Panthers Too Much for Lady Spartans

The TC3 Panthers used 2 goals in the first half and another 2 goals in the second to close out the Spartans 4-0 this afternoon at Emerson Park field. The offensive pressure applied to the Spartans defensive third was too much for the back four and goalie Bre Becker (Lusby, MD) to overcome. Cayuga did play a more fundamentally sound soccer in the second half, something Coach Renaud is stressing with the side as the season continues on. "We are at the midpoint of our season and I want the team to focus on improving the overall play of 90 minutes, versus what the scoreboard shows. Our offensive pursuits today were few and far between and with a limited roster, we cannot attempt to play long ball soccer against teams with depth at every position. We need to focus on the short game, maintain possession and play quick concise passes to feet on the width of the field. We have to stop getting caught up in what the scoreboard shows and start enjoying the game more. Once we accomplish this, everything else will fall into place."

The Spartans were able to return to players to the line-up on a limited role and the back four continued to play hard throughout the entire match. "Getting Lynsey Potter (Pulaski, NY) and Theresa Miller (Southern Cayuga, NY) back into the mix of game play was a boost we have been without for the past 10 days, but then to see Tia Segretto (Jordan-Elbridge) go down and not return for the remaining 20 minutes, did not help. We are hopeful Tia can return early next week and will go into Alfred State looking for our role players to step up and fill the void."

Coach Renaud did point out Bre Becker did have a better command of the entire 18 this match and continues to show her worth, making 26 saves on the day.

Game stats-- Shots: TC3- 43, CCC- 5; Saves: TC3- 4 (Eltz 3, Kern 1), CCC - 26 (Becker 26); Offsides: TC3- 3, CCC- 0; Corner Kicks: TC3- 7, CCC-1; Cards: TC3-1, CCC-1

The Spartans now stand at 1-8-0 overall and 1-5-0 in MSAC conference play. They head down to Alfred State, Saturday, 9/29 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.