ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Right before the clock expired, SUNY Potsdam had one more offensive push and scored the equalizer to end the match in a 1-1 draw against the 16th-nationally ranked SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team, Wednesday afternoon. The Red Dragons, who played the match a man down after a controversial red card in the 43rd minute, are now 7-1-2 in the season and 2-1-1 in the SUNYAC while the Bears move to 4-3-4 overall and 0-2-3 in conference play.
"We fought hard, even with ten players, but didn't take our chances," said Head Coach
Iain Byrne. "Potsdam never gave up and they got their reward right at the end."
Oneonta took hold of the lead in the 10th minute when senior
Ethan Brunell (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) took a corner kick and found senior
Malcolm Swett (Riverhead, N.Y./Riverhead) for a header and his first goal of the season. The Red Dragons offense kept the pressure but the Bears goalie, Lucas Schiel, found his footing and stopped three shots he faced in the remainder of the half.
In the 34th minute Potsdam had their first opportunity to score after being fouled just outside the penalty box. On the free kick, Anderson Velasquez had his initial shot blocked by the five-man Oneonta wall and bounced right back to him to take a second shot that was saved by senior
Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker).
As the physical first half was coming to a close, the refs issued an immediate red card to junior
John Bernardi (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) for violent behavior. Bernardi was getting in position to receive the ball and once he turned his body, his elbow bumped into a Potsdam defender causing him to fall to the ground.
Despite being down a man for the rest of the game, Oneonta still maintained control of the ball and created scoring opportunities, including a shot from Brunell that beat Schiel but hit the crossbar in the 73rd minute.
Less than a minute to go, the Bears had one more offensive possession and tied the game with less than 15 seconds left. Potsdam had a free kick at midfield that made its way into the box and was headed out by Oneonta to set up a corner kick. Zach Cunningham took the corner kick and sent it into the box where Justin Mossey jumped and headed it into the upper left 90.
Both goalkeepers, Hanna and Schiel, ended the match with five saves.
Oneonta outshot Potsdam 12-9 and had a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks.
The Red Dragons return to action on Saturday at Brockport at 12 pm.
