It was a sinusoidal week for the women’s soccer team, which came within a single goal of an automatic NCAA bid only to end up being seeded first in the NYSWCAA tournament. They then recovered by winning their opening round match yesterday to advance to the semifinals.
One Goal Away
After defeating Hartwick last Tuesday and Manhattanville Wednesday, the Red Hawks found themselves playing William Smith for the league championship Thursday. The two teams entered their final regular season game with identical 13-1-0 records. The winner would receive an automatic bid for the NCAA Championship.
From the opening whistle, it was clear the Red Hawks had their work cut out for them. The Herons dominated early and often, controlling possession of the ball for the vast majority of the time, short circuiting any counterattack before RPI got much further than midfield.
Keeping the Herons from scoring required heroic efforts on the part of the Red Hawks defense, especially junior Lisa McMillian who spent much of the game as sweeper.
A diving save by Goalie Regina Primm in the 43rd minute stopped William Smith’s last scoring attempt of the half, and the game went into halftime locked up at 0-0.
The second half began much as the first, but by the 70th minute the Red Hawks defense was starting to show signs of exhaustion. With 15:24 left on the clock, a loose ball in front of the net resulted in a scrum between Primm, a Red Hawks defender, and Herons’ forward Maria Paoff. When the ball bounced high off the hard turf, Paoff headed the ball awkwardly, but with enough umph to send it rolling into the net.
It would turn out to be the game’s only goal. Despite a suddenly focused effort by the Red Hawks offense, they were unable to get past the one-woman William Smith defensive machine named Summer Greiner. RPI managed only nine shots on the day, only three of which required William Smith goalie Leah Cornwell to make a save attempt.
The loss set RPI back to third place in the UCAA standings, dropping their league record 5-2 for the year.
Quarterfinal Victory
After the disappointing loss to William Smith, the Red Hawks got the good news Monday that they had been seeded No. 1 in the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. With the No. 1 seed came a home game yesterday against No. 8 seed St. John Fisher.
While the Red Hawks were able to maintain control over the pace of the game throughout, they were unable to find the back of the net through the entire first half and most of the second.
Finally, the elusive goal came with just over 15 minutes left on the clock. Senior Amanda Gyllstrom booted a corner kick that arced high towards the middle of the goal box. St. John Fisher goalie Cathryn DeCecco grabbed for the ball, but senior Jill Vanis knocked the ball from her hands and into the net for the game’s only goal.
St. John Fisher Coach Jill McCabe was given a yellow card shortly afterward for excessive arguing of the controversial goal. NCAA rules state that if the goalie has possession of the ball, the opposing team is not allowed to knock it away. The referee ruled DeCecco did not have full control of the ball yet when Vanis made the shot.
The Red Hawks dominated the entire game, though, outshooting St. John Fisher 19-7. On the defensive end, Regina Primm had three saves on the day, and the Red Hawks backfield broke up three St. John Fisher corners.
RPI, now 14-2-0 on the year, advances on to the semifinals of the tournament, playing Hamilton college on Saturday.
