Girls lacrosse: Neuqua Valley heeds Metry's advice in win
There was shock and disappointment earlier this year when the Neuqua Valley girls lacrosse team learned senior attack Peyton Metry would miss the season due to a torn left ACL.
But Metry has found an alternate way to contribute to the Wildcats' fortunes this season - as a member of the coaching staff.
There was Metry on Thursday, helping out after fellow senior captain Christine Corbin got nicked up early in a 21-1 victory over St. Francis. Corbin returned and scored a goal, one of 14 Wildcats to score this night.
Then it was over to advise sophomore attack Zoey Laipple, whom Metry has mentored this season. Laipple responded by leading Neuqua Valley with 4 goals against St. Francis.
"I'm definitely assuming a different role this year," Metry said. "I'm still trying to get the hang of it, as my teammates know. I'm grateful to be on the sidelines and supporting my team as much as I can, even though I can't be on the field."
Metry was at a tournament last November when she tore her left ACL. The thing is, she didn't realize it was torn for a couple of months. In the intervening time, she said, she "shredded it." She had surgery at the end of January, which ended her senior season.
Shifting to a coaching role was a challenging decision for Metry, and she had a long talk with her coach, John Scanlon, about it.
"I knew it would be a difficult thing to do, a difficult decision to make, but I knew that any way I could be out with the team is what I wanted to do," said Metry, who attends every practice and will play club lacrosse at Illinois State next year.
"It does pain me to watch sometimes, not being able to be out on the field with my team, not being able to practice and participate in drills, but I'm still out here supporting them, and that's what matters."
Scanlon, for one, is happy to have an additional coach on his sideline.
"We had a long talk and she wanted to still be part of the team," he said. "It was her who came to me, which I thought was really mature of her, and she said she wanted to be a coach on the varsity. We have some young attackers, juniors and sophomores, and she wanted to coach them up."
Junior midfielder Lauren Reitzel, who scored only 1 goal after tallying 6 the night before in a 14-8 win over Naperville North, is glad Metry is hanging around.
"Obviously, we miss having her on the field with us and being able to contribute, but having her on the sideline with as a support and knowing she's there is good to know," Reitzel said.
As for St. Francis, Thursday was a long night. Senior attack Sabrina Eichenberger scored the Spartans' only goal 13:18 left in the first half, but looking at the big picture, there are reasons to feel optimistic.
"I've been on varsity for three years, and in past years, we haven't really worked as hard in practice," she said. "I can really see the team trying, and they are trying to do their best to improve themselves, in transitions and on offense and defense. That's why I think later in the season, we will be better than at the beginning."
Added her coach, Georgie Towa: "For me right now, we have to have that state of mind of competition. St. Francis is known for other sports, but not lacrosse, so as a new coach, I'd like to change that culture and embed it in the school itself."