By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles women's soccer team were looking to get back at the Skidmore Thoroughbreds after falling to them last season 1-0. Brockport missed opportunities along with a high defensive intensity resulted in a 0-0 tie.
"I thought it was a great soccer game," Brockport head coach Mike Idland said. "It was a tight, tight, tight game. You know, we led in corner kicks something like 6-to-3, which tells you how often you're getting behind them. We did all the hard, dirty battling that needs to get done, and created a lot, of like half chances, which is about all you're going to get when you're in a game this tight."
The Golden Eagles had multiple chances to break the scoreless tie throughout the game that they couldn't take advantage of. With over 35 minutes into the game, Megan Gerber shot a header that missed wide left of the net.
Early in the second half, Maryalice Skutnik created space for herself in the box and took a shot that just missed the right of the net. They had another chance to score a little over 15 minutes into the second in which Caitlin Nelson redirected a shot from Jaylah Cossin into the net, but an offsides was called against the Golden Eagles. Shortly after with 61:08 played, Brockport's McKenna Slate took a header shot that Skidmore goalie Avery Rogers got her hand on the ball and it hit off the top of the crossbar.
Brockport recorded 10 shots with four of them being on goal. As for the Thoroughbreds, they had 13 shots and five of them were on goal.
Sophomore Karissa Champion in her second career start has now gone two straight games without giving up a goal. She made three saves in the tie after making four in yesterday's 5-0 win over Allegheny.
"It's definitely been like a whirlwind of emotions," Champion said. "It definitely means a lot just knowing that the work is starting to pay off. All of us goalkeepers, we practice an extra hour a day for stuff like this, and we all work hard, and all love each other. "The Goalkeeper Union," we call it. We're all very close."
Madeline McCrosson was put in goal for the second half for the Golden Eagles. She made two saves for the day.
Amelia Breton was all over the ball defensively today. She tacked on three tackles in the early minutes of the game, one of which was in Skidmore territory.
"Definitely hitting the weight room," Breton said. "We're in the weight room two times a week, so getting stronger and just again, staying connected with the back line."
She also helped move Brockport into the offensive zone. Early in the first half, she was able to dribble through a Skidmore defender and create space for the Golden Eagles offense.
"I like to have fun," Breton said. "I like to keep everyone on their toes, so."
Both teams were quiet early on in the first half, as both sides played aggressively. Skidmore mostly had possession of the ball in Brockport territory in the first half. Skidmore was able to record six shots, three of which were on goal compared to the Golden Eagles' four shots, with two of them being on goal.
The Thoroughbreds had a chance to break the scoreless tie. Olivia Chandler took a shot from the box that it the crossbar and out, which the Golden Eagles took possession of the ball and cleared it out of their own zone. Both the teams were unable to score the rest of the way, keeping the game scoreless going into the second half.
Both teams' defenses were stifling for all of the second half. Brockport's offense cooled off midway through the half and weren't able to create many scoring opportunities. As for the Thoroughbreds, their offense had some trouble moving the ball into the box. Although Skidmore took seven shots and Brockport had six in the half, they had two apiece that were on net. With the defensive play from both sides, the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Brockport moves to a 1-0-1 record and are now fifth in the Empire 8. The Golden Eagles will look for their second win this season when they host the Thiel Tomcats next Saturday, September 7. The game is slotted to start at 1 p.m.
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