“There are People Who Play Psychological Games with Other People.” Panthers Fall to Farmingdale State as Tensions Run High
By Lena Flamm
On a crisp October night, 55 spectators gathered on the bleachers of the Purchase soccer field to watch the divisional showdown between the Purchase Panthers and Farmingdale State Rams.
The Panthers women’s soccer team had tough luck on the road. After the one home game and six away games they had played this season, their record was 0-4-2. Fans and families were hoping to witness some redemption as the Panthers faced off on home field for the first time since their home opener against the University of Mount Saint Vincent two weeks prior. However, the 6-3-1 Rams, coming off a 4-0 win against St. Joseph’s University Long Island that weekend, would make it anything but easy.
From kickoff, the Rams quickly gained possession of the ball and held it in their attacking third for a majority of the first half. It was obvious from only a few minutes of play that Farmingdale Coach Chris Roche conducted an offensive-minded team- the first shot on goal came two minutes in from FSC senior defender Abigail Borra, a shot that went out left, but the pressure did not let up.
Though Purchase defenders tried to get the ball into Farmingdale territory, they couldn't keep it long enough to capitalize on scoring chances before losing possession again.
“We’re a very defensive team,” Panthers midfielder Kelly Schmidt said. “Having to play defense for 90 minutes is really hard. So, I think that’s our biggest flaw. Not being able to finish and capitalize on offensive chances.”
This theme continued throughout the first half, with the Rams attempting 16 shots on goal to the Panthers’ zero. Four of the shot attempts were by senior Kayla Mendez, whose agility and ball control were on full display. While two of her shots went high, the other two were a direct line into the net- deftly stopped by Panthers goalie Jill Creegan. As the horn sounded at the 45-minute mark, it was evident that the Panthers needed to rethink the way they played for the second half- as Panthers coach Hardeepak “Nick” Malvai stated, “No amount of defense is gonna win you a game.”
At the start of the second, it was clear that whether or not the Panthers had adjusted their playing style, the Rams had stayed the same. FSC had once again monopolized the ball, with Mendez attempting her fifth shot on goal, out top, just 37 seconds in. The Panthers continued to move the ball more aggressively across the field into scoring positions, but Rams senior defender Maiya Christmas thwarted their attempts. Christmas circled several feet away around scrambles in the middle third like a vulture, waiting for any player to lose control, at which point she would use her impressive speed to send the ball right back to the final third, often already near the goalpost by the time any player could catch up.
With 19 minutes left of the game, the scoring drought was finally broken by Rams sophomore midfielder/forward Jenna Biondo, assisted by sophomore forward Katelyn Nunziato. The bleachers went silent, spare a few FSC family members who joined in with the team in green’s raucous cheering.
One minute later, Purchase got their first shot attempt of the game when sophomore midfielder Katherine Lasky sent a ball flying into the right bottom corner, caught by Rams goalie Riana Herold. But after only one shot on goal to FSC’s 30, the Rams regained possession and kept attacking the goal. With 10 minutes left, Christmas gave the Rams their second goal, assisted by Mendez, widening the scoring gap and raising the stakes for the Panthers. But after one more shot attempt by the Panthers’ senior defender Elyza Colon with 22 seconds left to play, the buzzer sounded once again to signal the end of the game.
Creegan, despite the team’s loss, was proud of her team and the work they had done, and she was proud of her role as an indispensable player for the Panthers, holding FSC’s 36 shot attempts to only two goals.
“I feel like we had it under control,” she said. “We kept them 0-0 in the first half, which is very good for us.” As for the two goals, Creegan’s frustration was much bigger than the game itself. “I was really upset because [the Rams] coach was talking shit about me the whole game and before the game, and it felt like I really let everyone down by letting those goals in.”
When asked to elaborate, Creegan alleged, “He [Roche] came up to me, shook my hand, and said, ‘There’s not a single goalie in this league with talent.’... He was talking about his own goalie too. And then throughout the whole game he kept saying, ‘She has butterfingers; she can’t save anything.’”
When asked to confirm the statement, Coach Malvai verified that he had heard the same comment before the game but said it was in a different context.
“We [Creegan and I] were sitting here talking… he didn’t know she was our goalkeeper. And he [Roche] made that comment about, ‘Oh, there’s nobody in the conference…’ speak for yourself, coach, because I think I’ve got a great goalie for me.”
“Doesn’t matter what somebody says to you. Take that as fuel to do better. Fuel,” Malvai said. “After he walked out, I said, ‘Jill, use that as inspiration. Show him what a good goalie looks like.’ And she did.”
“There are people who play psychological games with other people,” Malvai continued. “I would assume [Roche is] a decent guy. But I have never in my time of coaching, and I’ve coached for 40 years- I never denigrate a player on the other team.”
As for Roche’s supposed “butterfingers” comments during the game, Malvai could not confirm. “I do not know, I didn’t hear it. So, I would pray for his sake, and for our sake, that no grown man over 60, he’s 65 years old, would be heckling somebody’s goalkeeper. That’s so classless that I don’t even have a word to describe it.”
However, Malvai made sure to mention that he did not care to dwell on the comments, and he doesn't want a supposed controversy to be anyone’s takeaway from the game. He intends to focus solely on improving the Panthers’ offensive capabilities. “You have to be defensive-minded when you’re defending and then know when to transition into offense. We just need to score some goals.”
Comments