UAlbany WSOC Defense Holds the Line as Great Danes Battle to 0-0 Draw at Binghamton
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VESTAL, N.Y. – The UAlbany women's soccer back line had one of its top performances of the year, standing its ground to draw Binghamton 0-0 on the road and extending the team's unbeaten streak to four games.
“Defensively, we stayed as a unit, keeping them back for long shots,” said UAlbany team captain Celia Balf. “We were focusing on keeping the ball, as they were putting a lot of pressure on us. It helped a lot that we were finding Caitlyn Paltsios in the midfield.”
With UAlbany (5-7-4, 2-1-2 AE) outshot 32-2 in the game, Alana Brennan saved all 11 Binghamton (5-8-2, 1-2-2 AE) shots on goal to keep the Bearcats off the scoreboard for her fourth shutout of the season, aided by the back line of Balf, Stephanie Nelle, Morgan Loder and Shelby Belak.
“We were happy to tie, though we really wanted the win,” said Brennan. “Defensively we were strong today, and it was huge to grab a point.”
UAlbany earns its first four-game unbeaten streak since 2011 with the draw tonight.
“Although we would have loved to get three points tonight, a point on the road with a shutout is one more step forward,” said UAlbany coach Caitlin Cucchiella.
For the Bearcats, Gaby Gold and Katie Hatziyianis combined to get the tie in goal.
Binghamton got an early chance, putting a free kick into the box. A BU header was kicked away by Belak in the center of the box. A minute later, BU put another corner towards the post. Paltsios ran towards the kick and deflected it, resulting in a Katherine Corcoran that went well wide right.
The home team continued to be the aggressor, with the Bearcats staying on their offensive end and firing on the goal. In the 9th minute, Stephani Church got free and kicked a ground ball past the keeper, missing the post wide right. Off the goal kick, Samantha Crane took a quick shot that was saved by Brennan next to the near post.
Binghamton kept firing, trying from long range in the 16th minute. Hannah Shankman fired a ball from 25 yards out to the center of the cage, with Brennan catching the shot. Katie O'Neill got the ball for BU about 30 seconds later and tried from outside the box on the near side, with Brennan making another save.
UAlbany got its first chance in the 22nd minute, with Krista Fitzpatrick delivering a corner to the head of Alexa Schneider before a bounce. Schneider's attempt was saved by Gold.
BU got two more shots after returning to the offensive third. Rebecca Raber sent a bending shot to the cage, which Brennan saved. Corcoran tried on the second attempt, missing wide on a quick shot.
UAlbany held the ball on its offensive end for a while to give the back line a breather. In the 42nd minute, Jocelyn Acor got on a breakaway for BU and shot inside the box, with a falling Brennan saving the attempt. The two sides went into halftime tied at zero.
Into the second half, UAlbany earned an early corner kick a little over a minute in. The ball was taken away by Corcoran, who sprinted down the field for the breakaway. She got to the box and shot 15 yards out, with Brennan saving the ball near the post. UAlbany held on another attempt minutes later as O'Neill received a corner kick and headed the ball wide and right of the woodwork.
BU kept peppering on offense, with shot after shot missing wide or high as the UAlbany defense continued to hold. The first 10 shots for the Bearcats in the half's opening 21 minutes all missed off goal.
In minute 71, a free kick cross found its way near the goalie box towards O'Neill for a hard kick, which sailed above the crossbar.
With under seven minutes left in the half, Acor led a breakaway attempt, finding Crane going towards the goal box. Brennan charged towards her and dove to stop Crane shot dead in its tracks, keeping the tie. The two sides eventually went to overtime.
UAlbany got a chance in the third minute of overtime after Bianca Webb took away a pass, ran towards the box and kicked on the ground. The keeper knocked the ball to her left. Kelly Kempf went for the ball, but a defender knocked away the ball before an attempt.
BU countered and fired at the goal from long range, with three shots in a row from outside the box in the middle saved by Brennan. BU kicked two more shots towards the net, missing high and wide respectively. The UAlbany defense held as the teams went into the second overtime.
Both sides traded possessions in the second half, with neither getting shot off early. BU came close as a player put a cross on the near side towards the box. Brennan rushed and grabbed the ball before a cross could be completed. The defense prevented another shot as UAlbany earned the scoreless draw.
UAlbany returns home for a pair of games, starting with Senior Day on Sunday when the Great Danes take on Stony Brook on Sunday, October 19th at 1 p.m.
