Maryvale Girls Soccer Rallies For Win Over Lake Shore

Things didn’t look too promising for the Maryvale High School girls soccer team in the early going on Monday. The Flyers faced a quick three-goal deficit against a Lake Shore team it had beaten earlier in the year and it looked like Senior Night was going to be dampened.

But there was plenty of time left and as it turns out Maryvale was just getting started. The Flyers bounced back to even the score in the second half and then Jenna Gennaro scored her second of the game in overtime as the Flyers rallied for a 4-3 win over the Eagles.

“I was getting a little nervous but I knew we could pull together and we just clicked,” said Gennaro, a junior who had two goals and two assists in the victory. “We all did it together. We pushed the ball and we were more aggressive offensively.”

Gennaro netted the game winner five minutes into the first overtime session. She took a pass from Bella Boshier down the right wing, raced in and ripped home the winner.

“All adrenaline,” she said of her third goal of the year. “I was just looking at the net just hoping it would go in. It was a great feeling.”

Gennaro assisted on Maryvale’s first goal at the 25-minute mark, scored by Shya Lowery. After a productive halftime speech from coach Tracy Poole and staff, Gennaro got the Flyers closer five minutes into the second half. Katie Howe tied it – from Gennaro – at the 22-minute mark, setting the stage for the overtime magic.

“Definitely after being down 3-0 on Senior Night, it was great to come back and fight through the adversity and come through and get the win over a league opponent,” Poole said. “I said to them: ‘We have a full game to play we can never give up despite the scoreboard and stick together as a team.’ And that’s what they did in the second half and then into overtime.”

The win was an important one as far as seeding goes for the Section VI Class A-2 playoffs. Maryvale remained in the sixth spot and in position to host a first-round playoff game with a match against division-leader Iroquois on Thursday and then battles against power teams in Olmsted and East Aurora.

“We just want to keep building on the momentm,” Poole said. “Now we move on for our seniors and our whole teams.”