visit Agnes Irwin, and the Lions must hope that this time the Schuylkill may be likened not to the Rappahannock, but to a much smaller Virginia river called the Appomattox.