empty net

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablesport

   In ice hockey and soccer, a goal whose net has no goalkeeper because the goalie has been pulled or is out of position.

   Grammar: Countable; usually used with 'the' or 'an', as in 'into an empty net'.

   Patterns

   • score into an empty net
   • an empty-net goal
   • shoot at an empty net

   He tapped the puck into an empty net to seal the win.

   The striker missed an open goal, shooting wide of the empty net.

   With the goalkeeper up for a corner, the defenders had to guard an empty net.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounsport

   Describing a goal scored when the opposing net has no goalkeeper, usually in the final moments of a game.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'an empty-net goal'; the hyphen is common in this position.

   Patterns

   • empty-net goal
   • empty-net win

   She scored her second empty-net goal of the season.

   The team held on for an empty-net win after the goalie was pulled.

Word forms

Common combinations

score into an empty net

The captain scored into an empty net from the halfway line.

empty-net goal

His empty-net goal made the final score 4–1.

shoot at an empty net

He shot at an empty net but hit the post.

pull the goalie for an extra skater

They pulled the goalie for an extra skater, leaving an empty net.

Synonyms and how they differ

open goal

Common in British English for soccer; it stresses that the goal is unguarded, but it is less used in ice hockey.

Word family

empty-netter noun

Informal term for a goal scored into an empty net.

Commonly confused: empty net or empty netter?

Practice

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