For the first time in school history, the Saints Women's Soccer Team will be playing for the Region 3 Championship. The third seeded Saints won an incredibly hard fought battle versus six seed Herkimer CC in a penalty kick shootout after tying 1-1 through regulation and double overtime.
The two teams played to a scoreless first half despite the margin in shots favoring the host Saints.
"Their keeper, Kursten Gay, was a brick wall for them." Saints Head Coach Kent Egglefield stated. "She stopped everything we threw at her."
The second half started out nightmarish for the Saints as Hailey Traut launched a beautiful shot over the Saints keeper for a 1-0 lead just 1:20 in.
"We controlled the first half for the majority. And at half time we talked about coming out strong again being critical for us. That went south quickly." said Egglefield.
"We talked in preparation for the past week about not giving Traut any room to shoot; about knowing where her and (Kayla) Suppa were at all times. We lost her on a switch and a shooter like that is going to finish most every time."
After a back and forth half with time running down, Natasha Furzer played a perfect ball over the defense to a streaking Mikenna Valentine who put a great move on the keeper to knot the score up with 3:02 to go in the game.
"Mikenna played tough all game and finally was rewarded for her persistance... it's what she's done all year. I'm so proud of her. And Tasha's pass couldn't have been better, it was perfectly placed. She was outstanding today." stated Egglefield.
The two teams continued to battle through two sudden death overtimes drawing to a one all tie.
In the PK shootout, Herkimer went first. Saints keeper Alison Van Schaik made an incredible stop diving all out to her left to stone Herkimers Hannah Spofford. The Saints followed with first shooter Chloe Flannaghan burying a hard shot in the corner for a 1-0 lead. After a Herkimer make by Kayla Suppa to tie it at 1-1, Skyelin Bradford stepped up and calmly drilled hers home for a 2-1 lead. Following Bradford, Van Schaik made another huge save getting her fist on the kick from Taya Yaobucci just enough to deflect it up and off the cross bar. Mikenna Valentine stepped up and put the Saints up 3-1 on a shot just under the Generals keeper. Generals star Hailey Traut then pounded home her shot to close to 3-2. With only one shooter left, the Generals needed a stop for a chance to tie with their fifth and final shooter. Carlijn van der Smeede put an end to things though smashing her kick in the left corner giving the Saints a 4-2 win in PK's to advance to Saturday's final.
"That was an amazing game, by both sides. I hate for any game to end like this on PK's, but in our final playoff game in 2019 before covid, we were on the other end of it. I give Herkimer and their coach all the credit in the world. After coming here in September and losing 7-3, and then coming here today and playing like they did speaks a lot for what they accomplished this year. Their captain Kayla Suppa is such an amazing player and an absolute class act. She had an outstanding career for Herk. Hailey Traut is one of the best in the Region, and Kursten put on a show today. They'll be a force next season." stated Egglefield.
"But I cannot say enough for the way my girls never quit today. Chloe Flannaghan was dominant in the midfield. Abby Hart stepped up huge today. Serena Stevens just keeps growing game by game... Having Audri (Tehonica) back in the middle was beyond huge for us today. Marie (Sibbing) was outstanding on the outside. And Alison played so confident and steady. I'm proud of everyone of these girls. They deserved this win."
Van Schaik turned aside 6 shots as North Country outshot the Generals 24-7.
The Saints advance to the Region 3 Finals on Saturday at Herkimer CC where the will take on Genesee CC for a chance to go to the National Championship. Gametime for the final will be 2:30pm and will also be broadcast live on the web.
Our GOAT of the game today is freshman Natasha Furzer from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Not only did Tasha assist the tying goal on a great cross, but she stepped up and showed poise and confidence in the midfield. She was quick to the ball, excellent in possession, and played sound defensively as well. We are proud of you Tasha! Congratulations in coming through in our biggest game of the year!
