Mighty Oaks Weekend Sports Recap (Sept. 10-11)

09/12/2016

The Mighty Oaks cross-country and soccer teams were in action the weekend of Sept. 10-11.

Cross country
The Mighty Oaks cross-country team traveled to Oswego for the SUNY Oswego Cross Country Invitational Sept. 10. Both the men's and women's teams faced ormidable opponents. In the women's race, SUNY Geneseo placed nine runners in the top 10. Sophomore Marissa Lathrop finished first for ESF, coming in 23rd with a overall time of 21:00 in the 6K race. Sophomore Erin Cuddihy finished 30th overall with a time of 21:29. Freshman Eden Zickler finished 32nd overall with a time of 21:43. The women's team finished in fifth place out of seven teams.

In the men's race, it was more SUNY Geneseo dominance with eight Knights finishing in the top 10. Senior Michael Persson was ESF's top finisher, coming in 29th with a time of 28:42. Junior Ryan Shaw had a strong race coming in 36th out of 106 runners with a time of 29:18. Junior Dana Carris finished 41st with a time of 29:45. The Mighty Oaks finished in fifth place overall out of nine teams.

Both squads have tnextweekend off before they head back to SUNY Poly for the SUNY Poly Invitational Sept. 24.

Soccer
The Mighty Oaks women's soccer team faced off against the Broncos of SUNY Delhi and came away with a tie.

ESF had won the last three meetings against the Broncos but were without senior Captain Heather Carl this game. The Mighty Oaks controlled possession from the kickoff, getting several shots on goal early in the game. The Broncos made a few quick defensive adjustments to counter ESF's attack. The Mighty Oaks found the back of the net at the 17th minute when junior Anna Bishop put in a beautiful header from a corner kick by junior Lauren Archer. The Broncos responded at the 38th minute with a goal by Erin Moody, capitalizing on a Mighty Oaks defensive error. Freshman Alyssa Hughes put ESF up 2-1 at the 44th minute when she dribbled through the Broncos defense and got off a laser shot to the back upper right corner of the net.

At the start of the second half, ESF continued to control possession. Junior Shannon Gordinier put ESF up 3-1 when she tapped the ball past the Broncos' keeper off a beautiful cross by junior Natalee Wrege at the 50th minute. The momentum changed in favor of Delhi at the 60th minute, however, when the Mighty Oaks were red-carded for a hand ball in the penalty box. This lead to the Broncos converting a penalty kick, making the score 3-2. Five minutes later, Delhi freshman Katie Herba equalized the score, 3-3, knocking in the ball off a rebound from a free kick. In the two ensuing overtimes, the Mighty Oaks continued their dominance, getting several shots on goal but were unable to convert a game-winning goal with the match ending in a 3-3 tie. The Mighty Oaks outshot the Broncos 26-11 in the game.

"Delhi is a very talented team who played terrifc. I am hoping we learn a lot from this tie," said Head Coach Dan Ramin.

With the tie, ESF now has a 2-0-1 record. The Broncos improve to 2-1-1 overall. The women's soccer team starts conference play on the road vs. rival Albany College of Pharmacy Sept. 17.

In the second game of the afternoon double header, the men's soccer team came away with a 2-0 win against a talented and technical SUNY Delhi team. From the opening whistle, possession was controlled evenly by both teams. The Mighty Oaks scored first at the 24th minute when senior Joe Marino found the back of the net in a scrum in front of the goal off an ESF free kick.

Two minutes before the end of the first half, freshmen Joseph Kulikowski caught sophomore Jean Carlos Barrientos on a route up the right side line. Barrientos was able to maneuver in front of the Broncos' defender and blast a shot into the goal giving the Mighty Oaks a 2-0 lead at the half. Delhi came out on the attack in the second half but the strong defensive line consisting of sophomore Nick Van Bennekum and seniors Eitan Kiin and Jarrett Temple prevented any scoring chances for Delhi. Sophomore goal keeper Matt Hoppe made eight saves in the shutout win for the Mighty Oaks. It was a physical and emotional match for both teams with a total of 28 fouls called during the game, including five yellow cards against ESF and three yellow cards for the Broncos.

"Great win for the guys today against a great Delhi team. Looking forward to starting conference play this week," said Head Coach Dan Ramin.

ESF improves to 2-0 with the win and Delhi falls to 4-1. The Mighty Oaks open HVIAC conference play vs. Davis College Sept. 14.