PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's soccer team dropped their home opener on Wednesday night, falling to Skidmore and senior midfielder Ella Stone, 3-0. Stone, who already had five goals heading into Wednesday's action, tallied all three Thoroughbred goals for her second hat trick of 2024.

After what was a closely played first half, the Skidmore offense exploded, led by Stone to three goals in the second half to earn the win. Despite the score, Lauren Haley (LaGrange, N.Y./Arlington) played fantastic in goal for Plattsburgh, making seven saves over 90 minutes. Offensively, the Cards were able to register seven shots with three on goal coming from Allison Brown (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham), Amy Crowley (Wallkill, N.Y./Wallkill), and Hannah Meyers (Peru, N.Y./Peru).

Skidmore ended up winning the shot battle 20-7, but were ahead just 10-6 in the first half in that realm. The Cardinals earned more corners over the 90 minutes of play, as they had seven to the Thoroughbreds three.

Plattsburgh State moves to 1-3 with the loss and next hosts RIT on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. Skidmore moves to 4-0-1 with the victory and heads to Mount Saint Mary College for a road match on Saturday, Sept. 14.

The Cardinals did a solid job in the first half keeping up with a strong Thoroughbred offense that had already scored 10 goals in four games, as Haley made some outstanding plays in net to earn four saves in the first 45 minutes of play.

The Cardinals had an excellent chance to score beginning in the 28^th minute of the first half, as they earned back-to-back corners. The sequence ended with Crowley putting a deep shot on goal that was saved by the Skidmore keeper.

With the score knotted up at the start of the second half, the Thoroughbreds wasted no time taking the lead, as Stone scored just over a minute and a half into the second stanza. She added another just over five minutes later, finishing off an Olivia Chandler pass with a header into the back of the net. She capped off the day with her final goal at the 62:18 mark of action, as Chandler once again assisted.

Avery Rogers made three saves in net for Skidmore to earn the shutout win, while Mikayla Dorrer tallied the first assist of the game.