BY BRANDON WILFORE // Oct. 13, 2016 //

Domination would be a perfect word to describe the first 89 minutes of Curry’s 1-0 loss to the Suffolk Hawks Wednesday night. But soccer is a 90-minute game.

The first half was all Colonels; holding the ball in their half for nearly all 45 minutes. The Hawks looked uninterested as they were jogging to loose balls and sometimes leaving Colonels wide open on throw-ins. Suffolk had about six reserves so if Curry could run and wear down the Hawks, they should be able to retake the same control they had in the first.

The Colonels hit the post three times over in the opening half, not quite able to net a goal in the first 45. At the half, Curry outshot Suffolk 17-1, and their lone shot was a weak dribbler that goalkeeper Morgan Stott ate up.

Curry earned only a pair of corner kicks, but both led to nice looks at goal. On one of them, the Suffolk goalie Kirsten Weiker dove to her right and made a seemingly impossible save to keep the game scoreless.

The second half was identical to the first half… almost.

The Colonels continued to bombard the Hawks’ by shooting the ball at will. Jules Petrucelli provided offense all night for Curry with eight shots, most from distance. But one shot was far better than the others.

With about six minutes left in the game the Colonels, once again, were on the offensive attack. A sense of urgency was in the air as the parents in the stands, players on Curry’s bench and players on the field were all hungry to break the 0-0 tie.

Petrucelli dribbled the ball up the field and looked to score from about the 30-yard line. She cranked a shot high in the air, looking like it was going to go well over the net, and then it started to drop. Bang. Off the crossbar and out.

It was one of the better looks the Colonels had all night and they weren’t even done yet. They kept the attack on for the next four minutes, but the aggression ended up backfiring.

After Weiker made a save, she booted the ball to midfield hoping for a good counterattack with a minute left in the game. A Suffolk midfielder kicked the ball in the air towards the Colonels’ goalkeeper and it landed at the top of the penalty box where two Curry defenders collided going for the ball and the Hawks’ Madelyn Whipple came out of the pile with the ball.

Goal. 59 seconds left on the clock.

Suffolk fans and players cheered knowing they had locked up a win.

The Colonels had one more opportunity with about six seconds left when junior Cassie Grasso had the ball near the goal but a Hawk defender got the ball away from her and the horn sounded. Grasso fell to the ground in shock.

Curry players walk around in defeat and disbelief. Suffolk cheered, as they knew they stole a game they had no business winning.

“We were the better team all night and one mistake beat us, this is one of the toughest losses I’ve ever experienced,” said Grasso.

Lopsided: Curry had two players (Lima and Petrucelli) who had more shots by themselves than Suffolk had the whole game. Lima (9) and Petrucelli (8) alone outshot Suffolk 17-4.

Playoff picture: The Colonels currently hold the final playoff spot in the conference. They have four conference games left out of five total games over the next 12 days.

Offense?: Curry has failed to score more than 2 goals in a game since September 20^th.