Women’s Soccer – Lady Lakers Draw with Herkimer, Nil-Nil in 2OT

HERKIMER, NY. – Thursday's meeting between the Lady Lakers and Herkimer County CC was one for the ages – if you are a fan of ties.

In a game where two of the nation's top 10 teams squared off, neither would come away victorious in the outcome of it. Finger Lakes (7-0-1, 3-0 MSAC), ranked 2nd nationally, and Herkimer, ranked 9th nationally, served the crowd a nil-nil draw – in what was a 2OT showdown.

Now if you are a fan of defense, well, then yesterday's game is just what you would be looking for – as both team's fed their audience a plate full of it. On a brisk evening in Herkimer, the hosts (Lady Generals) gave the Lady Lakers one of their best tests of 2012. Herkimer fought and clawed from the start of the contest right until the horn sounded in regulation and beyond.

Finger Lakes was certainly served a great challenge on the road on Thursday. They countered the Lady Generals grittiness and heart with a tray full of determination and hard play. The Lady Lakers offense applied a sizeable amount of pressure on Herkimer in the tie. Possession control was definitely in Finger Lakes favor – but it was the Lady Generals who made sure those possessions didn't turn into scores.

Any possession that was pressed by the Lady Lakers in Herkimer's zone was counter attacked by the Lady Generals. It was a back and forth chess match all game long between the two perennial team's.

One of Finger Lakes prime scoring opportunities came midway through the first half when sizzling sophomore Cayli Carmona (forward) came ever so close to notching a marker. She broke through a wall of Herkimer defenders prior to attempting what was a good-looking shot on the Lady Generals goal. Needless to say, the forward did not discover the scoring column.

Later, at the end of regulation, the Lady Lakers garnered one more chance of attempting to hit the netting in Herkimer's goal. Sophomore midfielder Bailey Smith was the one responsible for almost scoring a helper before the 90-minutes worth of regulation expired on the clock. Smith tried to finesse a shot into the lower left corner of the Lady Generals net as time began to tick away in half number two, but was denied doing so with her try.

Both teams would continue to duke it out in a pair of overtimes after the clock struck 90 minutes. With a pair of zeroes listed on the scoreboard entering the first OT, all either team had to do in order to win was to walk away with the games lone goal. But, as OT #1 ended – it seemed as if that theory was exactly that – a theory. The 2nd OT proved just that. Neither team refused to concede a goal to determine a winner. So – they ended up ending the game in a draw.  

Finger Lakes will be back in action tomorrow when they take on Clinton CC at home in what is a scheduled 3:00 p.m. start time.