Lady Cards finish weekend 0-2

The Plattsburgh State women’s soccer team matched up with rival Oswego Saturday but fell, 2-1, marking the Lady Cardinals’ sixth loss in seven games.

PSUC (5-6) fell behind early when a penalty set up Oswego’s Bri Dolan (5-4) for the first goal. The Lady Cards tied the game at 34:34 on Emily LaLone’s first of the season. A sideline celebration would erupt following the goal, but Plattsburgh’s excitement didn’t last long.

Oswego’s Nikki Liadka put her team ahead for good less than three minutes later with her sixth goal of the year.

The defining theme for the Lady Cards’ style of play during their five-game home-stand was the inability to finish, PSUC assistant coach Brian Micheels said. He also said the team can’t get affected too much by the highs and lows of each game and his players have to focus on the present task at-hand.

“We always emphasize the game in five-minute increments,” Micheels said. “Some of the most important times in any game is the five minutes after something big happens, like a goal. You really need to refocus everything.”

The loss added insult to injury when Plattsburgh goalie Monica D’Ippolito suffered an apparent knee injury late in the first half and left the game. Following the game, Micheels said he did not know the current situation of her injury and that she was still being evaluated. Danielle Schmitt took over in goal for PSUC and made all three saves on the day for PSUC.

On offense, PSUC continued to create opportunities, but, as has been the case lately, it wasn’t able to capitalize. LaLone put the most pressure on Oswego goalie Emily Varonier, taking five shots and placing four on target.

Varonier made six saves in the game.

The Lady Cards outshot their opponents, 15-7, but the inability to convert may be a lack of aggressiveness and taking chances. Micheels said his team can’t be too fine or take too much time in the box.

“We just gotta get the ball in the net any which way you can do it,” Micheels said. “If you have to poke it with your toe, if you have to hit it off your knee ... you just gotta get a body part on it and put it in.”

Micheels said the players have to be aggressive and take chances on offense, especially with the scoring drought they are currently in.

“When you’re in scoring range and you can take someone on one-v-one or you can just crack a shot on goal, then there’s a potential great reward for that,” Micheels said. “We’re a team that’s struggling to score goals, and maybe we’re overthinking it.”

Plattsburgh will look to rebound from a tough 0-2 weekend next week as they continue conference play. The team will travel to take on New Paltz Friday and will be at Oneonta Saturday. 

Cortland 1, PSUC 0 (OT)

PSUC found itself in an all too familiar situation Friday night, losing to Cortland in overtime, 1-0.

The Lady Cards battled with the Red Dragons (6-2-2) all match. With eight fouls defining the first half of play, the game was ultimately decided when the first shot in overtime was fired by Cortland’s Stacey Wood for the game-winner.

The match featured physical play, and forward Kristie Pageau was not happy with the outcome of the game and the rough play of Cortland.

 “We weren’t getting any calls. I got pushed after the play,” Pageau said. “I didn’t even have the ball, and I got laid out.”

PSUC was unable to put much together on offense in the first half, with Cortland taking possession for a majority of the half and putting pressure on the Lady Cards’ defense. Assistant coach Brian Micheels was looking for his team to come out with a win, but he refused to be disappointed in his players even with a loss.

“Players stepped up, and I thought that we had a good part of the play in the second half,” Micheels said. “We certainly had our opportunities. ... We got stronger as the game went on.”

Suffering a fifth 1-0 loss in six games, Pageau looked back at the game and the way her teammates played, and she expressed the need for her team to be more aggressive and go for goals whenever the opportunities arise.

Once the team came out for the overtime period, PSUC was unable to get control of the ball to put together any scoring chances. Micheels said the Lady Cards have to find the ability to play through until the end, even when they’re tired, and take charge of the game.

 “You’ve got to be the one to strike first,” Micheels said. “You have to come out and reenergize yourself.”

Pageau said the team did not begin the overtime as aggressive as they should have, and that ultimately led to their loss.

“We’ve trained so hard all season for these moments,” Pageau said. “It sucks. We should be ready.”

Pageau said the team tried out a new formation during the game and she found herself confused on the positioning. But Micheels stressed that the team has to look at the bigger picture and believe it can work.

“We’re sorting through a new system, and I think that it is important for them to gain confidence in that,” Micheels said.