Your Pomeroys hosted the Patriots of Saint Catharine College Tuesday, September 13, 2010 in a matchup that has always been physical and hotly contested. Last year’s match was a scoreless draw in Kentucky. The Patriots entered the match 2-2, fresh from defeating Berea College 8-0. The Pomeroys were still without the services of Maureen Brown.
The first minutes of the match favored the visitors. St. Catharine got safely into the attacking third a series of times and created early chances for shots. In fact, the first half saw the Patriots enter the attacking third slightly more than the Pomeroys and force the Pomeroys to win the ball back in their own defensive third 15 times. The Patriots got off 7 shots, 3 of them on frame, with April Baranowski turning away all attempts. While the striking duo of Samantha Morrison and Erin Pugh were dangerous, and several free kick opportunities were created, it took 34 minutes for the first good breakthrough, when Samantha Morrison took a ball from Paige Leuthold on the right side and fired a 20-yard shot past the keeper to take the 1-0 lead. Though pressured, the Pomeroys made that margin stand up through the rest of the first half.
For a short time at the beginning of the second half, the Pomeroys came out on fire, much as they had been for the 3-goal flurry at Franklin. In just over two minutes into the half, Erin Pugh put an excellent ball into the run of Samantha Morrison and she put her shot in the net for the 2-0 lead and her second goal of the match. The second half also saw the Pomeroys cut off more Patriot possessions in the middle third of the field and establish some possession dominance. However, as the match wore on, the physical play took its toll on both teams. The Pomeroys played 20 players and had a number come off with small injuries. In the end, though, your Pomeroys held the lead and finished out the match with the 2-0 victory. In the final total of shots on goal, SMWC held a 7-4 advantage, with 4 corner kicks earned to the Patriots’ 2. Again, Julie Debish put in an excellent performance in the defense, vital in the second half resurgence.
That makes our record 3-1, a strong season start. Next up are the Bearcats of Brescia University at home on Sunday, September 19, at 3:00 p.m.