Ben Martin – Sports Writer
Abby Allen had her fourth shutout in a row and during that span she had 21 saves.
The Owls tied with the No. two ranked school in all of Division II, The College of Saint Rose Golden Nights, 0-0 Saturday.
During the game, the Owls got an incredible performance from goalie Abby Allen who ended with nine saves and a good collection of highlights.
“I’m really happy,” Allen said about her performance.
“There was a lot of high balls that I was able to come out on and be aggressive and keep them out of the net.”
Allen was coming out of the net, catching balls and making sliding stops all game which kept the Owls in it. In the first half, Allen had two saves as the Golden Knights offense was quiet.
On the contrary, in the second half, Allen’s responsibilities grew.
Nights took 11 shots and had nine corner kicks, but Allen stood strong.
While Allen had a great performance, she, like The Beatles, gets by with a little help from her friends.
Allen may have been the focal point of the Owls defense but Britt Verstegen, a graduate student ,defender: Caileigh Driscoll sophomore, back: Riley Ayer junior back, and back Amanda Dustin, a graduate student, all pitched in to stop the Golden Knights offense.
Although Allen put on a show, the offense was not able to put anything on the board. In the first half, the Owls controlled the time of possession and got open shots, but they could not cash in. Additionally, the Owls had three corner kicks in the first half.
Coming away with a tie was not the desired outcome for the Owls but they are happy with it.
“I’m really proud of our players because it was a very physical and competitive game,” Head Coach Adam Cohen said.
“They worked really, really hard, so I give them full credit for that.”
“It was a tough game, but we just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Allen said.
Coming into the game, the Owls had seen the Golden Knights before. Last year the Owls and the Golden Knights matched up in the Northeast 10 conference tournament finals where the Owls lost 1-0.
“I think the game, in general was a tough fought game, but we fought our butts off,” Burr said.
With the tie the Owls overall record moves to 4-2-1, and they remain unbeaten in NE10 conference play at 2-0-1.
“I think there is definitely always improvement,” Kelsey Burr, the foward said. “Once you get out there you just have to give 110 percent every time.”
On Wednesday, the Owls continue their season with another NE10 matchup against Adelphi. Adelphi will be sitting at 5-2 coming into the game. After a tough matchup against Saint Rose, the Owls are prepared for what comes next.
Coach Cohen said he believes the conference has good competition for the Owls and this was just the first of many.
“This was a great test early on,” Allen said. “Now we can just soar from here.”
