CLARION, Pa. — The Golden Eagle soccer team went toe to toe with one of the conference's best on Wednesday night, but Slippery Rock scored in the 88th minute on a crossing pass attempt as The Rock beat Clarion 1-0 at Memorial Stadium. The Golden Eagles were outshot 26-2 but made nine saves and kept the game scoreless until the very end, with Sage Sherk keeping the Golden Eagles in the game.
Slippery Rock dominated possession and shots, but Sherk was warm to the task, making nine total saves, some of them of high quality against good Rock scoring opportunities. The senior keeper's lone blemish came in the waning moments of the game, when a seemingly harmless cross attempt by Sophia Palermo took a bounce toward the post and squeaked past the goal line in the 89th minute. Sherk was otherwise outstanding, keeping The Rock off the scoreboard.
The Golden Eagles kept The Rock off the board in the first half, with Sherk making six saves as the teams went into halftime tied 0-0. Sherk stopped multiple early chances, including saves in the seventh, ninth, 19th and 21st minutes, while Nadia Gill recorded the Golden Eagles' shot in the 20th minute. The Rock continued to apply pressure late in the half, but Clarion held through a stretch from 32:23 to 43:36 that included multiple corners and two more Sherk saves. The half ended scoreless despite The Rock finishing the segment with 12 shots and six corner kicks.
Early in the second half, Sherk made a save on Lilia Battalini in the 57th minute as Clarion came through an eight-action attacking stretch by The Rock that included five shots and two corners. The Golden Eagles absorbed another surge from the 71st through 82nd minutes, with Sherk stopping shots from Palermo and Earley while The Rock generated multiple corners and attempts. Leah Deal gave Clarion a late look in the 87th minute, but her shot went wide, and The Rock carried the 1-0 score through the end of the half.
