It’s been a different kind of season at Fontbonne Hall.
“It’s very frustrating,” coach Victor Popovsky said. “I’m hoping that we are going to pick up before the playoffs and we are going to pick up to our regular selves.”
The Bonnies have been the class of CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens, winning six of the last seven titles and rarely losing a league game, but have had to face a bevy of new challenges his season.
The creation of the CHSAA intersectional league has meant a higher level of competition from Staten Island powers St. Joseph Hill, St. Joseph by the Sea and Notre Dame Academy. Mary Louis returned to Brooklyn/Queens from Nassau/Suffolk and Christ the King is fielding one of its best teams in recent years.
“Now that we are playing teams out on Staten Island they have a lot of skill,” midfielder Cindy Henderson said. “It’s definitely been a wakeup call to us. We are not the best anymore like we used to be.”
There is a host of reasons for Fontbonne’s 3-7-1 record. It lost nine seniors from last season, including stars Colleen Ryan and Katie Henderson. The Bonnies started the year with a thin roster with the creation of a JV team to play in the newly formed league and Casey Ryan and Kristen Corral were out with injuries until October.
“It’s been hard,” Henderson said.
Just 11 players suited up for contests and in games against Christ the King and St. Joseph by the Sea, fatigued Fontbonne let up after a strong first half. The Bonnies played right with Mary Louis twice and still have a game left with Christ the King.
“It was very frustrating as a coach, especially after having four winning seasons and successful seasons and you go down to no subs and dealing with injuries,” Popovsky said. “I’m sure it’s difficult for any coach.”
Last year he was able to split his time coaching two teams flawlessly. The Bonnies won the division title and his Sheepshead Bay girls team made it to the PSAL Class B semifinals. Popovsky has the Sheepshead boys team in first place with a 7-2-1 record in PSAL Brooklyn A West, but a younger Fontbonne team that needed time to jell hasn’t gotten going yet.
He’s missed three games – none Brooklyn/Queens contests – and some practice time this season.
“He can’t always make it to our games, which we understand,” Henderson said. “He has another team he is committed to. I guess that’s kind of disappointing to not have him there.”
Popovsky said he will not miss any more Fontbonne games and plans on choosing one team for next year. The good news is that the Bonnies played their first game Thursday with their entire team in a 1-1 tie with rival Bishop Kearney, where they missed a bevy of scoring chances. They won the first meeting 5-0.
“It’s great, but it’s still frustrating because we haven’t played with each other all season,” Henderson said. “We are not in sync yet still. But it’s definitely much easier having fresh legs out here again.”
Their eyes have turned to the playoffs with just two games remaining in the regular season. The Bonnies are still filled with talent like midfielder Rachel Gersh, forward Kristiana Padavona, defenders Marissa Scotto and Kate Oliver along with JV callup Erica Christiano. Two postseason wins would put a difficult season behind them and return the championship back to Bay Ridge.
“I still think we are going to get far,” Popovsky said. “I don’t know why.”
