![Michigan attempts an empty net goal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Michigan_attempts_an_empty_net_goal.JPG)
An empty net goal, abbreviated as EN or ENG and colloquially called an empty netter, occurs in several team sports when a team scores a goal into a net with no
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
''(goalie)'' present.
Ice hockey
Empty net goals usually occur on two occasions in ice hockey:
#In the final minutes of a game, if a team is within two
goals, they will often ''pull the goalie'', leaving the net defenseless, for an
extra attacker, in order to have a better chance of scoring to either tie or get within one goal. However, if the team holding the lead gains control of the
puck, they will often shoot at the empty net after clearing center ice. It is less common for a team to shoot from their own zone at an empty net because
icing could occur if the shooter misses the net. In some circumstances, a team may also pull their goalie when they are on a
two-man advantage, even if not nearing the end of the game, to gain an advantage of six attackers to three to even further increase the chances of scoring.
#In the case of a delayed
penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
, the non-offending team will often pull their goaltender for an extra attacker in this situation as well. Empty net goals that are scored in this case are accidental own goals because the whistle would be blown if the offending team touches the puck. An own goal is usually scored when a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
from the non-offending team passes backwards to a
defenseman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
that is not in position, and the puck slides all the way down the ice into the team's own net, or when players of the non-offending team are being pressured in their own
zone
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
and they accidentally knock it into the net. This goal is credited to the last player on the scoring team who touched the puck.
Goaltender's statistics
Empty net goals are charged to the goaltender that was previously in net as empty net goals against (abbreviated as EN, ENG, or ENA). Empty net goals do not count against a goaltender's
goals against average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...
or their
save percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic.
In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...
, but rather are tracked separately. A goaltender can, however, be credited with a loss as the result of an empty net goal (for example, if a team is trailing by one goal, pulls its goalie, concedes an empty net goal, but then scores another but does not score a tying goal before time expires; since no goaltender was on the ice for the game winning goal, the loss is pegged to the last goaltender on the ice). In an unusual case, goaltender
Adam Wilcox Adam Wilcox may refer to:
*Adam Wilcox (racing driver) (born 1976), British racing driver
*Adam Wilcox (ice hockey)
Adam Wilcox (born November 26, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently an unrestricted free agen ...
, in his
lone NHL appearance to date, did not concede a goal but was credited with the loss because of the aforementioned scenario.
Association football
An empty net
goal can occur in
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in a situation where a team is losing by a goal late in a game in which
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
is not a relevant factor, such as in a
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
cup competition. Often in these situations the
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
of the losing team will go into the attacking area of his team during a
set piece, such as a
corner kick. In this case it is then possible for the defending team to score into the empty net if they are able to win possession of the ball.
Examples of this include
Xabi Alonso scoring for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
against
Luton Town in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
,
Ryan McCann
Ryan Patrick McCann (born 21 September 1981) is a Scottish professional footballer. He last played with Edusport Academy in the Scottish Lowland Football League.
Playing career
Celtic, St Johnstone and Hartlepool
McCann began his career wit ...
scoring for
Queen of the South against
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards in ...](_blank)
scoring for
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
against
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
at the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
and
Pity Martínez scoring the last goal of his team against
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
in the second leg of the
2018 Copa Libertadores Finals
The 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals was the two-legged final to decide the winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, the 59th edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier international club football tournament organised by CONMEBOL.
T ...
at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Handball
With rule changes in the 2010s, the goalie can also be pulled in
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
. Unlike the soccer and ice hockey examples, this is not only done in desperate situations near the end of a game, as scoring even on a goal with a goalkeeper in it is easier in handball than ice hockey or soccer. A loss of ball possession and the inability to quickly get a goalie back in time almost always results in an empty net goal.
See also
*
Extra attacker
References
{{Reflist
Ice hockey terminology
Association football terminology
Handball terminology