The Franklin Monroe soccer team had a bad stretch as far as injuries. They have lost two of their better players recently and have had to scramble to even be able to field a team. After canceling a game on Saturday due to a lack of players, they had to put together a patchwork line up against an athletic and quick Dayton Christian Warrior team this week. They made a go of it, but were dominated 10-1.
The Jets lost one player to a season ending knee injury and another is undergoing a concussion protocol – so their status is week to week. Three girls have stepped up and filled their spots – but all three are novice soccer players. So it is trial by fire for the trio. So now Jets have a lean bench and it was hard to pull anyone out to recover from the heat of the day. Meanwhile the Warriors had more bench players and were able to substitute freely and keep fresh bodies on the field – which gave them yet another advantage.
Most of the first half was played in the Warrior half of the field. It was hard to get the ball by the stout defense of the warriors and on offense they passed well and the Jets couldn’t match their speed. Chloe Brumbaugh was utilized on defense early in the match. But coach Diceanu moved her to offense about half way through the first half. The change worked in that Brumbaugh was awarded a penalty kick and made the most of her opportunity – scoring the only goal of the night for the Jets. She did well on both offense and defense for the Jets.
“We move her around as needed – she is a versatile player. I coached her many years now – in the club and now here in high school. She plays anywhere I ask her to play and she does a good job. She is predominately an attacker but on this team I have asked her to help with defense. But we sneak her out sometimes and it worked this time as she scored on the penalty kick.”
The Jets did advance the ball better in the second half, but still could not manage many shots on goal. But also in the second half they had a goal keeper get hurt in the second half and leave the field with a hand injury. Leaving a lean bench even leaner. The Jets just can’t shake the injury bug it seems. The Jets now have a few days to get healed before their next contest against National Trail.
Coach Diceanu summarized the game, “We played a really good team that was well prepared and well coached. We got tired – the heat got to us. We have been playing with just 10-11 players the last couple of weeks. That is our reality. We have 3 new girls that are learning the game and they are just seeing how this all works. We appreciate them being out here. We lost two good players and that does not count the little ankle and thigh injuries that pop up – we were short another player today.”
