The Plattsburgh State women’s soccer team’s streak of not allowing a goal came to an end Tuesday night after falling to Middlebury College 1-0.
The Cards who have started the season at 4-2-0, entered the match having not conceded a goal in 365 minutes of play and were incredibly close to keeping that impressive streak alive late into Tuesday’s game.
PSUC came out slow against Middlebury and struggled to find their rhythm, but were still able to create chances, said head coach Tania Armellino.
“We definitely had a lot of nice chances,” Armellino said. “It’s really just that effort and our organization coming out when the first whistle blows and our ability to keep that going.”
PSUC goalkeeper Danielle Schmitt was kept busy throughout the entirety of the game as Middlebury outshot the Cards 17-7.
Schmitt finished the day with 11 saves for the Cards.
“She (Schmitt) owned the box, was in the air, and she made things look simple just by reading the area really well,” Armellino said.
Armellino wants her team to focus on coming out immediately strong in the first half and setting the tempo early, which is something they have struggled with.
Junior forward Devin McMahon agreed that her team was slow to start in Tuesday’s match.
“Once we got into the kick of things it really picked up,” McMahon said. “Our coach changed up the formation in the second half, which really helped to put our momentum forward.”
Although being outshot, PSUC still managed to remain strong defensively until a late goal in the 80th minute by Middlebury forward Adrianna Gildner. The Panthers earned a free kick in their own defensive third and were able to quickly counter downfield.
The Cards’ scoreless streak came to an end after 445 consecutive scoreless minutes. The goal was the only one given up by the PSUC team and was the deciding factor.
PSUC will continue their streak of away matches as they travel to Skidmore (2-3-0) to take on the Thoroughbreds on Saturday.
The Thoroughbreds are currently riding a two game win streak and have outscored opponents 6-1 in those games. Emily Saliterman has been a crucial aspect of Skidmore’s win streak and has scored four of her teams six goals, including a hat-trick in their last contest.
Schmitt believes that the difference maker in this game will be her team creating opportunities to score and capitalizing on these opportunities. This game against Skidmore will be a huge predictor of how the team competes in SUNYAC play, according to Schmitt.
“It’s going to be important to have a strong game and score a few goals to get us momentum going into SUNYACS,” Schmitt said.
Coach Armellino recognizes this match as their final test before entering SUNYAC play and believes that a win is exactly what her team needs in order to be ready for conference games.
“If we can get out to them and set the tone early then I’m hoping that we’ll be able to keep the tempo of the game the way we want it to be,” Armellino said.
Email Alex Reynolds at alex.reynolds@cardinalpointsonline.com.
