Women's Soccer | 10/19/2019 8:18:00 PM
ONEONTA, NY – It was an evenly-played game between two regionally-ranked conference rivals on Saturday afternoon at Elmore Field, as the Hartwick women's soccer team and Nazareth battled to a scoreless, double-overtime tie. The Hawks, ranked tenth in the East Region by United Soccer Coaches, are now 9-3-2 overall, while the Golden Flyers, ranked eighth in the region, are 8-3-2. The two sides are each tied for first in the Empire 8 at 3-0-2 with just two games remaining for each on the conference schedule.
The first 15 minutes of the game were fairly uneventful, save for a couple plays in the penalty area that Nazareth felt should have resulted in penalty kicks for them. Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) had the first significant chance of the afternoon, shooting one on goal in the 25th minute that Nazareth goalkeeper Hannah Miller had to reach up to save. The Golden Flyers turned up the heat from there, getting the bulk of dangerous chances for the rest of the period. They had two shots blocked by Hartwick defenders in the final 20 minutes of the half, and had a golden opportunity snuffed out by Hartwick keeper Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) in the 27th minute when she charged to the top of the box to stop Mia Strollo's shot as it came off her foot and deflect it out for a corner. The teams remained locked at nil at the half, with Nazareth holding a slight 5-4 lead in shots.
The last line of Hartwick's defense sparkled early in the second half. Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) stopped a pair of Nazareth chances in the first few minutes, while Dana Caputo (Commack, NY/Commack) guided a dangerous ball across the endline for a goal kick in the 52nd minute. The Golden Flyers nearly broke through in the 56th minute off a corner. Mia Longo served a beautiful ball into the box that a Nazareth player redirected towards the back of the goal, but Samantha Ford (Acton, MA/Acton Boxborough Regional) was right there to clear it out of harm's way.
The Hawks had the next big chance, coming in the 64th minute. Reed sent a nice pass up to Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls), who cut in to shake off her defender and found herself facing Miller all alone. She fired one from about even with the penalty spot, but Miller was able to reach up and snag it for the save. Shannon Lauko (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) was not too far from a goal herself in the 73rd minute, but she floated one a couple feet high after a busted corner. Kreppein had the final big chance of regulation off the rush in the 84th minute, not long after the ball bounced away from Julia Collado (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon) near the net, but her shot from a sharp angle on the left side flew wide right.
The first overtime was fairly uneventful, aside from one frantic sequence for Hartwick. The Golden Flyers had two shots back to back just under three minutes in, but Robataille came up big, stopping both shots to keep the game alive.
The Hawks nearly won it halfway through the second overtime. Caputo sent a free kick to the far right side of the box that Kreppein barely touched, sending it inches wide of the goal. Nazareth came even closer a few minutes later. Off a Longo corner, Megan McCraith found herself with the ball about ten yards out and went for the win, but rang it off the right post. The Golden Flyers had one more chance to steal the game in the final minute, earning a corner with 23 seconds remaining, but Caleigh Cahoon was not able to get enough on her header, making for an easy Robataille save.
Kreppein led all players with six shots (two on target), giving her 21 shots over the past three games. Reed was the only other Hawk with multiple attempts, at two, and four others had one shot apiece. Robataille was excellent all day, making seven saves and coming out to stop myriad balls that were not shots. She earned her ninth shutout of the season, tying her career high set in 2017. She has 26 shutouts overall for Hartwick, third in program history, and has 30 shutouts in her career when including her time at Sage, good for fifth among active leaders in Division III.
McCraith and Cahoon tied for the Nazareth high of three shots. Strollo and Ashley Plane were next on the list, with two tries each. Miller made six saves throughout her fifth shutout of the season.
Nazareth had a slim 14-12 lead in shots, and even slimmer lead in shots on goal at 7-6, as each team put half its tries on target. The Golden Flyers had a substantial lead in corners, however, at 6-1.
The Hawks round out their non-conference schedule this Tuesday, October 22, when they travel out-of-state to North Adams, Massachusetts for a battle with the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, beginning at 7 p.m.