After the Monroe Catholic women's team earned its first win as a Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) team of the 2024 football season earlier this month, the Rams also earned their first conference win as a FNSB team.
Monroe Catholic's boys and girls teams defeated Hutchison on Friday night in Mid-Alaska Conference (MAC) play to improve to 1-0. However, the two games played out differently, with the women's team starting first at ATC Field.
Monroe girls: 15, Hutchison: 0
Freshman midfielder Macy Nafpliotis scored in the first few minutes for the Rams, and her younger sister, junior striker Miley Nafpliotis, scored two goals. She first scored from well outside her penalty area and added her extra point immediately after the opposing goalkeeper kicked the ball in her direction.
Macy Nafpliotis then matched her sister with a goal of her own from outside the penalty area. Miley Nafpliotis was not to be outdone, and as soon as the ball was returned to play, he maneuvered around defenders and pushed the slowly rolling ball past the goalkeeper for a 5-0 lead.
Senior forward and captain Yadira Martinez toyed with the goalie for the Rams' sixth goal, and a minute later Miley Nafpliotis lofted the ball out of the goalie's hands for a goal.
Layla Church added a ton of goals to take an 8-0 lead. Hutchison's goalkeeper stepped up his resistance from there, making a number of saves before halftime. Monroe Catholic goalkeeper Emma Walsh saw minimal action before coming off as a second-half substitute and playing in a different part of the field.
“We gave them different positions to work on,” Monroe Catholic head coach Brittany Milton said after the game. “A lot of them were like, 'I can't do it,' but they ended up scoring a goal or stopping something. So they did a really good job of making the change.”
Switching sides of the field, the Rams scored in the first minute of the second half and again a few minutes later. Freshman forward Valeria Martinez added the rushing attack. Miley Nafpliotis scored again off the layout, and the Rams' long range scoring continued. Freshman Allison Priebe scored a goal from the edge of the goal box and Miley Nafpliotis added the extra point, making the final score 15-0.
The Rams are now 2-0 after Friday's win and a season-opening 3-1 win against Lathrop on April 16. The Rams return for a home game against North Pole on April 29th and then face the Patriots again the next day. Hutchison's next varsity game will be on Wednesday, May 1st against Lathrop. The Rams and Hawks will play again on Friday, May 17th.
Monroe Boys: 2, Hutchison: 1
The Catholic men's teams of Hutchison and Monroe were evenly contested, resulting in a slow-scoring start in what was the first official game of the season for both teams (the Rams lost to Lathrop in a friendly on April 16th). match).
Hawks goalkeeper Cole Condon, a junior, recovered and thwarted a potential goal with a header in the first 10 minutes. While Hutchison controlled the ball for most of the first half of the game, Monroe Catholic had several direct shots at goal in the minutes after the first attempt, but was still unable to score at that point. .
Midway through the first half, both teams sent shots over the goal. The Rams stepped up their attack on the net late in the second half, and soon after a great save from Condon, freshman Tristian Nicholson outran the defense to break the scoreless tie and give Monroe Catholic the lead going into halftime.
The Hawks decided the game in the second half when Dylan Skaggs zigzagged across the Monroe Catholic side of the field and scored the tying goal. However, Taron Loving slotted the ball from the edge of the penalty box into the center of the net to give the Rams a 2-1 lead.
Condon missed several shots late, but the Hawks were unable to finish as the Rams goaltender made several saves of his own in the final minutes.
“We had to take a player down because we got a red card, so they [Monroe] We played 10-11 most of the second half,” Milton said. “So they did a good job of enduring it and not letting it affect them and break them. So I'm happy with that.”
The Hutchison boys will next play against West Valley's JV team on Monday, April 29th, and have their next varsity game against Palmer on May 4th. The Monroe Catholic boys will play North Pole in Fairbanks on April 29 and then face the Patriots again the next day. The Rams and Hawks will play again on Friday, May 17th.
