ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It’s not an unusual sight on the soccer field. A player hovers 10 or 12 yards above the penalty area. Suddenly, a ball is played into open space by a teammate and it’s time to strike.
A race to the ball. Maybe a lean into the defender to keep the inside track. A blast to the far post.
Alexis Koval did that three times in a 10-minute span of the second half last weekend. The
Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse) senior scored on the first effort and wound up with an assist on the third when her searing rip along the ground left the goalie sprawled as a teammate knocked in the rebound.
"She has what we call soccer sense," CBA coach Mike McQuatters said afterward. "She's such a smart player. She reads the game well and finds her spots. You think you have her covered and all of a sudden she’s gone and the ball is in the back of the net. It makes my job so easy when she does that."
McQuatters has enjoyed the easy life repeatedly these last four years. Koval went over 100 career goals last week and has a half-dozen or more games to play depending on whether CBA can make a return trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls Class AA tournament.
"A hundred is unexpected and you never think it will really happen," she said. "But when you realize you're so close it's exciting to know you can get that far. Even when you have no idea at the beginning, you can gradually work up to it."
Koval stands at 23 goals and 13 assists this fall as CBA is off to a 10-1-1 start and holds a No. 12 ranking from the New York State Sportswriters Association. With the NCAA early signing period on the horizon, she's expected to pick between Syracuse University and Stony Brook next week.
As the leading scorer in CBA history, it's indisputable that Koval has left her mark on the soccer field. But she has also found worthy endeavors off of it. She was one of 22 seniors from the school to travel to Casco, Maine, last summer to work as counselors at Camp Sunshine, which gives children with life-threatening illnesses the chance to enjoy activities that others might take for granted.
"You don't know what to expect and when you do see them and they look so helpless, you don't know what to do at first," Koval said. "But you realize they're just like us. They've been living through it and don't even know it's affected them.
"There was this one night when we had a talent show and one kid got up and sang 'Puff the Magic Dragon,'" she continued. "His mom had to be up there to hold his head and he couldn’t really get the words out. But the fact that he knew all the words had people like, 'Wow.' Everyone gave him a standing ovation. It was really emotional. He accomplished a lot more than I have."
Said McQuatters: “I tell all the girls when they get here I want them to become better soccer players, but I also want them to become better people. She’s definitely become a better person.”
MORE SOCCER: CHECKING IN ON THE CHAMPSWith two weeks left in the regular season, most of the 2009 New York State Public High School Athletic Association champions are in contention to earn repeat titles.
Here's a look at the status of the defending boys squads:
Newburgh Free Academy (Class AA) – Though the Goldbacks remain dangerous a year after their dream season, they don’t appear to possess quite enough weapons to pull off a repeat. They put up good battles against unbeaten Monroe-Woodbury and PSAL kingpin Martin Luther King last week but lost by an aggregate 4-1 to slip to 5-4-2 for the season. The prevailing wisdom is that the last Long Island school standing – Half Hollow Hills West or Hicksville, perhaps – gets to engrave its name onto the trophy.
Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station) (Class A) – People seem to be sleeping on this team because they look at the 5-3 record and fail to see losses to unbeaten HHH West and one-loss Longwood. Big mistake. Comsewogue plays a good brand of defensive soccer and just needs a little more scoring punch behind Alex Healion (nine goals) to get out of sectionals and the state quarterfinals next month. It’s doable.
Center Moriches (Class B) – The Red Devils are in the thick of it, getting out to a 10-2 start to stay with Mattituck atop Suffolk County League VII after having split a pair of overtime games with the Tuckers. Harvey Houpe has a team-high 14 goals, but T.J. Thompson (eight goals) and James Whelan (nine) are every bit as problematic for opponents.
Friends Academy (Locust Valley) (Class C) – The Quakers trail only Class B Wheatley in Nassau Conference VIII and are more than merely viable contenders. Matt Slotnick (14 goals) scored twice in a 6-0 clinic vs. a very respectable Carle Place squad on Columbus Day as Friends improved to 6-1-1.
Chazy (Class D) – The Eagles have won four of the last six NYSPHSAA championships and there's the possibility of another on the horizon. Chazy was sluggish over the weekend in a 2-0 win over outmanned AuSable Valley, but that came the day after a convincing 6-0 rout of Chateaugay that may have been a preview of an early-round state tournament matchup.
And here is a look at prospects for the girls teams coming off of championship seasons:
John Jay East Fishkill (Class AA) – Throw out the 4-3 loss to Class B Briarcliff (after rallying from a 2-0 deficit after halftime to force OT) and the season has been going swimmingly. The Patriots have rolled to a 7-1 start and are in the mix for a run at their third straight championship. North Rockland poses a high hurdle to clear within Section 1, but none of the state’s other Class AA opposition has separated from the pack.
Rockville Centre South Side (Class A) – There's simply nothing left to be said about the program that’s won five of the last six championships and 15 overall. South Side took a 4-0 loss to Class AA Massapequa last month but it has otherwise outscored foes by a 47-1 margin in its 8-1-1 start. The scoring behind Caitlin Hines (eight goals) is so balanced that trying to figure out who else to mark closely is futile.
Briarcliff (Briarcliff Manor) (Class B) – Liana Cornacchio was held without a goal Wednesday vs. Westlake for the first time this season, so she chipped in with three assists instead to boost her totals to 15 and 18, respectively, in a 10-0 start. If that doesn’t explain why a three-peat appears to be in the cards, then nothing does. Danielle Christiano has scored 11 goals and Savina Reid has eight.
Stony Brook (Class C) – A 6-2 record for a Suffolk County Class C squad tends to convert to an unbeaten mark for schools in many upstate sections, and this is no exception. Losses to the much larger Half Hollow Hills East and Class D power Smithtown Christian will only make Stony Brook tougher against the upstate field’s best: Marion, Sauquoit Valley and S.S. Seward. Michelle Hennessey has scored 13 goals to lead the way.
Arkport Central (Class D) – Coach Melody Harwood picked up career victory No. 400 with a 4-0 win at home against Jasper-Troupsburg last week as Emily Wolf, Allison Kraft and Amanda Swarts all scored. As talented and deep as this 11-0-3 team is, Arkport will have to get past Alfred-Almond and/or Wheatland-Chili – both top 10 teams – just to get out of Section V.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.