Liam Sample
The Plattsburgh women’s soccer team ended their 2021 regular season on a strong note, winning two games straight in the final week of the schedule and ending on a three-game win streak. They finished the season with a 12-3-2 overall record and 7-2-0 in conference play.
On Oct. 23, they took down the Potsdam Bears (6-9-1) by a score of 3-0 on the road, bringing them to the two seed in the SUNYAC tournament. The Cardinals followed this with a blowout 8-0 win vs the Canton Kangaroos (2-13-1) at home in a non-conference match Oct. 26
Against Potsdam, senior forward Emily Frodyma set the tone, scoring in 11 minutes. After creating a one- on-one opportunity with Bear’s goalkeeper, freshman Savannah Bowie, Frodyma buried one inside the post for her tenth of the season.
The Cardinals put on another show of offensive dominance in this game, outshooting the opposition 26-5.
The game was soon taken over by another senior forward, Alison Seidman. Just after the 26-minute mark, she received a pass near the box from her fellow senior forward, Kirsten Villemaire. Seidman took a low shot that found the back of the net to making the score 2-0.
It didn’t take long for Seidman to strike again. A little over 10 minutes later, the senior rifled a long shot into the left side of the net to add another tally to the score. These were her sixth and seventh goals of the season.
“The win over Potsdam was just as big as any other SUNYAC game, even though they were already eliminated,” Villemaire said. “We needed to win and then Cortland tying New Paltz pushed us back up to the 2nd [seed], which is huge [because] now we have a [bye] and a home game.”
Junior goalkeeper Julia Ennis went on a hot streak to end the season. She played over 99 straight shutout minutes dating back to the Oct. 19 match against Clarkson. Ennis made two saves in this match and posed her fifth shutout of the season, bringing her final record to 11-3-2.
If fans thought the win against Potsdam was a show on offense, they were yet to see Plattsburgh’s best. In the final match of the season against Canton, the Cardinals recorded a season-high with 49 shots and eight goals.
This included two by both Frodyma and Villemaire, who finished the season with 12 and nine goals, respectively. Frodyma led the team in goals with Villemaire having the second highest total.
Freshman midfielder Catrina Maltes scored her first and second goals of her collegiate career, both coming in the second half just under 20 minutes apart.
The remaining goals came from senior midfielder Erin Metzger, who recorded a penalty kick goal for her first of the season. Sophomore midfielder Sophia Hatziyianis, scored her first collegiate goal
“The win over Canton is a win, so it’s still great to have,” Villamaire said. “They were a weaker team so all [the] seniors played a lot and then underclassmen that haven’t [got] many minutes got in and finished the job.”
One of these underclassmen was freshman goalkeeper Payton Couture, who made her first career start and recorded a complete game shutout. She was helped by the Cardinal’s defense who did not allow the Kangaroos to record a single shot. Couture ended her freshman campaign not allowing a goal in four appearances.
“This last week is one of the biggest weeks. We need to stay focused at practice and we really all need to be all in if we want the outcome we have wanted all year. It’s right here in front of us,” Villemaire said.
Plattsburgh’s SUNYAC Playoff run starts Nov. 3 at home. They will face either the sixth-seeded Brockport Golden Eagles, with a 4-4-1 conference record, or the third seeded Cortland Red Dragons, who hold a 6-1-2 conference record.
The Cardinals took down the Red Dragons Oct. 1 by the score of 1-0. They also picked up a 2-0 win against the Golden Eagles Oct 15
“Team mindset going into playoffs is to do what we know and stay relaxed and play our game. A lot of us have been here before and know what we need to do to make it to the finals this year,” Villemaire said.
Plattsburgh’s last finals appearance came in 2017, where they lost to Geneseo 4-0. Their last championship was over 20years ago, dating back to 1998.
Their quest for another tournament win starts on Nov. 3 at the FieldHouse Complex.
