Columbia 1, Mohonasen 0
A win is a win.
That's what they say. Columbia may not have been too pleased with how much of the game against 3-8-2 Mohonasen went, but all they needed was a nearly unstoppable shot by Kylee Arno to hold off a Mohon team that was certainly up for the challenge, yet a little offensively challenged themselves.
Really expected Columbia to jump out in this one. Coming off a loss to Guilderland, plus the fact that it's senior night against one of the teams in the bottom of the Suburban, they're about to go in, right? Wrong. The visitors put the pressure on early - 4 of their 12 shots on the night were in the first 10 minutes, 7 in the first 20. The ball was on their half of the field for the vast majority of that time, and the Blue Devils didn't even attempt a shot over that timeframe. At one point, Jessica Schafer had to get off the ground to tip one over the top post with one hand. Columbia's first chance came with 18 minutes left in the half when Bridget Austin made a run up the right side and played a cross around the PK area to a charging Allison Doyle, but it was mishit and the ball trickled away from a dangerous area. The next time Columbia had a chance though, it was game over. Dora Hayes played a ball to Kylee Arno, and she did the rest. She was able to evade a couple defenders and thread the needle right where a charging Saeeda Abdul-Aziz couldn't get it. On Columbia's first real shot of the night in the 27th minute, they picked up a 1-0 lead. They evened up play over the remaining of the half, and Columbia took that 1-0 lead into the break. Sometimes, a great player making a great play can outdo another team's great effort.
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| The blurry finish - Kylee Arno watching her shot slide just past the diving Saeeda Abdul-Aziz, the eventual game winning goal. |
Columbia was able to have the better of play in the 2nd half for the most part, although Mohon broke through on occasion. The pressure never matched what it was in the first 20 minutes, but it was enough to make it feel like they had a chance to even it up all the way until the end. Columbia had a period of sustained pressure, but the defense didn't break and Abdul-Aziz (by the way, arguably the best goalie I've seen this year) made a number of nice plays. It seems like the Mohon problem came back around - although they played much better in this game than they did the other times I've seen them against Guilderland and Burnt Hills, they just can't score. Kinda like Shaker's problem. This game was their 3rd consecutive shutout loss, and it marks the 8th time they've been shut out this season in 14 games. They've scored 16 goals this year - 15 girls soccer players in Section 2 have scored 16 or more on their own. The future is bright, as freshman Lexi Canavally has scored over half of their goals and they only have 4 seniors on the team, but it hasn't helped them find a lot of wins in a tough Suburban Council this year. They end with Colonie and Guilderland and hope to get something in those games. For Columbia, it's all about the present. 15 seniors on the squad, including 25 of their 31 goals so far and their starting GK. They'll be losing one of the best players in the section in Arno to the diploma line. For them, it's about right now. They're ranked in the top 10 in the state in AA (for now - a loss to Guilderland a couple nights ago may knock them down in next week's rankings) and appear to be one of the few true contenders to compete for a Class AA title. They have a tricky one remaining against Bethlehem (7-1 in Suburban South, with Columbia at 6-1-1) before Averill Park to finish the season, who's kinda been the Suburban's doormat. This one would've been a big shakeup in numerous things - Suburban South standings, sectional seeding, state rankings - if Mohon won, but survive and move forward is the way to go for the Blue Devils in this one.
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| Lexi squared - Canavally (pictured) and Coelho (pictured above) will be a problem for Mohon in future years |
#ByTheNumbers - Ehh, alright. They kinda lie in this one. You look at them and think maybe Columbia lost this one 1-0. Mohonasen outshot Columbia 12-7. A relatively corner-free game had the 3-2 edge in Mohon's favor too. Jessica Schafer made 3 legit saves for Columbia and controlled it on non-saves 9 other times, Saeeda Abdul-Aziz had 2 & 8 for Mohon. Columbia had 6 goal kicks to Mohon's 4. All in all, it was a very even game with Mohonasen generating just a little bit more sustained pressure when you weigh the full 80 minutes. It's not about who puts the pressure on though, it's about who scores. The player made the play. Footwork queen Kylee Arno finished a tough one, and that's all that was needed.
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