The Generals Prevail in Overtime
Hello and welcome to the Herkimer Generals Women's Soccer rollercoster of emotions, against Onondaga Community College. Our midweek home game saw a nearly fully healthy squad come together for the first time this season, with only Piper Keyes and Riley Wishart not available, Coach Neish was able to pair Natalie Little with Donata Oaksford in the heart of the defense for the first time in front of Kurstin Gay, returning to the goal in place of Izzy Smith.
Liz Cingranelli and Lydia Reimer looked to continue their blossoming partnership which has seen both players score and assist each other in the previous 3 games. Taya Yacobucci has been a marvel this season and retains her place opposite of Miranda Brown in the wide positions.
The game began quick for the Generals, with 5 shots on goal in the first four minutes, the Generals being kept at bay by a combination of the goal post and a string of unbelievable saves from OCC's goalkeeper.
It wouldn't be long though until Liz Cingranelli would be sent through on goal by her bestest buddy, Lydia Reimer, and slot her finish into the net to put the Generals 1-0 up.
Onondaga had a ton of fight though, with the forward players fighting for every ball and showing some classy touches. It would be a moment of sloppiness that would allow OCC back into the game, with Kurstin Gay playing the ball out to defenders, the pass was intercepted and rolled to OCC's waiting striker to roll into a waiting net.
A crazy five minutes would ensue, with Herkimer attacking again and again, one of these attacks saw Liz Cingranelli break away down the left hand side before crossing for Lydia Reimer to tap into an empty net, the Liz and Lydia connection proving to be quite potent again. OCC marched straight down the field from kick off, won a corner and scored when the striker leaped above and arrowed a beautiful header beyond the diving Gay.
Disaster would strike for Herkimer right on the stroke of half time, as Herkimer was caught napping, OCC swept in down the right hand side, and beat Kurstin Gay at her near post. A fantastic dominant display from Herkimer, yet they found the side down at the half.
Half time Herkimer 2 - 3 OCC
The second half was a familiar story for Herkimer, with a lot of possession, but lacking that cutting edge to create chances. Herkimer did find themselves testing the OCC goalkeeper from distance a couple of times, as well as crashing another shot off the post, there were also a couple of chances in front of goal where the Generals just couldn't make decent enough contact on shots. OCC looked dangerous on the break, but the defense held up strong in the second half. It wasn't until Taya Yacobucci sprinted into the penalty box with the ball and was tripped on her way to goal, which would lead to a penalty kick for the Generals. Liz Cingranelli stepped up and smashed her shot into the roof of the net.
The game would go into overtime 3-3. Minutes into overtime, the Generals won a free kick 30 yards from goal, Donata Oaksford stepped up and shaped up like she was about to cross the ball into the box, only to strike the ball like a rocket towards the near post, the crowd took a deep breath in as the ball smashed off the underside of the crossbar and appeared to cross the line, no whistle came from the man in orange, so McKenzie Magnusson rose above everyone and put the game to bed, doing in the winning goal, the crowd exhaled and screamed in celebration, echoes of which were heard as far away as Utica.
The Generals improved to 4-1 on the season, and travel to Hudson Valley this Sunday for the next game. Big appreciation to the 300 fans who showed up to support the girls, and best of luck to OCC the rest of their season.