ONEONTA, N.Y. -- After a tightly contested first half, freshman
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) and senior
Lucas Fecci (Somers, N.Y./Somers) found the back of the net in the second half as the SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team defeated Plattsburgh State in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Semifinals, 2-0, Wednesday afternoon. Senior
Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) had a season-high nine saves as the Red Dragons advanced to the SUNYAC Finals.
"That was a really exciting game in summer temperatures and there were chances at both ends," said Head Coach
Iain Byrne. "We stuck at it, and the quality finishing of our two strikers made the difference in the end."
Hanna and Cardinals' keeper Teddy Healy played their role and recorded a combined seven saves, keeping the first half scoreless after an offensively aggressive period. Hanna faced four shots in the first 27 minutes, with a couple coming from Brian Coughlan, and Healy faced a couple in the final 10 minutes from senior
Ian Zingaro (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) and junior
Robert Bruschini (Wilton, N.Y./South Glens Falls).
Watching how the game played out, it was a matter of time before a team scored. In the first three minutes of the second, Juan Velez and Rocky Bujaj got a couple shots on net for Plattsburgh yet were stopped by Hanna. In the 60th minute, the Red Dragons finally broke the scoreless tie. Following a couple juggles in the air from a midfield throw-in, Zingaro stole the ball from a Cardinal defender, dribbled up, and took a shot on goal from 23 yards out. Healy saved the ball however the rebound went towards Holder who put it in from the right corner of the six-yard box. The Cardinals were still able to create chances in the 68th minute with Trey Ekert, Coughlan in the 78th, and Bujaj in the 86th, but Hanna continued his dominance and denied all of them. The Red Dragons were able to relax a little early when Fecci scored in the 88th minute to give them a two-goal advantage. Behind midfield, junior
Richard Portogallo (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) gave a touch pass to junior
Dalton Dancy (Syosset, N.Y./Saint Anthony's). Dancy sent a pass down field towards Fecci who was one-on-one with his defender. Fecci got a little space and once he entered the penalty box fired it into the upper right 90.
While Hanna finished the game with nine saves, Healy stopped eight for the Cardinals.
Oneonta outshot Plattsburgh 15-13 and had a slight advantage in corner kicks, 4-3.
Following the Red Dragon win and with Brockport defeating Cortland in the other SUNYAC Semifinal match, the Red Dragons will host the Golden Eagles in the SUNYAC Finals on Saturday, November 5, at 1 pm.
