Today: Feb 06, 2025

Two straight ties for Women’s Soccer

Mark Tillotson – Staff Writer

On what started out as a beautiful fall afternoon at Jess Dow Field Wednesday, the Southern (4-2-2)  girls’ soccer team drew a 0-0 double overtime tie against Le Moyne College (2-4-2).

The defenses of both teams dominated the early action. Lemoyne got the first chance to score off of a corner with 34 minutes to go in the first half.

The ball was played into the box and headed by a Le Moyne player, only to be denied by the Owl’s sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Fortier. Fortier made a well-timed jump and deflected the ball off the crossbar, setting the tone for teams defense.

PHOTO COURTESY | JAKE GRUBMAN
JUNIOR LAUREN BARBERIA MOVING DOWNFIELD WITH THE BALL. THE OWLS TIED BOTH THEIR GAMES LAST WEEK.

“I felt that as a team we defended together and really stayed connected, but we just have to limit counter attacks against us,” junior Sarah Brochu said.

Le Moyne goalie Tori Corsaro got her chance to make a statement just a few minutes later.

Owls sophomore forward Bryana Poulin took a firm strike at goal from the right wing of the field.

The shot looked as though it would result in a cross-corner goal until Corsaro dove and got her fingertips on the ball to deflect it out of play.

The owls got a great spark off the bench by their freshman forward Jessica Spezzano in a day where it appeared goals would be hard to come by.

It took Spezzano less than 10 minutes of game action to record two shots including one on goal. Coach Adam Cohen said he loved what he saw from Spezanno.

“Spezzano played a very good game and she was really big off the bench for us,” said Cohen.

Junior Suzane Pires took two shots on goal herself in a short span, but it was Brochu who spurred on one of the Owl’s best chances to score.

She found herself in open field with only the goalie to beat and struck a shot just wide of the left goalpost.

Owls’ sophomore Stephanie Santos said the problem was not the Le Moyne defense, it was their own offense.

“We did very well creating scoring opportunities but we had trouble finishing in the final third of the field,” she said.

The second half brought more of the same. Both teams played great defense but struggled to find the back of the net.

With 36 minutes left in the first half, Spezzano took a blow to the head and was eventually carried off in a stretcher, in a scary moment for everyone present.

Regardless of what the two teams tried to do on the offensive end, both defenses kept coming up with huge saves and blocks.

Cohen said he admired the effort of his defense.

“Our entire team defends very well and they always put us in position to win,” said Cohen.

The two teams would eventually battle on into sudden death double overtime.  LeMoyne had a chance to end the game with about six minutes left in the second overtime, but they missed a header that sailed just over the crossbar.

With the closing seconds winding down, the two teams battled in front of the Owls goal.

Fortier was able to secure the ball and send her team home with a tie.

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