Box Score
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – A goal by freshman Diana DiCocco in the early stages of the second half tied things at one, but SUNY Geneseo netted a pair of goals six minutes apart to earn a 3-2 SUNYAC victory over the Plattsburgh State women's soccer team on a cold, rainy Saturday at the Field House Complex.
Plattsburgh State drops to 4-11-2 and 2-6-1 in SUNYAC matches while the Knights improve to 6-6-4 and 4-3-2 with the final regular season league game of the season in the books.
The Cardinals took the field after a short pregame ceremony which honored the contributions of seniors Emily LaLone and Lauren Gonyea. It didn't take long after that for both teams to generate a scoring chance. Freshman forward Diana DiCocco snuck past the back line of SUNY Geneseo with 3:56 gone by in the tilt, but her scoring attempt went wide to the left.
At 5:05, Samantha Sherman sent a ball directly into the mitts of Plattsburgh State goalkeeper Kristy Kirkpatrick for the second shot of the game for the Knights.
Less than one minute later, the Knights struck for their first goal of the blustery afternoon. Laurie Knapp took a long run into Plattsburgh State territory and outpaced a Cardinal defender before registering her second goal of the season by sending a low ball past Kirkpatrick's right side.
From there, neither team could come up with many quality scoring chances for the rest of the initial 45-minute frame. The only other shot on goal the Cardinals registered came off the foot of Vicky Scott, who directed a ball toward the midsection of Julia Sanger at the 39:31 mark.
Early on in the deciding period, the Knights continued to try and add to their lead by sending three shots toward the Plattsburgh State goal mouth in the first four minutes of the frame.
A Cammey Keyser substitution in the 51st minute paid immediate dividends as the sophomore attempted the first corner kick of the tilt for the home team at 51:33. With the ball in the SUNY Geneseo end of the field, DiCocco came up with her fourth goal of the season at 52:37 to knot matters at one. Cassidy Clavet sent a pass to the Schenectady, N.Y., product who registered her fourth goal of the year by sending her shot past the left side of Sanger.
The Knights, though, didn't want long to respond with another goal. After the Cardinals were whistled for a foul while Geneseo was deep inside Plattsburgh State territory, Alexa Krebs sent her free kick toward the net. From there, Alexa Vojvodic sent a header past the outstretched arms of Kirkpatrick, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead at 56:25.
Geneseo scored what would hold up to be the eventual game winner early in the 64th minute. Erin O'Connor put a shot over the head of Kirkpatrick at 64:05 to make it a 3-1 game.
The Cardinals were able to carve Geneseo's two-goal lead in half when Devin McMahon put in her first goal of the season at 85:48. The sophomore sent a strong shot at Sanger, who let the ball go between her legs and into the back of the net to make it a 3-2 game.
Despite the scoring efforts of the Cardinals in the last minutes of the game, the Knights were able to come away with the win. Playing in her final home match, LaLone was the primary offensive threat in the second half as the Watertown, N.Y., product sent five shots at Sanger.
Kirkpatrick (3-7-1) made four saves for the Cardinals while Sanger earned the victory by coming up with seven stops.
Early next week, the Cardinals will hit the road for one final time to put the wraps on their 2013 season. Plattsburgh State heads to Northfield, Vt., to take on nonconference foe Norwich at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
