Though it generated several big scoring chances, the Stony Brook women’s soccer team did not walk away with its first win of the season.
The Seawolves (0-1-1) returned to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Sunday in hopes of bouncing back from their opening night loss. Facing off against the Bryant Bulldogs (1-0-1), Stony Brook was unable to break down their backline in a scoreless stalemate between the two teams.
All game long, Stony Brook’s offense created opportunities with good through balls and accurate crosses, but it failed to deliver in the final third and around the box. The team was awarded with 11 corner kicks and several free kicks, but none of them led to goals. By pressing Bryant’s back to the wall, the Seawolves were able to take 17 shots and land seven on target, but they converted none of them into goals.
Head coach Tobias Bischof said that the team did good things with the ball until it reached scoring position.
“I thought we did a good job in most of the parts of the field, just not in the final third,” Bischof said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “We did create some good scoring opportunities, but unfortunately, we were not able to put the ball into the net.”
The Seawolves came close to breaking the ice on multiple occasions, but they did not get over the hump. During the 14th minute, forward Reilly Rich came crashing down the left flank and tried to shoot over the top of Bryant’s defense. Her shot was almost true, but it banged off the top woodwork to keep the game scoreless. In the 50th minute, midfielder Linn Beck volleyed a rebound from right in front of the goal, but she sailed it over the net.
Stony Brook’s best opportunity came in the 64th minute when forward Gabrielle Côté snuck past the Bulldogs’ backline and recovered a loose ball. Beating the keeper, Côté had a wide open net but a tight angle to shoot, and she missed it wide to the left. Both team’s traded scoreless possessions for the final 26 minutes, leading to a 0-0 draw.
Bischof said that Bryant’s defense disrupted the Seawolves’ passing once they reached the final third of the pitch.
“You’ve got to give credit to Bryant; they did a good job defending with a lot of numbers,” Bischof said. “We struggled a little bit to get the ball where we wanted to. We had opportunities, but the last pass in the final [third] was just not good enough.”
Stony Brook dominated possession for the whole match, allowing its defense to have an easier day at the office. Bryant attempted 10 shots as a team and landed five on target, but none of them were too challenging for goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella. Pasquarella saved all five shots and posted her first clean sheet of the season.
Due to their dominance in the field-position battle, Bischof said that the Seawolves’ offense was its best defense.
“To be honest, [the defense] wasn’t tested as much,” Bischof said. “We played a lot of offense.”
Though Stony Brook avoided a second-straight loss, Bischof felt it missed a good opportunity to pick up a win.
“I’m not happy,” Bischof said. “We thought this was going to be a game where we can get a positive result, but unfortunately we were not sharp enough in front of the goal.”
Beck led the Seawolves with five total shots and two shots on goal. Rich was also very involved, taking four shots and landing one on net. They had 10 total players attempt at least one shot on Sunday.
Stony Brook will return to LaValle Stadium this Thursday to host the Lafayette Leopards at 3:30 p.m. The Leopards are 2-0-0 this year and are coming off a 1-0 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Sunday.