Marcie Fundis had played goalie only once — around six years ago when her team’s only keeper quit the team.
She unexpectedly received her second chance at the position on Wednesday, though her brave gesture was not enough for Emporia State in its 3-1 loss to Newman at the TRYSA soccer fields.
“It’s been tough,” Fundis said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, and we’ve just had to adjust to a lot of things.
“This is just one more thing we’ve had to adjust to.”
The change was quite a switch for Fundis, who played defender during the first half.
Just before halftime, ESU keeper Megan Martin had her hand stepped on by a Newman player and was taken to the hospital.
“I didn’t do a good enough job of getting a backup for her this year,” ESU coach Jim Schneiderhahn said, “and that’s my fault.”
The coach — without a second-string keeper on the roster — asked Fundis if she’d be willing to try.
The sophomore agreed to take over, receiving a few quick instructions at halftime from assistant coaches taking the field in the second half.
Martin’s injury made a thin ESU roster even thinner. The Hornets were already playing without starter Jennifer Gurnsey, who left town to attend her grandfather’s funeral.
The Hornets also had a few players not return to this year’s team, making the bench even shorter.
“It’s tough, physically and mentally,” ESU forward Alicia Smith said. “You have to know that you can give it all you have the whole time because you never know what kind of numbers we’re going to have.”
The Hornets held a brief lead after scoring in the ninth minute.
Smith alertly took advantage of a Newman mistake, stealing the ball away from a Jets defender.
“We had been working on pressuring the defense more (in practice), and I saw an opportunity,” Smith said. “She had a bad touch, so I just went after it.”
After taking the ball away, Smith sent a well-placed center to Amanda Miano.
The sophomore put just enough on the shot to get it by Newman keeper Jennifer Davis for ESU’s first goal of the season.
“I was happy to see Amanda score,” Schneiderhahn said. “She struggled last year trying to find the back of the net.
“This year she came with a new resolve to finish. She’s been on target in training and in the couple of matches we’ve had.”
Newman responded in the 17th minute, as Amanda Knabe sent a ball forward to Lacey Alost.
The Jets forward — who appeared close to being off sides — beat Martin with a shot to the left side of the net to tie it at 1.
Though Newman scored two goals off Fundis in the second half, the ESU defender-turned-keeper didn’t have much of a chance on either one.
In the 48th minute, Diana Santillan guided a pass up to Knabe, who finished the run with a blast into the right side from 10 yards out.
The Jets finished their scoring in the 59th minute on a penalty kick.
On a loose ball, Santillan and ESU’s Kathryn Killion became tangled up in the Hornets’ box. Tempers flared, and both players shoved each other before being separated.
The official gave Killion a yellow card and awarded Newman a penalty kick.
Alyssa Cox capitalized, putting it in the right corner for a 3-1 Jets lead.
Fundis finished with four saves.
ESU (0-2) fared better offensively than it did in the season opener.
The Hornets had 21 shots and 10 shots on goal Wednesday, as compared to three shots and no shots on goal in a 4-0 loss to Rockhurst last Friday.
ESU will play at East Central (Okla.) on Friday.
Wednesday at Emporia
Newman 3, Emporia 1
Newman 1 2 — 3
ESU 1 0 — 1
First Half
ESU — Amanda Miano (Alicia Smith), 8:28
NU — Lacey Alost (Amanda Knabe), 17:24
Second Half
NU — Amanda Knabe (Diana Santillan), 47:26
NU — Alyssa Cox (penalty kick), 58:51
Shots — Newman 22, ESU 21. Saves — Jennifer Davis (Newman) 9, Megan Martin (ESU) 1, Marcie Fundis (ESU) 4. Yellow card — ESU: Kathryn Killion. Att — 279.
Records — Newman (1-0); ESU (0-2).
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