Women's Soccer | 10/5/2019 5:33:00 PM
UTICA, NY – The Hartwick women's soccer team started October on a high note Saturday afternoon, taking down Empire 8 foe Utica on the road 2-0. Goals from Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) in the 14th minute and Hannah Bochniak (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent) in the 65th minute gave the Hawks their second Empire 8 win of the year, lifting them to 7-2-1 overall (2-0-1 E8). Hartwick, which got revenge on the Pioneers for a pair of defeats last season, including in the Empire 8 semifinals, is tied for first in the conference with Nazareth and St. John Fisher. Utica drops to 7-3 overall, and 2-1 in the Empire 8.
'Wick had three shots early on in the game before Velho tallied in the 14th minute. Hartwick put together a give-and-go off a corner; the ball deflected and found Velho, whose initial attempt went nowhere. The ball came back to Velho seconds later, and this time she bounced one into the left side of the net for the opening goal at 13:20. The Hawks dominated the rest of the half, putting together an 11-1 shot advantage overall. Tanner Reed (Unadilla, NY/Unatego Central) put a header wide in the 22nd minute, and Velho put one high in the 30th. Utica got their first shot in the 43rd minute, a Mikayla Blumenstock try that went wide. At the break, Hartwick led, 1-0.
The Hawks came out firing to start the second half. They earned three corners in the first 14 minutes, and had shots by Maggie Rogers (Wharton, NJ/Morris Hills) (saved in the 48th minute) and Bochniak (header, high in the 53rd minute). Hartwick doubled their lead after a Utica foul early in the 65th minute. Dana Caputo (Commack, NY/Commack) sent one off the ensuing free kick 28 yards towards the net that was knocked down by Utica keeper Allison Wagner. Bochniak got to the loose ball first, sending one to the lower right corner at 64:01 for the insurance goal. Now down two, the Pioneers turned up the pressure. They earned a corner that resulted in a shot and save from Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) in the 67th minute.
After two Hartwick tries in the 73rd and 74th minutes, Utica rattled off the next eight shots, six of which needed saving by Robataille, including four in a 2:31 span from the 78th through 80th minutes. Samantha Ford (Acton, MA/Acton Boxborough Regional) had Hartwick's final shot of the game, sending one wide in the 87th minute, and Utica's Summer Gagnon shot high in the 89th. The final horn sounded soon after with Hartwick in front, 2-0.
Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) led all Hawks with three shots, one of which went on target. Five Hartwick players had two shots: the two goal-scorers, Velho and Bochniak, Ford, Rogers, and Shannon Lauko (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker). Robataille worked hard for her sixth shutout of the season and 23rd of her Hartwick career, making a season-high seven saves.
Blumenstock and Jenna Keeman tied Kreppein for the game-high of three shots; Blumenstock sent two on target, while Keeman had one shot on goal. Hope Millets had a pair of shots, both on net. Allison Wagner played all 90 minutes in goal, making five saves on seven chances.
Hartwick had a 17-11 shot advantage overall, although Utica's late-game flurry gave them a 10-6 lead in the second half. The Hawks also led in corners, 6-1.