The Plattsburgh State women’s soccer team broke a four-game losing streak Monday, taking down the Clarkson Golden Knights in a 1-0 win.
“It was definitely a good result, and one that we needed,” head coach Tania Armellino said. “We got more shots off; we got more offensive opportunities. We moved up as a unit; we defended as a unit.”
Armellino was looking at the game against Clarkson (4-6-1) as an opportunity for the Cardinals (6-5, 0-3) to correct mistakes that were present in Saturday’s loss to Potsdam and the several games before it.
And her team showed up.
“[The last few games] we were playing a little bit timid, a little bit more in retreat mode,” Armellino said. “[Monday night] was attack mode. We attacked as a unit, we won the ball, we made the connections, and we changed our formation so it was a little bit more attack-oriented, and I think that really made the difference.”
Junior forward Katie Matott scored the match’s lone goal in PSUC’s non-conference win.
The Cards’ goal was assisted by freshman forward/midfielder Kirsten Villemaire who, along with junior midfielder Rachel Moran, recently returned from injury.
Armellino was happy to see the returning players mesh back into things well.
“It’s wonderful to see them get back into the flow of things,” Armellino said. “[For Villemaire] to flick that over to Katie Matott, and for Matott to have the composure to finish, and [the ball] coming from Sarah Bonner’s throw, it’s a real buildup from the back. It’s a real connection, and I think that’s what’s so exciting about it. We’re playing off of each other better.”
PSUC outshot Clarkson 18-9 on the game, with graduate student goalie Taylor Adams recording five saves in her sixth win of the year.
Next up, the Cards have two SUNYAC games at home.
PSUC plays SUNY Oswego (4-3-2, 1-1-1) at 4 p.m. Friday before playing SUNY Cortland (6-3-1, 2-1-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Cards have lost the first three of their nine SUNYAC games, so to have any chance of finishing with a winning conference record, they have to win one of the weekend’s games.
But Armellino isn’t trying to just get one.
“The goal is to hit both, and hit them hard,” Armellino said. “You have some games that could have just gone better, and you’re in the hole. Oftentimes, you can’t control the outcome. You can outshoot an opponent 30 to two and they could win 1-0. But you can control your effort. If we just see some better performances, I think the results will come.”
With Oswego coming off of a weekend that saw them tie New Paltz 0-0 in double overtime before losing 2-0 to Oneonta, Armellino knows that the first test of the weekend won’t be easy.
“They’re going to come in hard,” Armellino said. “They had a tough weekend of one loss and one tie, so we’re going to need to be working just as hard for the three points.”
Email Ben Watson at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
