10/1 Most Valuable Thoughts: Frankfort/Herkimer Girls Soccer

Herkimer 1, Frankfort-Schuyler 0 (OT)

Damn, it's October already. Second half of the season underway - as a matter of fact, less than 3 weeks until sectional seeding. Frankfort is a team with some talent, but they haven't been able to put it together - and at 2-6-1, they needed this one badly. Herkimer, on the other hand, has turned it up over the last couple weeks, entering the game at 4-3-1, but only one loss in the league to 11-0 Little Falls in a 1-0 decision. This one hung in the balance for a very long time...

Not much to talk about until OT. Most of the game was played between the 18s, but each team did give themselves a few golden opportunities. However, there were no ball-attracting magnets in the back of the net on this night. The closest opportunity for either side in the first 90 minutes was pretty late in the 1st OT, when Frankfort's Alexis Bianchi was able to get a whole lot of daylight. She let one go from just outside the 18 with a Magician defender closing. The ball sailed past Herkimer GK Chelsea Jory, but just barely didn't drop in time, bouncing off the top post back onto the field. Frankfort's Simone Palumbo got her foot on the long rebound straight out, but her shot went right into Jory's hands. Palumbo also had another opportunity earlier in the game - a header off a nice cross that got by Jory went just wide right of goal in the 1st half. Herkimer had a couple strong opportunities as well - Caitlyn Roorda had near-misses a couple times, one off a corner that almost looked like a surefire goal but just got hung up in a crowd right in front of the goal line, and another shot to the right post that Frankfort GK Cassandra Grippe had to make a sprawling stop for. However, in the 96th minute, Herkimer ended the game's scoring drought. Senior striker McKenzie Pine, known more for her strength than speed, beat the crowd to a ball played by freshman midfielder Maddie Renshaw, and was able to get it past the keeper with 4:18 left in the game. From there, the Maroon Knights weren't able to put a legitimate challenge on Jory until the buzzer. Herkimer is now 5-3-1, 4-1 in their division. For Frankfort, Cassandra Grippe played well in goal - bobbled a couple, but didn't let one through on a lot of opportunities until very late. She finished with 8 saves. On Herkimer's end, Chelsea Jory didn't see as much action, but she got her share and was able to stand tall against the pressure to get another shutout to add to her career total. She finished with 5 saves.