Soccer heading onwards to playoffs
In this issue, we have three matches from the Castleton women’s soccer team to catch everyone up on. These were the girls’ last three matches before they gear up for the playoffs.
The first match since we left off with the girls was against UMass Boston the number two team in a deep LEC conference. Spartans leading scorer Maggie McKearin set the tone in minute 11 by making the Beacons pay on a costly turnover, McKearin took down for a breakaway. Some back-and-forth action took place for the remainder of the half, but it remained a Spartan lead thanks to several saves from Emma Ezzo.
Unfortunately, the second half told a different story. In minute 64, despite good goaltending and defending, the Beacon’s offense found a way to break through. Then again in minute 78, the Beacon’s pressure resulted in another reward, and ultimately three points to take home from Dave Wolk Stadium.
Next up, was Bard College for the girls. Castleton took command of this game and demonstrated their superiority. Emma Kirby scored a talented header from a distance on a great ball from Lily Modica, and Maggie McKearin scored her eleventh of the season putting her in fourth in LEC scoring.
They outshot Bard 7-1 on target and won in just about every facet of the game despite being held to just two goals. The win was good for the girl’s confidence as they were set to see the number one team in their conference for the season finale.
Last but definitely not least, the girls travelled to Southern Maine to close out the season against an undefeated and hungry Huskies team. USM unfortunately was all over the ball in this one and did to our Spartans what they had done to Bard just days prior.
Ezzo stood on her head in this one facing 36 shots, 18 of which were on target. The defense held strong and minimized high-end scoring chances but eventually, the Huskies broke through and found the net on three occasions.
With that being the close to the year, the girls finished 3-5 in conference which put them in 5th place. They are set to play Eastern Connecticut Nov 5 on the road. They fell short when they met the Warriors in season on Oct 5, and now a month later the girls have a chance at redemption and a chance to keep the season alive. It has been a strong year for the Spartans with a core group of starters being seniors and the program looks to be in good hands with the talent in each of the other classes.