Box Score

Purchase, NY (Oct. 8, 2011) – This round of the annual “Battle of the Panthers” went to SUNY College at Old Westbury on Saturday.
 
Behind one of its top offensive weapons, the rival SUNY Panthers walked away with a key Skyline Conference win, besting the hosts 4-0 in a hard-fought defensive matchup that was decided by two early goals.
 
The coaching tandem of Devon Whalen and Stephanie Janasiewicz* has done a nice job this fall, helping the young and developing Panthers continue to make strides. Saturday's matchup was just another step in the process, with several underclassmen filling out the starting roster.
 
Experience would be key in determining today's outcome. Old Westbury (5-5, 4-1 Skyline Conference) struck first. Nearly 15 minutes into the contest, senior forward Cassandra Esposito – the star of the afternoon – found the back of the goal off an assist from Victoria Dehel.

Esposito, a savvy veteran, powered the rival Panthers on this day, scoring another goal six minutes later as Old Westbury took a commanding 2-0 lead in the first period. The early goals from Esposito took some of the wind out of Purchase's sail.
 
However, the host Panthers rebounded, finishing the remainder of the opening period without surrendering another goal.
 
Purchase regrouped and buckled down defensively, but Old Westbury did a nice job of holding down its side of the field as well.   
 
Purchase (4-5, 2-3 Skyline) had a few late opportunities, including a nice header early in the second half that was blocked by an Old Westbury defender. To boot, with 24 minutes left, Purchase had another golden opportunity when Cat Viscardi (FR/Lake Ronkonkoma, NY) blasted a high shot over the goal. Viscardi has been red hot of late. She played another tenacious 90 minutes, recording several shots.       
 
The Panthers just couldn't get past the slow start and OW's early lead, misfiring on at least a half dozen solid chances in front of the goal.
 
Old Westbury would tack on a pair of late scores to seal the win. JoAnna Kettell made it 3-0 off an assist from Kassandra Franco and shortly later, Esposito scored her third goal, producing the 4-0 final. She finished the afternoon with an impressive hat trick for OW.
 
Purchase, still clinging to a possible postseason berth, will host NYU-POLY in another important conference game next Wednesday at home. That tilt will be part of a Purchase men's and women's soccer doubleheader.