Stevens Shuts Out St. John Fisher 2-0 on Ducks' Homecoming
HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 25, 2010) – Sophomore Brittany Odgers and sophomore Gia Gonzales each netted a goal as the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s soccer team picked up a 2-0 victory over St. John Fisher College at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks improved to 8-1-0 on the year with a 1-1-0 league ledger, while the Cardinals fell to 1-6-1 overall and 0-2-0 in conference play.
Stevens controlled much of the action in the early going, firing four shots over the first seven minutes of action, culminating in a Katria Misilo header off a Ducks’ corner that sailed just high. Junior Sarah Lehman would get a head on another Stevens’ corner-kick less than two minutes later, but Cardinals’ goalkeeper Jessica Plukas (Rochester, N.Y.) made the stop to preserve the scoreless tie.
Fisher settled down however, slowing finding a rhythm and outshooting the Ducks, 3-0, over the next 15 minutes of action. With the Cardinals pushing forward, senior Megan Gee (Dansville, N.Y.) found herself alone in the middle of the Ducks’ box with a chance to put St. John Fisher ahead, but Stevens’ junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn McClymont made a great sliding save to keep the Ducks from falling behind.
With time winding down in the half, McClymont again came up big, making a diving save to her right with 1:13 left in the first on a Alexa Capozzi (Manlius, N.Y.) shot from the left-side of the pitch to keep the score 0-0 heading into the break.
Hoping to pull ahead, Stevens continued to apply their own pressure to start the second half, firing four of the frame’s first five shots. Fisher responded by generating several chances of its own, nearly taking the lead in the 63rd minute, when senior midfielder Sarah Bihl (Eden, N.Y.) corralled an Alexandra Rohloff (Clarence, N.Y.) cross into the Stevens’ box, but the Eden, N.Y. native fired the shot just wide the Ducks’ net.
Bihl again would get a chance less than two minutes later, this time finding herself in a one-on-one situation inside the Stevens’ 18-yard box, but Ducks’ senior back Alexandra Lyons made a heady sliding tackle to avoid any further danger.
With 25:30 left in the second, Cardinals’ freshman forward Chelsea Oberkrieser (South Wales, N.Y.) blocked down a failed Stevens’ clearance, creating another St. John Fisher scoring opportunity, but McClymont came off her line, beating out the South Wales, N.Y. native to the loose ball, snuffing out the would-be Cardinal attack.
Undeterred, Stevens waded through the St. John Fisher push, before creating a couple of scoring chances of their own. In the 67th minute, Gonzales received a pass on the left side of the Cardinal box before dropping it off to freshman Bridgette Barden, who in turn slid it to a streaking Odgers on the right wing, but Plukas made a diving save to her left to preserve the tie.
The trio would connect again minutes later, this time putting away the go-ahead marker, staking Stevens to a 1-0 advantage. After making a run down the left-side, Gonzales sent the ball into Barden in front of the Cardinal goal, where the Redondo Beach, Calif. native flicked it on to Odgers who tucked her third goal of the season into the right side of the St. John Fisher net.
Continuing to push forward as the game wore on, Stevens tallied an insurance score in the 83rd minute, when Gonzales tracked down a loose ball in the Cardinal six-yard box following a Ducks’ corner-kick, before putting it in the left corner of the Fisher net.
Stevens finished with a slim 18-17 shot advantage with a 4-0 edge in corners. McClymont finished with five saves en route to her third shutout of the season.