The day started at 5:15am and ended at almost 11:30pm in the St. James the Greater parking lot. In between, the Jungle Cat JO Team showed they are a force in the Midwest zone, going 3-0 against strong Chicago competition.
In the first game of the day, after a 4+ hour car ride, the Cats struggled to convert several early chances. However, the talent of the Cats was too much for the team from NIPC. John Heafner led the scoring assault with 4 goals, while Matt Stipanovich played Santa Claus, handing out 5 gifts (assists) to his teammates. In goal, Matt Hohenberger showed a little rust from his volleyball-related absence, but was steady enough to make 8 saves in the Cats' 15-5 opening win. Heafner was named the Player of the Game.
Up next for JCWP was Windy City, the club team of Chicago's dominant high school Fenwick. Boasting one of the top players in the area who is on the Jr. National team, Windy City came out strong and aggressively. Jack Meara's early counter-attack goal, though, helped settle the Cats down and it was 2-2 going into the 2nd quarter. However, shooting in the shallow end -- a real disadvantage as the 2M defenders were literally allowed to stand straight up on the bottom -- the Cats started to lose it. Defensively, they were being overmatched, the offense was stagnant and the counter-attack was gone. We were literally hanging on by a thread. The scoreboard read 5-2 at halftime in favor of the bad guys.
However, St. Louis pride kicked in and the Cats were a totally different team in the 2nd half. Playing a near flawless press & playing extremely tough in the water, the Cats outscored the befuddled Windy City team 7-1 in the final half of play, pulling away for a 9-6 win. EVERYONE on the team played great. Highlights were Meara's ferociousness guarding hole, Michael O'Neill's unfailing determination, and Will Derdeyn's bounce-skip upper-corner shot. Hohenberger also made some terrific saves on some very good shots. Meara was runner-up POTG, with the overall honors going to Derdeyn.
In the final game of the day, the Jungle Cats again proved too be FAR too much for their opponent, West Suburban. Although they started slowly, the game quickly got out of control as the Cats exploded for 12 goals by halftime, and ended up with an 18-4 victory to finish 3-0. Stipanovich led with 8 points (3G, 5A) while Heafner led in goals with 5.
All in all, it was a long day but a very successful one. Everyone was confident in their abilities going in, but they now have proof that they can dominate when they want to. John Heafner was named Player of the Day for averaging a hat trick for the day.
Thanks to Coach Cutelli for organizing the trip, and to the Maloneys for transportation, drinks, & stat keeping.
Final Stats (G/A by game (ie: game 1 :: game 2 :: game 3 :: total))
Sizemore - 3/1 :: 0/0 :: 2/1 :: 5/2
Maloney - 1/1 :: 0/0 :: 2/1 :: 3/2
Meara - 1/1 :: 2/0 :: 1/1 :: 4/2
Going - 0/0 :: 0/0 :: 0/1 :: 0/1
O'Neill - 1/1 :: 1/2 :: 2/0 :: 4/3
Savio - 3/1 :: 0/0 :: 1/3 :: 4/4
Heafner - 4/0 :: 3/3 :: 5/0 :: 12/3
Derdeyn - 2/1 :: 2/0 :: 2/2 :: 6/3
Stipanovich - 0/5 :: 1/1 :: 3/5 :: 4/11
Hohenberger - 24 saves, 6 assists, 15 GA
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