The Plattsburgh State Cardinals hopes of an undefeated season were diminished in their loss Wednesday against St. Lawrence. (SLU 1, PSUC 0.) Many factors go into being able to hold on to an undefeated season and the Cards learned Thursday that one of these factors is being able to score more points then that of their opponent.
Despite PSUC’s inability to outscore SLU, PSUC has proven to be one of the elite scoring clubs this year.
Week after week, the squad has found some way to come out on top. Perhaps one of the most evident displays of phenomenal goal scoring could be found during the Best Western Cardinal Classic Tournament, when they outscored all of their counterparts by more than six points each game.
This past weekend, leading scorer Alexis Archilla, was able to blast his sixth goal of the season.
The goal was shot past Skidmore’s keeper to push PSUC to a 2-1 victory.
“Chris Bowden played a great ball down the sideline for me,” Archilla said. “I knew I could beat the two defenders in front of me, and before I knew it the ball was in the back of the net.”
Although Archilla describes this particular score as a fast paced blur, there is a lot more that goes into being an effective scorer. A good scorer is not only aware and composed on the field, but it is essential that they have the hunger to score. For PSUC, it seems that the whole team has been starving lately because everyone has been getting a taste of the net. There are a total of six players who have scored upwards of three goals so far. This is by no means a luxury that every team has. Head coach, chris Waterbury believes the reason behind his team’s success lies in their ability to see the field so well.
“I think there are some unique attributes to being a good scorer,” Waterbury said. “It’s really important to keep your head up and see the plays unfold, and I think that our players have shown great skill in this area.”
In the sport of soccer, the opportunity to score is a rare one. In some cases, it may take four or five shots on goal before the ball can reach the back of the net. However, the Cards have been able to create effective scoring opportunities through solid ball movement and communication.
Another one of the unique attributes that Waterbury included in being a superior scorer was having a little selfishness to your game. He believes that sometimes you need to have the confidence in yourself as a player to be the one to score.
“Sometimes being selfish isn’t a bad thing.” Waterbury said.
Junior Chris Bowden has been able to implement this selfishness into his game this season. The Commack native has scored a total of three goals this season and he has no intentions of slowing down.
“It’s nice to score,” Bowden said. “I’m really just doing anything I can to help the team, but it’s nice to be the guy to score.”
Due to the recent blemish on their record, PSUC will do what they have always done; work to get better. This mindset is noticed in the answer Coach Waterbury will give everytime he is asked about practice:
“It was good, but it can always be better.”
Email Kevin Morley at kevin.morley@cardinalpointsonline.com
