Frustration could be heard from the Boardman bench, from some of its vocal players. The Spartans felt they were being outplayed by the rival Falcons in this All-American Conference matchup, which ended in a 1-1 tie. It was the opener for both teams.

Boardman responded with a push down the field turf inside Spartan Stadium.

Junior captain Kathryn Taghaboni eventually found the back of the net with 20:18 before intermission.

“First goal was classic capitalize on the opponent’s mistake,” Boardman coach Mark D’Eramo said. “Our girls know when defenders pass out of the back, it’s always risky. They put pressure on it and fed us that one. It’s always hard to score a goal.

Staff photographer / John Vargo
Boardman’s Cara Zawrotuk, right, holds off a FItch’s Bailey Baker for possesson of the ball. The two rivals battled to a 1-1 tie on Monday in Boardman.

“Even though it was uncontested, she did a great job to slot it home.”

Fitch’s team wouldn’t be outdone in this Monday evening matchup. The Falcons wanted to show their aggressive nature as well.

Sophomore Ashley Givens was nudged inside the goalkeeper’s box, resulting in a penalty kick with 37 minutes remaining in the second half. Givens blasted the ball to the back of the net.

“Givens had a great PK shot,” Fitch coach Samantha Marsico said. “You couldn’t ask for anything else.”

Boardman keeper Serene Khatib tipped a Fitch shot up and over the crossbar with 10 minutes remaining to keep the game even.

The Spartans showed much more aggression in the second half. They dominated the last two minutes, but a couple of shots in that span went awry.

“I think it took us a little time, but the aggression levels were three, four times better,” D’Eramo said. “We were fighting harder. We weren’t letting us get pushed around any more.”

It was a great game for the Falcons, in retrospect.

“We came out with a tie, but it was good for us,” Marsico said.

Fitch had a scrimmage prior to Monday’s opener, which helped preparation heading into the Boardman game.

“I think we knew we had to play for something,” Marsico said. “Came out thinking we were going to work for the possession and go aggressive and hard from the start and come out with the win.”

Boardman practiced all summer, but all it had to practice against was its own fullbacks, wingers and midfielders. The Spartans had plenty of intrasquad scrimmages, but no tournaments or other play before the season started.

“Really, a lot of adjustments on the fly had to happen tonight,” D’Eramo said. “It’s a typical Boardman team. We’re going to go out and work hard. We’re going to try to overcome adversity the best we can. We’re not going to make excuses. This is a good stepping point. We know we need to be better. I’m confident the next game we will be.”