Albany, NY - The Panthers played their last games of the regular season Tuesday night against YSCC rival Paul Smith's College.
The women kicked off first at 5pm, wearing pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness. The game started very evenly matched with the two teams going back and forth countless times. The Panthers only got one shot off in the first half compared to only 5 for the Bobcats. The slow pace of the game led to a scoreless halftime.
Right at the start of the second half Mya Wright (Liverpool, NY) set up teammate Julia Roemer (Latham, NY) to score her 91st career goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. However, the Panthers lead did not last long as Katrien Roefs of the Bobcats scored twice over the next 12 minutes to take a 2-1 lead. After that, exhaustion set in and the Bobcats ran away with it, scoring once more to win the game 3-1.
The men then kicked off their game following the completion of the women's game. Instead of pink, the men wore gold socks for childhood cancer awareness. Similar to the women's game, this one was filled with constant back and forth between the two teams. Sahil Arora (Clifton Park, NY) and Jay Carlson (Saratoga Springs, NY) led the way with three shots each, but it was Ian Rathbun (Queensbury, NY) who found the back of the net right before halftime to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers became more aggressive in the second half, firing 9 total shots compared to 7 in the first half. Unfortunately, none of them found the back of the net this time. About 15 minutes into the second half, the Bobcats scored a runaway goal to tie the game 1-1. As per usual, the game was very physical with 13 total fouls between the two teams. The physicality from both sides prevented the other from scoring again which led to a tie when the final buzzer rang.
Both teams will have their playoff matchup announced in the coming days.
How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instgram @ACPHSPanthers or X @ACPHSAthletics.
Written by Angelo Oddo.
