The SUNY Plattsburgh women’s soccer team ended its journey in the SUNYAC conference this season with its 3-2 loss against SUNY Geneseo in the tournament’s semifinals at Geneseo.
The Cardinals finished their season 10-8-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the SUNYAC.
This season’s end marked the sixth consecutive year head coach Tania Armellino’s team reached the SUNYAC semifinals.
Both teams did not score for the first 15 minutes, but the Knights led the game with a score of 2-0 at halftime.
Sophomore forward Kirsten Villemaire managed to strike two goals at the 48th and 68th minute to even the score.
“Once I scored the first one I had a good feeling about the game. We had all of the momentum and then we just connected as a team, and I got the second one and we were back in it and played well from then on,” Villemaire said.
However, the Knights scored a goal again at the 71st minute. The Cards were not able to find an equalizer and suffered the 3-2 defeat to end their season.
Throughout the game, freshman goalkeeper Julia Ennis was able to stop the Knights from scoring four times.
“We were obviously upset that our season ended with such a close game that could have gone either way, but we were all proud how we came back from a 2-0 deficit,” Villemaire said.
Armellino said the team is disappointed about not advancing to the SUNYAC championship, but she said it is more important for the team to learn from the loss.
She said she saw the spirit of fighters in the team and is proud of the athletes.
“Of course the seniors were upset, we were upset, but we found pride in it,” Ennis said.
Ennis said the team gave everything it could and gave a strong battle to the Knights. She was also upset she let in three goals but took it as an experience to get better.
According to Ennis, Armellino, with tears in her eyes, said she wished she could say something to make the team feel better after the loss. It was a tough ending to the season for the team.
Plattsburgh State ended its season fourth in the conference.
Ennis said the team has been saying this season had a lot of ups and downs, but it is a young team, and she took this season as a learning experience.
Ennis also said the team was welcoming to the freshmen, and they have been together through the losses and wins.
She is grateful to the seniors for leading them throughout the season and did their best in games.
“Especially our captain, she stepped up for the team. It will be hard to replace [the seniors] because they made a big impact on the team,” Ennis said.
Armellino said she was proud to be the team’s head coach and watch the team grow. She was proud of the seniors and will root for them after they leave the team.
“[The seniors] fought through and fought hard throughout the seasons, they have the spirit to fight through anything,” Armellino said.
