Results Fluctuate in Gryphons Soccer Doubleheader

Javier Vela ‘25, Beanie Pechefsky ‘26

Sophomore Forward, Morris Monaco Collins, Photo by: Javier Vela

gryphon’s blitz privateers for nine goals

Sunday saw both the women's and men's soccer teams return to Flemming Field to host Maritime and St. Joseph’s University respectively. The women’s team kicked off first. After waiting an extra day due to weather conditions, the Gryphons didn’t skip a beat. 

The team didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough against the Privateers with Junior Forward Cora Colvin opening the scoring after seven minutes. Her goal was the first of seven in a dominant first-half display against Maritime which allowed the team to take their foot off of the gas in the second half. 

The final three goals of the first half each saw a contribution from First-year Forward Katey Beaver, who set up the first two, and rounded out the first-half tally with her fifth goal of the season in the form of a neatly dispatched finish into the bottom right corner. 

“I think the key for our goal scoring is just knowing the team we’re playing and figuring out how to build up the attack based on how the other team is defending. On Sunday we definitely emphasized on the opportunities we had to split their defense with through balls, and we tried to lay the ball back at the end line for people running into the box,” Beaver said.

Beaver’s efforts also earned her the Skyline Rookie of the Week award. “It was honestly kind of a surprise to see I won Rookie of the Week, but it was definitely a cool achievement, especially since I’ve been trying to work on not putting too much pressure on myself and to just take it one game at a time, so it means a lot to see that it’s paid off in some way,” Beaver said.

The first half’s goal scoring route was followed by an additional two goals in the second half seeing the Gryphons finish as 9-0 victors that day. Sunday’s win was followed by a 5-1 victory over the Purchase Panthers on Wednesday. This took the Gryphons joint top-of-the-table in conference play, maintaining their unbeaten run, with three wins and two draws from their opening five fixtures. They resume league play this weekend, when they host the Manhattanville Knights on Saturday at Flemming Field.

Men’s Team Made to Rue Missed Chances Against Stubborn Eagles

The men’s team followed the women's with a clash against St. Joseph’s University on Sunday night. The Gryphons opened conference play with two wins from their first three and looked to get back to winning ways on Sunday night after emerging on the losing side of a seven-goal thriller against Purchase College. 

Where the women’s game was an exercise in how to break a team down, the first half of the men’s game showed how a rigid defense can win you games. In spite of a number of good chances in the first half, the Gryphons couldn’t penetrate a stern Eagles defense punctuated by six saves from the visiting shot-stopper. 

The deadlock was broken moments before the halftime whistle, taking the wind out of the Gryphons’ sails. The second half proved to be equally as frustrating, with the Eagles dispatching a free kick into the top left corner in the 82nd minute to take the game beyond Sarah Lawrence.

The team will feel hard done by a result that could have gone their way on another day. The team’s finishing wasn’t the only issue on Sunday, with more than a few contentious refereeing decisions killing any momentum that the Gryphons attempted to build. The 20 fouls committed by the Eagles certainly frustrated the team and coach Evan Bransdorfer on the touchline, who picked up a yellow card late into the second half.

“The officiating is always something that has almost been a second opposition for our team.” said Junior Goalkeeper and Co-Captain Kian Silva. “So naturally — it’s always going to feel like the officials are against us, but we don’t have a positive history with referees.”

Despite the result, Silva believes that the team’s strong mentality will allow them to put the result behind them and get back to winning ways. “The great thing about college soccer is that we don’t tend to have enough time to be bothered licking our wounds, we just need to do a better job of regaining our focus on the next game,” Silva said.

Though Sunday’s results didn’t go the way that both teams wanted, the support from the stands was consistent in both games. There’s a strong sense of unity among the men’s and women’s institutions who both came out in full voice to support each other.

“Sunday was our first home match in a month and it was so great to have the support we’ve seen in the past there again. Having the women’s team stick around and support was huge to have and helped us realize that we aren’t just playing for our team but for the entire school,” Silva said. 

The support was felt on both sides, with Beaver adding, “It’s great to have a mutual support between both our soccer teams. Having people being vocal on the sidelines helps so much in bringing up the energy at games, and it creates a great atmosphere to play in. Obviously, the men’s team is always a huge part of that, so our team always wants to reciprocate that support whenever we can, since we know how it feels when people show out to support you at a game.”

The men’s team returned to action on Tuesday with a 4-0 defeat away to Merchant Marine that they will look to remedy when they travel to St. Joseph’s University on Friday night.