A Quick Look
Junior Riley Williams scored his first goal of the season in the second half and the nationally ninth-ranked Cortland men's soccer team held off late heavy pressure to secure a 1-0 win versus SUNY Oneonta Friday afternoon in SUNYAC men's soccer action at Holloway Field.
 
With the win, the host Red Dragons improved to 13-2-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference and can claim the top seed in the upcoming league playoffs with a win or tie versus New Paltz on Saturday. The visiting Red Dragons fell to 9-3-2 and 5-2-1 in the SUNYAC.
 
"It was a great game between two good teams," said Head Coach Iain Byrne.  "Once again, we struggled to finish off our chances."
 
Although the game was often played at a deliberate pace, each team generated several quality chances throughout the 90 minutes. Cortland created the first two opportunities. In the 16th minute, Oneonta goalie Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) made a leaping save on a one-time shot by Cortland graduate student Nicholas Pfeiffer off a loose ball after a corner kick. In the 19th minute, Cortland sophomore Jack Coleman had his bid from the left side denied by Hanna.
 
Four minutes later, Oneonta sophomore John Bernardi (Mahopac/Mahopac) curled a 25-yard shot just over the crossbar. In the 42nd minute, Coleman was alone deep on the left side of the box and struck a loose ball that Hanna saved. Melveney followed with a diving save near the left post on a shot by Oneonta senior Jeremy Pantoni (Goshen/Goshen) in the 43rd minute to keep the game scoreless.
 
The visiting Red Dragons nearly struck for the game's first goal in the 58th minute, but sophomore Aaron Harrison (Archbald, PA/Valley View) barely missed high with an open shot from 25 yards out. Riley struck for the game winner in the 65th minute. After a Cortland player was fouled just outside the box on the right side, Williams bent a direct kick into the left corner of the goal to give the host Red Dragons the 1-0 lead.
 
Oneonta turned up the offensive pressure late, earning eight of its 12 corner kicks in the game after the Williams goal. In the 70th minute, Melveney was forced to make a diving save at the right post on a shot by Oneonta junior Ethan Brunell (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa). In the 84th minute, Oneonta junior Lucas Fecci (Somers/Somers) dribbled through several defenders to set up his shot deep in the box from the right side, but Melveney denied the shot as the ball went over the end line. Oneonta had one final shot sail high with 45 seconds remaining, and Cortland was able to keep the ball out of danger and seal the 1-0 victory.
 
Just the Stats
Junior goalie Braden Melveney made seven saves for Cortland in posting his eighth shutout of the season. Junior goalie Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) registered four saves for Oneonta.
 
Byrne concluded, "The shots were 19-7, but it doesn't matter if you can't finish some of the chances.  And to be fair, Hanna made a couple of great saves."
 
What's Next
Oneonta will close out its SUNYAC regular season tomorrow at Oswego beginning at 1pm.  Oneonta has already clinched a playoff spot and look to hold on to its third place standing in the conference to earn the right to host a first round tournament game next Saturday, Oct. 30^th.