NDCL senior in top form on attack

In the first three years of her career at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, there wasn’t as much of a need for Ellie Znidarsic to be a primary goal scorer for the Lions.

Having standout strikers such as Erica Leinweber and Elena Brkic will assure that reality.

But as a senior, Znidarsic has commendably taken on a role that was open and made the most of it.

In six matches to start the fall, Znidarsic has scored nine goals, with NDCL sitting at 3-2-1 and on a three-match winning streak with wins over fellow News-Herald girls soccer Top of the Crop staples Madison, Berkshire and Mayfield.

Few attackers are on as good of form locally.

“I don’t know, I think coming off my club team (Cleveland Cobras), we went to (the U.S. Club Soccer national tournament) this year, and playing with that team is just such a high intensity,” Znidarsic said. “There’s such a high drive to want to score and to want to win. I think playing on that team has really helped me to push really hard on this team and push everyone to their hardest.

“We also weren’t scoring in our first two or three games. We didn’t have any goals. So I knew somebody needed to step up and start scoring.”

Eight of Znidarsic’s nine goals have come in that three-match win streak, with hat tricks against the Blue Streaks and Badgers and a brace against the Wildcats.

Combined, as a freshman, sophomore and junior, Znidarsic logged 10 goals for NDCL. But being that No. 1 offensive-third option for a skilled Lions side wasn’t necessary with Leinweber

and Brkic, among others, in place.

Leinweber had 45 goals over the last three seasons, developing into one of this area’s premier pacey strikers. Brkic, who played three years at NDCL, recorded 28 goals and 40 assists as a skilled and respected playmaker.

With their graduations left a bulk of the Lions’ production and danger in recent memory.

Seeing Znidarsic take on that role and thrive in it has been a welcome sight for Lions coach Matt Tainer.

“The last few years, she has had to play more of a defensive midfield role,”

Tainer said. “With the likes to Laney Brkic and Erica, I didn’t have to move her up there. This year, she’s coming off a fantastic club season and nationals with Cobras. She was scoring for them in the spring, and now, she has transferred it into right now.

“I’ve had girls stepping up enough that I could move her forward. And once she did, she’s been lethal. It’s super fun to watch. She is a natural goal scorer, and she just kind of has that knack for scoring goals. It’s good. We needed it.”

As Znidarsic noted, she was part of the Cleveland

Cobras’ 19-and-under national championship side over the summer, a squad abundant with area talent, much of whom are a class year older than her.

That side included noted finishers such as Leinweber and West Geauga’s Nicola Ehrbar and midfield standouts such as Mayfield’s Fran Longano, NDCL’s Frankie Forte and West G’s Rae Ehrbar and Bailey Zanella.

Club form can translate to high school season, and it seems to have done so for Znidarsic, finding the best form of her high school career.

“I think it’s really important,” Znidarsic said of translating club form to the fall. “It just pushes you. I know I need to bring that intensity to my team to lift the whole team up. That (Cobras) team, they’re all older than me and want me to play up to their level, so it’s kind of my job to push my teammates up to that level.

“It’s gone pretty good so far. For me, it’s pretty much like a new (NDCL) team this year. It’s always been an older team. We started off a little slower, but like we’ve been saying with our team, we’ve just had to get it rolling. And now that we’re rolling, we’re doing good.”

Znidarsic