ONEONTA, NY – What a difference a few days makes. The Hartwick women's soccer team completed an absolute turnaround in the Empire 8 First Round on Tuesday night, dominating a Utica team they lost unimpressively to on Saturday to the tune of a 4-1 scoreline. Gianna Cacciola (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) was the story of the evening, picking up her first career hat trick and adding an assist to boot in the victory. The win puts the Hawks (7-5-4) into the Empire 8 Semifinals for the fifth consecutive season, while the Pioneers finish their year at 8-8-1.
'Wick had the better of play early, as the ball spent the vast majority of its time in the Utica defensive half to open up the game. That paid off in a big way for the Hawks in the 10th minute, as Grace Byrne (Lynbrook, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) and Cacciola connected for the opening goal. Byrne chased down a ball off the right side of the box and played it in to Cacciola. Cacciola controlled the volley, turned, and whipped one into the far corner of the net for a beautiful icebreaker.
The Hawks maintained a decisive majority of possession for the remainder of the first half, leading to some more dangerous plays at net. Nicole Casab's (Utica, NY/T.R. Proctor) free kick in the 25th minute found the head of Nicole Conway (Chester, NY/Monroe Woodbury), but her effort went wide of the target. The two connected for another excellent chance in the 38th minute, as Conway's ploy at net off Casab's corner was stopped by Utica goalkeeper Courtney Connolly.
Things did not go as smoothly as planned for the hosts out of the halftime break. After the Hartwick back line made a mess of Jacinta Kaminski's ball forward, Ro Hernandez was in on goal. Sara Staup (Woodinville, WA/Woodinville) made the initial save, but Hernandez was right there to pick up the rebound and equalize in the 47th minute. Staup kept the game tied just a couple minutes later, leaping to stop a Kaela Mochak effort.
Not to worry for fans of the team in white, however, as the rest of the evening was pretty much all Hartwick. After a Utica corner kick in the 60th minute, the Hawks sprung out on the counterattack. Julia Collado (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon) played a left-footed ball from her own half out to a streaking Cacciola, who won the ball from a Utica back, caught Connolly leaning, and finished into the lower right corner for the 2-1 lead.
She was not finished yet.
In the 80th minute, Madi McGuire (Goshen, NY/Goshen) played one into the box from the right touchline. Collado altered the effort of a Utica back, and the resulting deflection came right to Cacciola, who neatly finished into the lower left corner for her hat trick. Cacciola decided to spread the wealth on the Hawks' fourth goal, as her ball through the box went by a pair of Utica defenders and to the foot of Byrne, who tucked it into the lower left corner for the icing on the cake.
Cacciola led all players with six shots, just one less than the Pioneers' total as a team. Casab had four tries towards net, and Byrne had three. Staup earned the win with 90 minutes in net, making three saves.
'Wick ended up with a dominant 20-7 shot advantage, including 14 to 4 in shots on goal. They also had a big lead in the corner kick department, at 10-3.
As mentioned, the Hawks move on to the Empire 8 Semifinals as a result of the win. They will travel to Rochester on Thursday to take on top-seeded Nazareth at 2 p.m. The Golden Flyers came out on top in the regular season meeting between the two teams, defeating the Hawks 1-0 in Rochester on October 23.
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