Senior Maire Shine is the McLean girls’ soccer team’s leading goal-scorer with four through six games. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel.
Neither team scored a goal during Friday’s McLean Highlanders-South Lakes Seahawks girls’ soccer matchup, but both came away feeling positive about how their respective 2014 seasons have unfolded.
The Highlanders and Seahawks played to a scoreless tie during a battle of unbeaten teams on April 4 at South Lakes High School. McLean entered the match as a program looking to continue its run of recent success, which includes a state championship in 2011. South Lakes is a group looking to take the next step in establishing itself as a contender.
Each team generated some offensive chances, but McLean squandered a golden opportunity in each half. In the 26th minute, senior Haley Mennes beat the South Lakes goalkeeper but failed to finish, hitting the side of the net. In the 50th minute, senior Maire Shine bounced a shot off the near post.
“I think we dug deep in the second half, especially,” Shine said. “It was a hard-fought game. We just were a little off on some of the final passes. I think we could have won the game if we just finished a little better. … I thought I had it on the chip. [South Lakes goalkeeper Sara Vigen] covered near post really well and I didn’t have the angle for back post, so I knew I’d have to chip her and then it hit the inside of the post and, ugh, I thought I had it.”
Shine, a first-team all-region selection last season, leads the Highlanders with four goals in six games. She’s the primary offensive threat for a McLean team with a 3-0-3 record, including a scoreless tie against South County on Monday, April 7.
“I expect Maire to produce,” McLean head coach Rob Bouchard said. “Everybody in the district voted her an all-region first-team [player] and we expect her to lead and play like an all-region first-team [player].”
“My girls, they think they can beat anybody. There’s a lot of hard teams out there, but they have that attitude [of], ‘Why not us?’”
--- McLean girls’ soccer coach Rob Bouchard
Shine and senior defender Kaela Mahoney are team captains. Midfielders Caroline Meier and Megan DeGrafft, and defenders Audrey Freeman, Katherine Horenstein and Meaghan O’Reilly are also key contributors.
After opening the season with a scoreless tie against Robinson on March 21, McLean won its next three games, beating Oakton (2-1, March 24), Thomas Jefferson (4-0, March 28) and Langley (1-0, April 1).
“I think this team can go far,” Shine said. “Everyone wants it and we’ve got a lot of talent, so I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t go far.”
The Highlanders finished runner-up in the Liberty District last season, losing to Stone Bridge 4-0 in the tournament championship game. McLean is competing in Conference 6 this season, which includes 2013 region runner-up Yorktown. While the Highlanders and Patriots don’t face one another during the regular season, each is a strong candidate to reach the conference tournament final.
“Our girls feel a little slighted because there has been talk about all these other teams in our district and nobody ever talks about us, so we take it personal,” Bouchard said. “We want to go out there every night and beat everybody now because of that. … My girls, they think they can beat anybody. There’s a lot of hard teams out there, but they have that attitude [of], ‘Why not us?’”
While the Highlanders have their sights set on continued success, the Seahawks are looking to take the next step under second-year head coach Mike Astudillo, who coached the Chantilly girls’ soccer team from 2004 to 2007.
In recent years, South Lakes suffered lopsided losses against top-tier teams, including an 8-0 defeat against McLean in 2011 and a 7-0 loss to Stone Bridge in 2012. In 2013, Astudillo’s first as South Lakes head coach, the Seahawks finished with a 7-3-3 regular-season record, including ties against McLean and Stone Bridge. Astudillo was named Liberty District Coach of the Year.
This season, South Lakes opened with four consecutive victories, beating Wakefield (5-0, March 19), T.C. Williams (2-1, March 27), Marshall (3-0, March 28) and Thomas Jefferson (4-1, April 1) prior to tying McLean.
“This was our first real test of the season,” Astudillo said. “We did what we were supposed to do for the first four games of the season. I scheduled two of the toughest scrimmages I could find and we played fairly well against Centreville and Chantilly, but McLean is just a team that has talented players … [and] Rob runs a great program. It’s just a really good test for us.”
While South Lakes produced a winning season last year, the Seahawks failed to qualify for regionals, losing to Langley in the opening round of the district tournament.
“The region was aware that we did some things last year. Now we’ve got to take that next step. We need to move to the next level. We need to qualify for the region tournament. I think that should be something that we need to do. We knocked on the door last year and we didn’t get there. We need to get there this year.”
--- South Lakes girls’ soccer coach Mike Astudillo
“We need to improve on what we did last year,” Astudillo said. “Last year, we showed up and we let the region know that we were here to play. We tied Stone Bridge last year and when we called in the score they were like, ‘Boys’ soccer tied Stone Bridge?’ ‘No, no, girls’ soccer tied Stone Bridge.’
“The region was aware that we did some things last year. Now we’ve got to take that next step. We need to move to the next level. We need to qualify for the region tournament. I think that should be something that we need to do. We knocked on the door last year and we didn’t get there. We need to get there this year.”
One of the athletes responsible for South Lakes’ early-season success is sophomore midfielder Meaghan Nally, who has been the Seahawks top offensive threat, producing four goals and three assists in five games. What makes Nally a good player?
“Her motor,” Astudillo said. “Her engine never quits. She is an Energizer Bunny out there. She runs from goal line to goal line, she does everything we need.”
Friday’s result moved South Lakes’ record to 4-0-1 and marked the second consecutive season the Seahawks managed to tie McLean.
“We know that we can hang in there with the best of the best,” Nally said. “You just see how we can work together as a team, work hard. We can hang in there. We’re good. Last year we tied them, as well, and we made a statement. We tied them again this year --- they’re better, we’re better, so it made a bigger statement.
“… I think that last year, [Astudillo] was new, and so we were just getting used to his style. This year, we’re kind of used to him. We know what he expects … and we’re stepping up to the plate because we know what we can do now. He’s a really good coach. He motivates us, he keeps pushing us to the next level.”
Bouchard has noticed the Seahawks’ improvements.
“Their goalie [Vigen] is phenomenal and their field players have gotten so much better,” Bouchard said. “First half, they took it to us and I was scared. Second half, we rose to the occasion and started making it more of a game.”
South Lakes takes on Mount Vernon tonight and will host Stuart at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9.
McLean will host Fairfax at 7 p.m. on April 22.