Elmira Wins in OT; Naz Falls to William Smith
Elmira 3, Geneseo 2 (OT)
In a fitting way to end their careers at Campus Field, three seniors led the Elmira College women's soccer team to a 3-2 victory over Geneseo State Tuesday afternoon.
Kelsie DeKarski '14 was involved in all three scores as she set up two goals for her classmates,
Emily Kelly '14 and
Emily Karpinski '14, and scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
The Soaring Eagles picked up right where they left off in their game against Alfred University Saturday as they recorded a handful of shots within minutes after kickoff. The offensive pressure paid off when Kelly fired home the first goal of the game off a through ball from DeKarski.
It looked as though Geneseo was going to tie the game up at one just minutes later, but
Amanda Banner '17 elevated just enough to tip away the shot and corral the rebound. Banner's teammates would respond in the 36th minute by giving her a two goal lead. DeKarski lined up her corner kick and sent the ball towards the back post. Karpinski came crashing in and finished her header into the upper left corner of the goal for her third goal in the last two games. EC would take the 2-0 lead into halftime.
The intensity did not let up in the second half, as Elmira College looking to stretch the lead even further, which they did just 10 minutes into the second half. DeKarski was rewarded for her unselfish play as Kelly found her making a run into the 18-yard box. DeKarski gathered the pass from Kelly and fired a left-footed shot into the open right side of the net for the 3-0 lead.
Geneseo would tack on two goals, the last of which came with at the 81:15 mark, to cut the EC lead to one, but the Soaring Eagles would hold strong over the final eight-plus minutes to secure the victory.
William Smith 2, Nazareth 0
Visiting William Smith scored twice in a 29-second span late in the second half Tuesday as the third-ranked Herons broke a scoreless tie and defeated Nazareth, 2-0, in a non-conference women's soccer match.
The victory was the 14th straight for the Herons, who dropped their season opener in late August and haven't lost since. William Smith is 14-1 overall. Nazareth dropped to 10-5-2 overall. The Herons are 19-3-3 all-time against Nazareth and have a 16-game unbeaten streak (13-0-3) against the Golden Flyers that extends to the 1999 season.
The Herons dominated the action by generating 15 shots to Nazareth's one. The Herons also had a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. Nazareth's defense, anchored by senior
Sarah Cipperly, junior
Kaitlyn Sowyrda and freshman
Jessica Barden, kept the Herons off the scoreboard until the 76th minute.
A pair of first-year players hooked for the first goal as Kara Shue sent a cross into the penalty area that MacKenzie Smith redirected off the outstretched finger tips of Nazareth keeper
Abbie Carey. Just 29 seconds later, another first-year player, Evie Manning, scored unassisted for the Herons as she dribbled through the Nazareth defense and sent a shot into the back of the Nazareth net.
Nazareth's lone shot came off the foot of junior
Tori Ryan in the second half. William Smith senior Chelsea Dunay handled the attempt easily and was able to produce her 10th shutout of the season. It was William Smith's seventh straight shutout, a stretch that includes more than 630 minutes. Carey had six saves for the Golden Flyers.
Nazareth closes its regular-season schedule Saturday at home against Skidmore at 3 p.m. in another non-conference game.