17 athletes join WSOC playoff hunt

By Emma Deo

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals’ women’s soccer team (2-3, 0-0) saw an unfortunate end to their 2024 season, missing out on the SUNYAC playoffs entirely. 

The Cards finished 2024 with a 5-11-1 (4-4-1) record, winning just two of their home contests. These two wins finished out the season for Plattsburgh State, defeating the SUNY Potsdam Bears 3-0 and the SUNY Canton Kangaroos 2-0 on the Cardinals’ senior day. 

These wins foreshadowed the growth that the program was looking to build on in 2025. 

The roster has been bolstered by 14 first-years and three transfers. In their freshman class, the Cards welcomed Sophia Vandemark, Alana DeLaCruz, Sophie Miller, Olivia Stallone, Mariah Nowicki, Jadyn Baker, Ireland McGowan, Leeana Antonini, Kamryn Bezio, Addison Shultis, Brianna Merrill and finished with Lauren and Lindsey Marotta. 

Plattsburgh State brought in a remarkable group of transfers for the 2025 season, including junior midfielder Sydney Myers, who competed at the division II level at the College of Saint Rose prior to its closure in 2024. In their final season in the fall of 2023, Saint Rose finished with a 20-0-2 (10-0-1) record, winning the NE-10 conference championship before falling to Adelphi in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

Myers has made an immediate impact for the Cards, tying a program record after she notched four goals in Plattsburgh’s win over VTSU Johnson on September 6. 

Lilley Keyser was the second incoming transfer for the Cardinals, coming from William Smith College. William Smith is a division III women’s soccer powerhouse, finishing their 2024 season in the final round of the NCAA tournament where they fell to the first-seeded Washington University 3-0. 

In their 2024 season opener, the Cards lost to William Smith 8-0. 

Myers and Keyser are local to the Plattsburgh area, coming from Saranac and Keeseville respectively. 

The Cards rounded out their group of transfers with another local, sophomore goalkeeper Desiree Dubois from Champlain, New York. Dubois transferred from Saint Lawrence University where she competed for the women’s basketball team, appearing in 22 games last season. 

Finally, the Cards added assistant coach Claire Said to the coaching staff to aid with the team’s goalkeepers. Said competed at the division II level at Post University, most recently serving as a graduate assistant and assistant goalkeeper coach for Post. 

Plattsburgh State is back in action at the Fieldhouse turf on Saturday, Sept. 13 where they will take on the Union Chargers. The matchup is dedicated to late goalkeeper coach Geoff Spear, who died in Jan. 2025. Spear was a longtime assistant for the Plattsburgh men’s and women’s soccer programs. 

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