Team preview: Bartlett
By Bill Stone
Bartlett’s Maddie Donnelly was hoping for a memorable senior girls soccer season.
In the fall, she was part of a third-straight State Cup championship with her Campton United club team, but she never saw action because of a knee injury suffered last July.
“I came back probably around right after Thanksgiving and started getting touches on the ball,” Donnelly said. “My last game has been regionals for club last June.”
That makes her anticipation for this upcoming season with the Hawks even greater.
Donnelly may be among seven returning starters and 10 letter winners, yet she and NCAA Division II Lewis University recruit Christina Mondelli are the only seniors in the entire program.
“For Christina and me, it was about getting everybody excited when they were trying out at the start and getting invested in the team, everybody just being all in and all of that,” Donnelly said.
“It’s been hard (with the layoff). It’s just bad because everything was riding on playing in high school, my last little hurrah. It’s OK. Everything happens for a reason. I’m just hoping we get back.”
In 2019, the Hawks (7-12-2, 5-4-0 in Upstate Eight Conference) combined 11 seniors with several promising underclassmen.
Besides Donnelly (3 assists in 2019), sophomores Sabrina Fowler and Madison Neer and goalie Caitlin Yurkovich are returning starters on defense.
Mondelli is joined again at midfield by sophomore Tessa Evans (3 goals, assist), and junior Serena Salvato (7 goals, 2 assists) returns as an offensive threat at striker. Also back are junior forward Lauren Kowalski, and junior Vanessa Thorne and sophomore Alexis DeRango in the midfield.
Vince Revak is in his second season as head coach and fourth with the program.
“It’s them understanding that patience is a virtue at this point,” Revak about the current layoff before the season begins.
“We looked at (this season) as promising but also with cautious optimism. We have that youthful energy but also maybe youthful mistakes, because they don’t have a lot of experience. No matter how the year was going to look, it was going to be replacing a big chunk of the starting spots.”
Before the imposed layoff, the Hawks were doing well with camaraderie and training. They consistently held preseason workouts in which at least Donnelly would always attend morning sessions and Mondelli the afternoon ones.
With so many younger players, Donnelly said the underclassmen played the greatest role in generating attendance and enthusiasm about the program.
There are 11 varsity newcomers -- junior Kim Stoyakavich, sophomores Madison Balgeman, Abby Fausto, Maddie Garrigan, Megan Hadjuk, Balene Kroeger and Alaina Ramundo and freshmen Brooke Baumann, Gianna Imperatrice, Hailey Morhardt and Molly Palmeri.
“Definitely our bonding will be really strong. We have a good connection between each other,” Donnelly added. “Technically, we have some really solid players and know how to deal with and put pressure on the ball. One of the things we definitely need to work on is connecting out of the back and connecting each line.”
One big difference this season will be greater emphasis on offense.
The 4-2 season-ending loss to St. Francis in the Class 3A St. Francis Regional semifinal mirrored many 2019 results. The Hawks scored 30 seconds into the game on a beautiful 40-yard free kick by defender Paige Bednarke and tied the game 2-2 with 35 minutes left before St. Francis, the 2018 AA state champion, scored twice in the final 19 minutes.
The Hawks were 2-9-0 in their 2019 games decided by one goal. Five losses were 1-0, although much of that can be evidence of a schedule in which about half of the opponents were ranked.
“Last season we were sick of losing games by one goal. We’re trying to adjust our formation and be a little more offensive minded,” Revak said.
“I’d rather lose games 6-5 than 1-0. I’d rather push up and get countered than for us to play an awesome defensive game and just give up one (and lose). We’re trying to find the balance and see if that balance fits into our roles.”
Mondelli certainly should be an even greater offensive threat this season. At 5-foot-3, she can be deceptive, but her speed and footwork make her a consistent threat.
Entering her fourth varsity season, Donnelly knows what prep success feels like. She was part of co-UEC Valley championship teams with Bartlett as a freshman and sophomore.
In 2019, Donnelly alternated between center defender and center midfielder but anticipates now being pretty much full-time defense. She will play the interior without the graduated Bednarke.
“I hope that my teammates think that I’m technically sound and a leader on the field,” Donnelly said. “I hope to be uplifting and play a game where I can help string the team together, be that glue that holds the defense with the offense.”
During the layoff, Donnelly and teammates have tried to continue the Hawks’ progress and positive energy through texts, group chats and fun videos.
There’s hard work, too. Donnelly has been running and honing ball skills as much as possible.
“It’s a lot of mental toughness and just trying to keep yourself in shape and motivating yourself,” Donnelly said. “It’s so easy to dismiss playing soccer, doing soccer, going on that run, so it’s a lot of self-discipline for sure.”
By Bill Stone
Bartlett’s Maddie Donnelly was hoping for a memorable senior girls soccer season.
In the fall, she was part of a third-straight State Cup championship with her Campton United club team, but she never saw action because of a knee injury suffered last July.
“I came back probably around right after Thanksgiving and started getting touches on the ball,” Donnelly said. “My last game has been regionals for club last June.”
That makes her anticipation for this upcoming season with the Hawks even greater.
Donnelly may be among seven returning starters and 10 letter winners, yet she and NCAA Division II Lewis University recruit Christina Mondelli are the only seniors in the entire program.
“For Christina and me, it was about getting everybody excited when they were trying out at the start and getting invested in the team, everybody just being all in and all of that,” Donnelly said.
“It’s been hard (with the layoff). It’s just bad because everything was riding on playing in high school, my last little hurrah. It’s OK. Everything happens for a reason. I’m just hoping we get back.”
In 2019, the Hawks (7-12-2, 5-4-0 in Upstate Eight Conference) combined 11 seniors with several promising underclassmen.
Besides Donnelly (3 assists in 2019), sophomores Sabrina Fowler and Madison Neer and goalie Caitlin Yurkovich are returning starters on defense.
Mondelli is joined again at midfield by sophomore Tessa Evans (3 goals, assist), and junior Serena Salvato (7 goals, 2 assists) returns as an offensive threat at striker. Also back are junior forward Lauren Kowalski, and junior Vanessa Thorne and sophomore Alexis DeRango in the midfield.
Vince Revak is in his second season as head coach and fourth with the program.
“It’s them understanding that patience is a virtue at this point,” Revak about the current layoff before the season begins.
“We looked at (this season) as promising but also with cautious optimism. We have that youthful energy but also maybe youthful mistakes, because they don’t have a lot of experience. No matter how the year was going to look, it was going to be replacing a big chunk of the starting spots.”
Before the imposed layoff, the Hawks were doing well with camaraderie and training. They consistently held preseason workouts in which at least Donnelly would always attend morning sessions and Mondelli the afternoon ones.
With so many younger players, Donnelly said the underclassmen played the greatest role in generating attendance and enthusiasm about the program.
There are 11 varsity newcomers -- junior Kim Stoyakavich, sophomores Madison Balgeman, Abby Fausto, Maddie Garrigan, Megan Hadjuk, Balene Kroeger and Alaina Ramundo and freshmen Brooke Baumann, Gianna Imperatrice, Hailey Morhardt and Molly Palmeri.
“Definitely our bonding will be really strong. We have a good connection between each other,” Donnelly added. “Technically, we have some really solid players and know how to deal with and put pressure on the ball. One of the things we definitely need to work on is connecting out of the back and connecting each line.”
One big difference this season will be greater emphasis on offense.
The 4-2 season-ending loss to St. Francis in the Class 3A St. Francis Regional semifinal mirrored many 2019 results. The Hawks scored 30 seconds into the game on a beautiful 40-yard free kick by defender Paige Bednarke and tied the game 2-2 with 35 minutes left before St. Francis, the 2018 AA state champion, scored twice in the final 19 minutes.
The Hawks were 2-9-0 in their 2019 games decided by one goal. Five losses were 1-0, although much of that can be evidence of a schedule in which about half of the opponents were ranked.
“Last season we were sick of losing games by one goal. We’re trying to adjust our formation and be a little more offensive minded,” Revak said.
“I’d rather lose games 6-5 than 1-0. I’d rather push up and get countered than for us to play an awesome defensive game and just give up one (and lose). We’re trying to find the balance and see if that balance fits into our roles.”
Mondelli certainly should be an even greater offensive threat this season. At 5-foot-3, she can be deceptive, but her speed and footwork make her a consistent threat.
Entering her fourth varsity season, Donnelly knows what prep success feels like. She was part of co-UEC Valley championship teams with Bartlett as a freshman and sophomore.
In 2019, Donnelly alternated between center defender and center midfielder but anticipates now being pretty much full-time defense. She will play the interior without the graduated Bednarke.
“I hope that my teammates think that I’m technically sound and a leader on the field,” Donnelly said. “I hope to be uplifting and play a game where I can help string the team together, be that glue that holds the defense with the offense.”
During the layoff, Donnelly and teammates have tried to continue the Hawks’ progress and positive energy through texts, group chats and fun videos.
There’s hard work, too. Donnelly has been running and honing ball skills as much as possible.
“It’s a lot of mental toughness and just trying to keep yourself in shape and motivating yourself,” Donnelly said. “It’s so easy to dismiss playing soccer, doing soccer, going on that run, so it’s a lot of self-discipline for sure.”