BOB ETTINGER
A Bob Ettinger column...
With her team facing its first season as a member of the Premier Athletic Conference, Katie Carter had a simple goal for her Geneva Eagles.
“We just hoped if we weren’t able to win it, maybe we’d have a say in who did win it,” Carter said. “And that’s what happened. South had to beat Chardon to win the league. We tied defending champion South in our very first game (in the league). We were young and inexperienced and to tie them 0-0 was a big confidence boost.”
The Eagles finished third in the PAC, but were unbeaten in league play right up until their final match. And even then, it took a last-second goal to knock Geneva down.
“We went from first to third (in the PAC) with that 4-3 loss to Chardon. And then, they scored at the buzzer to beat us. The horn was sounding when the ball hit the net.
“The girls had fun. They played their best when they weren’t thinking and just played the game. They played well. We tied Riverside, the other defending PAC champ. We tied Madison. We beat North and Lakeside. We were able to get a couple of wins in the PAC. We lost to Chardon.
“It was weird, going from first to third at the buzzer like that. It was hard for the kids to bounce back from that. You, as a coach, just try to help them move on from there. To almost go undefeated in a new league was a huge accomplishment for the girls. I was very proud of them.”
Geneva was 7-6-4 overall and 2-1-3 in the PAC. The Eagles were also 4-0-1 against county competition — the only blemish being a 3-3 season-opening tie with Edgewood. For that, Carter is the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Co-Coach of the Year with the Warriors’ Juli Meaney.
“I want to thank my family — my husband, Ron, and my kids Riley and Abby — and my assistant coach, Mike Neczeporenko, for their help and guidance through the season and for being someone I could discuss things with, from soccer to life.”
Carter had to rely upon a group of experienced seniors to lead the way for a group of inexperienced youngsters.
“I was able to really count upon both groups of kids,” Carter said. “Some of my seniors, (2009 Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year) Jill (Nazor), Kelly Ollis, Sarah Rose and Suelen Gutierrez have been there since the beginning. They were really able to provide that type of mentality we wanted on the field.
“Then take the juniors, they were really important, combined with the seniors. I love the juniors. They’re a great group. They are fun, hard-working kids. You take your freshmen and tell them that’s what you want them to be like.
“The freshmen, I look at them as being older than they really are. They’ve been playing with us (in the summer) for so long. I don’t expect them to make mistakes. They’re not really mistakes, so long as they learn from them, anyway.”
Ettinger is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at bettinger@starbeacon.com.
