OAKLAND – Taylor Wuennenberg stood masked, padded and often distanced from the action as the goalkeeper of the Ursuline field hockey team last fall.
On a lacrosse field, she prefers to be the center of attention.
Wuennenberg exploded for six goals and controlled the draw circle, and emergency goalie Elisa Schmitt led a smothering defensive performance to propel Ursuline to a 14-4 victory over Fort Zumwalt United in a girls lacrosse game Thursday at Ursuline Academy.
Ursuline (1-1) received three-goal performances from junior Josie Naeger and sophomore Ashley Strauss and two goals from senior Kennedy Kollmeyer.
Wuennenberg, who is also a state-qualifying golfer, placed sixth in the St. Louis metro area in total saves and ninth in goals against average in helping the Bears reach the Midwest Field Hockey Tournament quarterfinals.
On Thursday, she proved she is just as adept at scoring goals as preventing them.
“I used to be an ice hockey player, so I think that’s where my offensive mind comes in,” Wuennenberg said.
The sophomore midfielder displayed her athleticism by scoring in a variety of ways – strong moves in traffic, timely cuts to the goal and long sprints in transition.
Her first goal came on a 50-yard dash through the Fort Zumwalt United defense after a brilliant save by Schmitt, who was pressed into service due to an injury to starting goalie Claudia Fischer.
Schmitt’s suggestion to step in as a replacement goalie was originally dismissed as a joke at practice on Wednesday, but less than five hours before gametime, she received word that she would in fact be the starting goalie against Zumwalt United.
“There were definitely pregame nerves, but I trusted my teammates to help me,” Schmitt said.
Helped by the speed of Wuennenberg and the midfielders, Ursuline supplied Schmitt with an early lead.
After Wuennenberg’s sprint opened the scoring, Naeger turned on the jets, weaved through the Fort Zumwalt United defenders and earned a free position shot. A give-and-go between Naeger and Wuennenberg made the score 3-0 less than six minutes into the contest.
“I like to run. Just let me run,” Naeger said. “Our midfield line is so fast.”
Fort Zumwalt United (1-2) displayed a different tactic for scoring – extreme patience. After passing the ball around the perimeter for almost 90 seconds, sophomore Savanna Eaton found a crease, drove and scored.
Another time-consuming possession was rewarded with a timely cut from sophomore Abigail Hirsch, and Zumwalt United sliced the lead to 3-2.
“We were fast enough to stay with them, we just had to be patient and mirror them when they cut,” Naeger said.
A spin move between defenders freed Wuennenberg for her third goal, and an interception and sprint from Naeger made it 5-2 before Schmitt began to put on a goalkeeping clinic.
She made three successive saves in tight spaces, including a courageous block with her chest protector on a cutting Eaton to keep Zumwalt United off the scoreboard.
“I was a catcher in softball so my reaction time is pretty good,” said Schmitt, who normally plays midfield or defense. “Being able to keep my cool and control my nerves helped the best.”
Wuennenberg scored her fourth goal of the first half when she cut to the net and received a perfect feed from Kollmeyer to put Ursuline into the halftime break with a 7-3 lead.
To open the second half, Wuennenberg displayed a new method of scoring by flipping the draw to herself, racing downfield and finding the net in 15 seconds.
“I’ve been working on that, hitting it up, catching it and going,” Wuennenberg said.
Getting the ball and going was a common theme for all Ursuline midfielders. When sophomore Ashley Strauss entered the mix to give Wuennenberg and Naeger a breather, she flew down the field and earned a pair of free position opportunities, which she converted into goals.
“We have a rotation of four (midfielders) and the speed is so consistent. When we sub, the level of play never drops,” Naeger said.
And that speed eventually wore down the Fort Zumwalt United defenders, as Ursuline pulled away by scoring the final six goals of the game.
Ursuline lost its opener to St. Dominic before winning its first game of the season Thursday. The Bears credit that loss with improving their overall focus in practice.
“It’s good to get a wake-up call. It set our tone,” Wuennenberg said. “We’re only going up from here.”
