Tuesday was a huge day for women’s soccer. The team hosted a Liberty League conference tournament match for the first time in program history and shutout Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6-0. The win earned the team a spot in the Liberty League Semifinal and handed Franco Bari his 100th win as head coach at St. Lawrence. The shutout game was full of impressive performances on both offense and defense, as well as from rookie and seasoned players.
Leading up to the quarterfinal game Tuesday, the women hosted William Smith on Saturday. They played hard but eventually lost 1-2 after a late goal by the Herons. This left the women standing at third in the league, and in position to host one of the quarterfinal games due to new regulation that gives the first and second ranked teams a bye to the NCAA Championships. The women will play the Herons for a second time this Saturday in the semifinal round.
Despite the loss to William Smith, the Saints were more than prepared to take on RPI just three days later with new and inspired energy. Scoring plays started early on in the game, as captain, Katie Stames ’18, broke through three defenders, unassisted and put the ball in the back of the net seven minutes in. Stames’s shot was followed by forward, Megan Gannon ’20, who rung in her first goal of the game off an assist from outside back, Nikkie Syrotiak ’19.
Just five minutes later, Katie Clemmer ’21 put the saints up by three, sneaking a rebound past RPI’s keeper. Gannon struck again in the last few seconds of the first half, gaining her second and final goal of the game and putting the Saints up by four going into halftime.
The Saints would receive two more goals in the second half, both from midfielder and forward, Julia Mulhern ’21.
While offense seemed to ignite against RPI, defensive players were also a driving force in shutting out the Engineers. “The back line worked extremely well against the dangerous Engineer’s attack, shutting them out for our last 2017 home game on Sandy Macallaster Field,” said captain, Sam Taillon ’18.
RPI came back in the second half with 21 shots, 13 on goal, but failed to put any points on the scoreboard with Samantha Allen ’20 and Cynnie White ’21 protecting the net. The two goal tenders combined for 13 saves, Allen with nine and White with four. The women look towards Saturday as they prepare to travel to Geneva, New York to take on William Smith in a semifinal match.
Following in the footsteps of women’s success on Tuesday, the men’s team took on Skidmore the same day. The Saints defeated the Thoroughbreds 1-0, earning a spot in Semifinals, which will also be held in Geneva this Saturday versus Vassar.