A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team scored four, first half goals today in a 4-2 victory against St. Lawrence in the 2019 Oneonta Mayor's Cup Tournament.  It was the second straight game that the Red Dragons posted four goals.
 
The Inside Story
Oneonta (3-0) controlled the opening half scoring its first three goals in the first 33 minutes including a pair within a 42-second span.
 
"The first half we played great," said Head Coach Iain Byrne.  "We were devastating going forward and Witman is just a nightmare for defenders right now."
 
Sophomore Matt Howe (Hopewell Junction/John Jay) got Oneonta on the scoreboard when he continued to charge the goal to follow up a tremendous rush by senior Witman Hernandez (Huntington/Walt Whitman).  Hernandez turned on the jets and worked himself by a defender to get a low shot off that was initially saved by the St. Lawrence keeper.  In the ensuing action, the ball trickled away on the rebound where Howe plowed his way through to knock it past the goal line ending up in the goal himself along with a defender.
 
Howe figured in the next goal in the 33^rd minute when he took the corner kick for Oneonta, which he sent into the top right corner of the box.  The ball scooted loose where freshman Malcolm Swett (Riverhead/Riverhead) collected it before sending a shot along the ground that found the inside of the left post for the goal.
 
Shortly after the Swett goal, Hernadez struck for his second of the season taking a short pass from freshman Lucas Fecci (Somers/Somers).  Hernandez's shot was also along the ground finding the lower left corner of the goal.
 
St. Lawrence (1-2) got on the scoreboard less than one minute later when Michael McDougald took a long pass into the box before chipping the ball over Oneonta keeper Francisco Scotti.
 
Oneonta tacked on one final goal in the first half in the final minute of play when sophomore Arkadij Raiz (Oceanside/Oceanside) took a short pass from junior Roberto Ventura (Brentwood/Brentwood) and putting a ball inside the left post.
 
The Saints had the better of the play in the second half and made the score 4-2 in the 60^th minute on an unassisted goal by Marvin Sibanda on a free kick.  That's as close as they would get, as the Red Dragon defense was solid over the final 30 minutes in securing the victory.
 
Byrne commented, "St. Lawrence showed their class in the second half.  And while I don't think we put more than three passes together, we managed to hold on for a huge win against a talented team."
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta held a slight 16-15 advantage in shots and finished with six corner kicks to five for St. Lawrence.  Scotti finished the game with five saves as did Saints keeper Ben Woelfinger.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will face Penn State Harrisburg tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm on Red Dragon Field.  The winner of the game will take home the Mayor's Cup trophy.