Castleton Women's soccer played Plymouth state for the home opener, ending in a tied score of 0-0.  Senior Eva Clark pictured above. Photo Courtesy of Castletonsports.com

Following a game to forget against Skidmore, the Castleton women’s soccer team hosted Plymouth State this past Saturday for the home opener. It took two hours and twenty minutes and two overtime periods – only to end in a tie.

The final score ended in a pair of goose eggs, as neither team could find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Castleton managed to outshoot Plymouth 16 to 12. However, Plymouth had seven shots on net compared to Castleton’s three.

“They had a couple breakaways and a really good opportunity early off of a free kick,” said goalkeeper Jessica Binkowski.

Just 14 minutes into the game, Castleton fouled about 25 yards out. Plymouth State’s Sophie Brisere set up for a free kick and fired a shot on net. Binkowski dove fully extended and tipped the ball up and over the crossbar keeping the game locked at 0-0.

Senior captain Eva Clark led the team with five shots, two on net. At the other end of the field, other senior captain Jessica Binkowski looked strong in net stopping all seven of Plymouth State shots handedly.

As for the Panthers, Naomi Kramer and Hannah Kallis both led the team with three shots each, both with two shots on net. And Annaliese Schmidt was able to deny the Spartans on all three of their shots making it a battle of the goalkeepers.

“It was really frustrating because we are all anxious to finally get a win under our belt. Their style of play made it hard for us to settle the ball and play our system, which was hard offensively,” said senior defenseman and captain Nicole Wershoven.

The lack of scoring stirred up the game physically, as both teams racked up the fouls. Castleton finished the game with 16 fouls — and one yellow card just 11 minutes into the game. Plymouth State tallied nine fouls and one yellow card, which came late in overtime.

Castleton added 12 freshmen to their roster this offseason. Players said it can be difficult to mesh with teammates that haven’t had a lot of time to practice together.

“We have a very different team this year and it’s still early in the season,” said Clark, explaining that there is still a lot of time to improve this year. 

On Thursday the women traveled to Saratoga Springs to take on the thoroughbreds of Skidmore. The game ended in a loss with a final score of 7-3.

In a matter of one game and just two days, the Spartans managed to not give up a single goal, or a loss.

“Overall it was an improvement as our second game and we hope to continue moving forward,” said Binkowski, reflecting on the game.

With the tie, the Spartans improve their record to 0-1-1 this season. They will open up NAC play at home Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. against New England College.