There are many things you can do in five seconds and today SUNY Oneonta and rival nationally ranked SUNY Cortland proved just that.  Oneonta (3-5, 0-1 SUNYAC) overcame a three-goal deficit in the fourth period to tie the game with one second left in regulation to force overtime where their rivals eventually won with the game-winner as time elapsed in the first overtime period.
 
With time winding down in regulation and Cortland ahead 10-9, Oneonta turned the ball over in the Cortland (8-0/1-0 SUNYAC) side of the field with 12 seconds to go.  But on the ensuing action, Oneonta caused a turnover as Cortland was trying to clear the ball where junior Ryan Curley (Manorille/Eastport South Manor) picked up the ball with five seconds on the clock.  Curley then passed the ball to classmate Alec Solomito (Holtsville/Sachem East) who fired a shot by the Cortland goalie to tie the game at 10 apiece with one tick remaining on the clock sending the game to overtime.
 
In the overtime period, Cortland won the faceoff and had the first offensive possession that lasted nearly three minutes producing three shots, two of which were stopped by sophomore Andrew Helfman (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) who was stellar in goal today for Oneonta.  Helfman kept Oneonta in the game throughout making a career high 20 saves many of which were labeled for the back of the goal.
 
On Oneonta's only possession of the overtime, they managed a shot that was saved by Cortland goalie Joe Scalise.  They retained possession on the rebound out of bounds, but proceeded to turn it over with 18 seconds to go in the period.
 
Cortland executed its clear with two ticks left on the clock where Justin Siracusa passed to Devin Phelps who took a shot that found its way to the back of the goal as time expired giving Cortland the dramatic victory.
 
"We never want to be satisfied with a loss, but on the heels of such a difficult loss on Wednesday and facing our biggest conference rival, I couldn't be prouder of the way this team stepped up to the challenge and executed the game plan," stated Head Coach Dan Mahar.
 
Mahar continued, "Andrew had a terrific day and has started to emerge as a tremendous asset for us.  Our defense helped him by forcing outside shots, but we still asked him to make some big time saves and he certainly delivered."
 
Cortland entered today's SUNYAC opener ranked No. 9 and coming off a 12-11 win against No. 3 Ithaca on Wednesday.  Oneonta came to play and never gave in to its rival nearly pulling off one of the biggest wins in recent memory.
 
Goals by Phelps and Thomas McNaney gave Cortland an early 2-0 lead in the first period before junior TJ Kilmetis (Hicksville/Hicksville) cut the deficit in half with an unassisted goal at the 3:56 mark.
 
Oneonta found itself behind 4-1 early in the second period before ripping off three straight goals to knot the game at 4-4.  Kilmetis, classmate Hunter DeLuca (Medford/Patchogue Medford) and freshman Jake Loeb (Cross River/John Jay Cross River) scored for Oneonta over a span of 1:09.  DeLuca scored the final goal of the half after a pair of goals by Cortland that made the score 6-5 in favor of the visitors heading into halftime.
 
Oneonta kept battling back every time Cortland pulled ahead.  They fell behind 7-5 before tying the game at seven on goals by DeLuca and Solomito.
 
Oneonta fell behind one more time by three goals before mounting its comeback that ended with Solomito's goal to force overtime.
 
Oneonta will face another nationally ranked opponent on Tuesday at home when they host Rensselaer on All College Field beginning at 4pm.