Sophomore Witman Hernandez (Huntington/Walt Whitman) netted a pair of goals today to lead the SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory against SUNY Geneseo in the semifinals of the 2017 SUNYAC tournament.  The win, coupled with a loss by top-seeded Cortland, means that Oneonta (14-1-2) will host the championship game this Saturday against Plattsburgh beginning at 1pm.  Plattsburgh knocked off Cortland with a 3-1 win today at Cortland.
 
The victory today for the Red Dragons was a bit sweeter for Head Coach Iain Byrne, who recorded his 200^th victory as a head coach, all at Oneonta.  Byrne, who is in his 15^th season, has a current overall record of 200-71-35 after today's win.
 
"The first half was a real struggle and Geneseo had their chances," said Byrne.  "In the second half we found our rhythm."
 
Geneseo (9-8-2) had the better of the play early in the first half knocking on the door a couple of times.  The best scoring chance came in the 11^th minute on a Bryan Wager shot hit the right post.  Wager controlled a pass by Joey Vucic and then turned on the defender before getting the shot off.
 
Despite the momentum in favor of the Knights, it was Oneonta that capitalized on a scoring chance midway through the opening half.  It was Hernandez who was in the right spot to pounce on a rebound before putting a shot to the back of the goal.  The opportunity came when senior Cory Santangelo (Sayville/Sayville) sent a shot along the ground that was heading for the left corner before being stopped by a diving save by Dillon Medd.  The ball trickled away from Medd and Hernandez didn't waste any time in putting the ball in the goal.
 
Oneonta asserted itself from the opening whistle of the second half and seized control of the match.  In the 52^nd minute, Santangelo, who assisted on the first goal, put the Red Dragons up 2-0 off a corner kick.
 
Nicholas Plate (Miller Place/Sachem North) started the play with a service from the left corner flag to the front of the goal.  Junior Justin Cebollero (Commack/Commack) got his head on the ball, but it slipped off to the right where senior Kevin Hoff (LaGrange/Arlington) played it back in front of the goal just outside the goal area.  Santangelo was waiting and one-time a shot to the far left corner of the goal.
 
Hernandez scored his second goal of the game 13 minutes later to give Oneonta a three-goal lead.  Hernandez controlled a service into the box by senior Luke Osovski (Endicott/Maine Endwell) before getting it on his left foot to finish the play with two defenders on him.
 
After both teams had six shots in the opening half, Oneonta outshot Geneseo 10-6 in the second half to finish with a 16-12 advantage.
 
"Witman and Cory are on top of their game right now," commented Byrne.  "I also want to make mention of freshman Scott Cebollero (Commack/Commack) who has been tremendous all season and, despite being ill, played through it to turn in another brilliant performance for us today."