The Oneonta State men begin its quest for an NCAA berth on Wednesday when they host Plattsburgh in the semifinal round of the 2011 SUNYAC tournament.  Oneonta is the top seed for this year's tournament and Plattsburgh earned the No. 4 seed.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm.  Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for students.

Oneonta (12-2-2), which is ranked #5 in the NCAA East Region, won the regular season title in the SUNYAC this fall going unbeaten (8-0-1).  The Red Dragons enter Wednesday's game riding a 13 game unbeaten streak including eight straight wins.  The last loss for Oneonta is Sep. 4 when they fell to Clarkson, 1-0, in the second game of the Lotto Tournament hosted by St. Lawrence.

Oneonta is seeking its first SUNYAC title since 1985 and its first since rejoining the conference in 2007.  From 1989 until 2006 the Red Dragons competed at the Div. I level before moving to Div. III and the SUNYAC.  Since being eligible for the conference tournament in 2008, Oneonta has qualified each year.  The last two years the Red Dragons have reached the semifinals only to be eliminated by Plattsburgh including last year in penalty kicks, 5-3, after battling the Cardinals to a 2-2 tie through two overtimes.

In the regular season meeting between the two teams, Oneonta defeated Plattsburgh 5-0.  In the game, the Cardinals had a few dangerous scoring opportunities, but didn't find the back of the goal.  The win for Oneonta was its first against Plattsburgh since 2007.  Freshman Justin Rivera (Bay Shore/Bay Shore) (Bay Shore/Bay Shore) and sophomore Dan Josepher (Manorville/Eastport/South Manor) (Manorville/Eastport South Manor) each scored a pair of goals in the victory.

Junior Eric Fortier (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) currently leads Oneonta in scoring with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points.  Josepher is next on the team with 17 points on eight goals and one assist.  Senior Gary Laronde (Wheatley Heights/Half Hollow Hills) (Wheatley Heights/Half Hollow Hills) is third with 15 points on six goals and three assists.  Fortier has three game-winners while Laronde has two.

Senior Maxwell Siegelman (Roslyn/Roslyn) (Roslyn/Roslyn) has logged 1,200 minutes in goal for Oneonta this season and has a 0.90 goals against while recording three shutouts.

Plattsburgh advanced to Wednesday's game after defeating Potsdam, 4-0, this past Saturday in the first round of the tournament.  The Cardinals are the defending SUNYAC champions and are currently 13-4-2 overall.

Wednesday's winner will play Saturday in the championship game versus the winner of the Brockport/Geneseo game, also being played Wednesday, at the highest seed beginning at 1pm.  If Oneonta wins that would mean another home game for the Red Dragons.  If Plattsburgh were the victor, they would travel to winner of the Brockport/Geneseo game.