Stillwater 1, Mechanicville 0
In a rivalry, you never know what will happen.
The first time this game was played, Mechanicville cruised to a 6-0 W. This time, under the Stillwater lights and with a first girls soccer Indian Cup to play for, an Erica Nichols direct kick held up for the Warriors and their bend but not break defense didn't break.
It looked like Mechanicville was going to make things difficult right from the start. They pressured the defense and GK Danika Svendsen early, and Keara LaFountain was an inch away from drilling one in the first couple minutes. The ball hit the top post and bounced straight down, just off the goal line and ended up being cleared. As the half went on, Stillwater slowly evened up play and made things hairy for the Red Raider defense as well. At one point late in the half, a header made it past the keeper, but was less than a foot too high, hitting the top post and caroming harmlessly over. Svendsen had a little more work to do at this point than her counterpart, but neither were thrust into making legitimate saves - each had one in the 1st half, but Svendsen controlled it 7 other times in the half as well. Mechanicville still had the better of play in the half, but it was close - maybe 60/40 - as the scoreless, yet exciting first 40 minutes drew to a close.
But scoreless it didn't stay for long. Erica Nichols was awarded a direct kick for Stillwater a few yards outside the right elbow of the 18. The ensuing kick moved just enough in the air, throwing Lauren Claeys off by a second. She couldn't recover in time, as the ball went off her fingertips into goal, giving Stillwater a 1-0 lead with 36:13 remaining. Mechanicville made situations a little dicey for the Stillwater D at times, primarily off corner kicks (they had 8 to the Warriors' 3), but they were never able to crack through. As a matter of fact, after the goal, it was Stillwater who looked better. The team that got beat 6-0 the first time was the team that looked stronger. Was this the rivalry talking or is this for real? Well, perhaps both. They always say throw out the records when there's something to play for. I would expect a good one in the first Indian Cup for girls soccer regardless of if one was unbeaten and the other.. beaten. But let's look at the numbers. Stillwater started off the season 0-3-1 and didn't get their first win until a couple weeks ago. Since a loss to Hoosick Falls, Stillwater's went 3-1 to just about even up their record at 4-5-1. This includes not only this game, but a 4-1 win over Hoosic Valley - a team they played to a scoreless draw early in the season. Maybe this resurgence is for real.
A lot of action, but not a lot of shots. Stillwater outshot their opponents 7-6, but Mechanicville had 8 corners to Stillwater's 3. Lauren Claeys made just 1 legitimate save, but controlled it on non-saves 8 times. Danika Svendsen made a pair of legitimate saves and controlled it 10 other times. The numbers in this one don't tell you how exciting the game was - the play & the atmosphere. The crowd, the feel, the PA guy getting the crowd going and updating the Twitter simultaneously, Hollaback Girl on the warmup, where can you go wrong?
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