Posted by Katie Peverada
With a huge win over ninth ranked St. Lawrence on Saturday, the Skidmore men's soccer team earned a berth in the Liberty League playoffs for the first time in six years. Skidmore came into the game riding a four-game win streak and moved to 11-4-2 overall and 5-1-1 in Liberty League play. St. Lawrence came in with a 13-game undefeated streak, but dropped to 11-2-2 overall and 6-1 in League play.
Junior Brock Bakewell's 35th minute goal would prove to be the game-winner, his second in as many games.
In a game where both teams relied on their goaltending and defense, Skidmore worked hard to create several chances throughout the first half, but Aaron Costello and the St. Lawrence defense were able to keep the Thoroughbreds off the board in the early going.
In the 26th minute, Skidmore was unable to take advantage of a rebound in front of the net, but kept pushing and gained momentum going forward. At one point, Skidmore pressured St. Lawrence and earned three consecutive corners with no favorable result.
Finally, Nick Masiero '17 was able to beat his defender on the right flank, cut into the box and send a shot to the left side of the net. Costello made the initial save, but his defense was unable to clear the ball and Bakewell was able to knock in the rebound to make it 1-0.
St. Lawrence would not give up, as they kept pushing offensively for the remainder of the game. In the second half alone, the Saints put up 12 shots and earned nine corner kicks. But for every St. Lawrence attack, Eli Kisselbach '16 and the Skidmore defense had an answer. Kisselbach registered seven saves in the game, including three in the final ten minutes.
On the other end of the field, Costello was equally as impressive, finishing with five saves in only his first loss of the season.
The Saints outshot Skidmore 17 to 10, and their 13 corner kicks were 11 more than Skidmore's total.
Skidmore's final game of the season is at Union on Nov. 2, and the game has several playoff seeding effects. With a win, the Thoroughbreds can earn home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Additionally, if Skidmore wins and St. Lawrence loses in their matchup against Clarkson, the Thoroughbreds would enter the playoffs with the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The last time the Thoroughbreds reached the playoffs was also the only time Skidmore has reached the championship game, where they fell to St. Lawrence 6-0.