A Quick Look
The No. 2 SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team suffered a tough loss tonight on the road against Rensselaer 2-1 in overtime.  The loss was the first of the season for the Red Dragons (5-1) while the Engineers move to 6-1 on the season.
 
"It's always difficult against RPI," said Head Coach Iain Byrne.  "There were many positives in our performance.  You have to give them credit for fighting back, but it's a tough way to lose on a penalty in overtime."
 
The Inside Story
A goal by RPI's Trevor Bisson in the final minute of regulation tied the score at 1-1 to force overtime.  In the third minute of the first overtime a foul was called on Oneonta in the box giving the Engineers a penalty kick.  Josh Gaudiano stepped up and converted the opportunity to end the match.
 
After the two teams battled to a scoreless first half of play, senior Witman Hernandez (Huntington/Walt Whitman) scored his sixth goal of the season on a corner kick.  Sophomore Jeremy Pantoni (Goshen/Goshen) served the ball into the box where Hernandez finished off the play with a shot into the lower right corner of the goal.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta held a slight 18-15 advantage in shots and earned five corner kicks and surrendering only four.  Junior goalkeeper Francesco Scotti (Commack/Commack) took the loss for the Red Dragons recording four saves while Luke Brezak made eight saves in picking up the win for RPI.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will travel to Rochester on Saturday to face RIT for a match scheduled for a 4pm kickoff.