DELHI — The Clinton Community College Cougars have reached the end of their road — well almost.
The Cougars (7-3) completed a successful weekend swing through the Finger Lakes Region on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over SUNY Delhi in men’s soccer. The win came on the heels of a 3-1 triumph over Finger Lakes CC on Saturday.
They were just two more stops on a torturous season-opening stretch for the Cougars, who will travel to Troy on Tuesday to meet Hudson Valley CC in their eighth straight road test. The schedule calls for the Cougars play 11 of their first 12 games away from home.
“We were a little flat-footed coming out today. They beat us to the 50-50 bals, especially early in the game,” Clinton Coach Zach Eppler said.
“But the guys were tired. It’s been a long weekend with long trips. It was a good weekend, though.”
The Cougars, who will host Mohawk Valley CC on Saturday in their first home game in a month, got a stellar performance in goal from Travis Agoney in their latest win. Agoney came up with 11 saves as Delhi outshot Clinton 11-4.
“Travis was brilliant in goal,” Eppler said. “Delhi (1-7) was a lot better than everyone expected. They possessed the ball quite a bit and put a lot of pressure on our goal.”
Ben Smith and Cory Farley also excelled defensively for the Cougars.
Jordan Knight accounted for the only goal off a direct kick 6:19 into the second half. The former Plattsburgh High standout took the shot from 25 yards out and managed to curve it around a five-man wall.
“The keeper (Zack Erbe) had no chance. He was counting on the wall and was positioned on the opposite side,” Eppler said. “It was a smart play by Jordan, a very head’s-up play by him.”
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Clinton 1, Delhi 0
Clinton 0 1 — 1
Delhi 0 0 — 0
Second half: 1, CCC, Knight, 6:19.
Shots on goal: Clinton, 4. Delhi, 11.
Saves: Agoney, CCC, 11. Erbe, Delhi, 3.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CLINTON 1, DELHI 1
DELHI — The Cougars bounced back from 2-0 loss to top-ranked Finger Lakes CC to gain a tie with SUNY Delhi.
“It’s our toughest weekend of the year,” Clinton CC Coach Donna Dixon said. “We had played the No. 1 team in the region Saturday. It would have been nice to come away with a win today. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we got a tie.”
The Cougars scored first, at 36:41 of the first half. Keeper Emily Schultz boomed a punt deep into the Delhi end that Katrina Garrand turned into a goal. She beat one defender and then ripped a shot from the 18-yard line past keeper Annie Millar.
Clinton maintained its lead until 28:18 of the second half when Ty Klinkler capitalized on a scramble to score from 6 yards out.
Clinton held a 19-17 edge in shots with Schultz recording 14 saves and Millar, 12.
“Both keepers played well and made some outstanding saves,” Dixon said. “We came out a little flat from the travel, but picked it up and it turned into a pretty good, back-and-forth, physical soccer game. Both teams had golden opportunities to score. We missed a wide open shot with about 3 minutes to go.”
Charisse Abellard, Garrand and Schultz “all had a great weekend. Those three really stood out for us,” Dixon said.
The Cougars (5-4-1) will host Paul Smith’s College at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Plattsburgh State soccer complex.
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Clinton 1, Delhi 1
Clinton 1 0 — 1
Delhi 0 1 — 1
First half - 1, CCC, Garrand (Schultz), 36:41.
Second half - 2, Delhi, Klinkler, 28:18.
Shots on goal: Clinton, 19. Delhi, 17.
Saves: Schultz, CCC, 14. Millar, Delhi, 12.
