Stapleton Makes Incredible Last Minutes Saves To Keep Game Scoreless
By Kat Castner
(Ithaca, NY – Oct. 16, 2013) In a series that dates back to 1921, Colgate and Cornell battled it out once again on Tuesday night for a midweek men’s soccer non-conference matchup. The game ended in a 0-0 tie but not without some excitement.
After pushing the game to extra time, Colgate (2-9-2) saw junior Liam Stapleton make three impressive stops in the final overtime to keep the Big Red out of the net and ultimately securing the draw. The Raiders were led by Tanner Schilling, Ethan Kutler and Evan Heroux, who all tallied three shots in the contest.
Cornell (6-3-3) saw Patrick Slogic notch four shots throughout the game while Benjamin Williams earned three. Evan King made four saves in 110 minutes of work.
The Raiders were on the attack right from the opening whistle. Kutler notched the game’s first chance on net when Schilling found him on the left wing. Kutler beat a Big Red defender before riffling a shot on goal. His attempt sailed just high over the crossbar but gave the Raiders a good opportunity on goal.
Five minutes later Schilling sent a dangerous ball into the box from the left side of the field but Colgate couldn’t get a touch on it before the Big Red cleared it out of the box.
At the 22nd minute mark, Schilling decided to try his luck on net when he saw an opening in the middle of the field. He fired a shot from 20-yards out but Cornell came up with their second block of the game to deflect the ball away.
Three minutes later, Cornell answered with a chance of its own following a free kick by Ben Feldman. The sophomore sent the ball into the box where the Raiders were able to clear it away from immediate danger. Slogic collected the loose ball, however, and shot from outside the 18-yard box. His shot sailed well high over the goal but gave the Big Red their first real chance on net.
With 10 minutes remaining in the half, senior captain Barrett Metzger sent a brilliant ball deep into the Cornell box off a set piece. Rookie Zach Tamen headed it down for Heroux, who blasted it on goal. But again the Big Red came up with a huge block, saving a potential goal.
Just before halftime, Feldman sent another dangerous ball into the Raider box from a free kick. Junior Stapleton came soaring out, however, to grab the ball in the air.
Early in the second half Metzger played a great corner kick to a waiting Schilling on the back post. The junior took the ball out of the air and fired one on net but his shot was blocked out of bounds.
In the 75th minute, Cornell had a solid chance on net when Slogic crossed the ball into Liam Crotty, whose redirected header went skimming over the goal.
The Big Red were on the attack again when Jake Rinow found an opening 30 yards out through traffic. He curled his shot towards the back post but it sailed just wide of the goal.
Dan Matthews answered on the opposite side of the field when he threw the ball deep into the Big Red box. After a quick clearance, the ball found the foot of Nick Arpey, who chipped it back in towards net for Heroux, who tried to find it with his head but King came up with the diving save.
In the final five minutes of regulation Metzger took two solid corner kicks but Cornell’s big defenders held strong not conceding a goal sending the game into extra time.
In the first overtime, Schilling played the ball over to Campbell on the right wing. The junior then sent a dangerous ball to the top of the 18, where Cameron McCaslin volleyed it on net. His redirection sailed just high of the crossbar but gave the Raiders another great opportunity on goal.
With 10 seconds remaining in the opening overtime, Metzger sent the ball into the box. The Raiders tried to find it with their head but the goalie came diving out to grab the ball before Colgate could put it away.
The second overtime saw a lot of action for both teams as Kutler almost put one in for the Raiders. After Geinda Smith got fouled 25 yards out in the middle of the field, Kutler hit a laser of a free kick on net, but King made a goal saving stop to push it over the net.
In the final three minutes of the game, Stapleton was a wall between the posts for Colgate when he made three impressive saves. The first one came off a Cornell free kick when Ralph Lee Price IV tried to slip one past him near post but Stapleton was there to come up with the huge save.
A minute later, Stapleton posted back-to-back amazing saves following two quick shots from Slogic, who was five yards out, and Jake Kirsch to keep the game tied at 0-0
The closing seconds ticked off the clock with neither team scoring the game-winner ending the match in a draw.
Colgate welcomes Holy Cross on Saturday for a league matchup with the Crusaders at 7 p.m. on Van Doren Field.
NOTES: Only the fifth time in the 84 game history of the series that Colgate and Cornell have played to a 0-0 tie…Also Colgate snaps a four game losing streak to the Big Red.