ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team defeated Geneseo, 2-1, in the first round of the SUNYAC tournament, Saturday afternoon. After a scoreless first half, the Red Dragons went up 2-0 off a penalty kick from senior Ian Zingaro (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) and the left foot of junior Ali Somow (Utica, N.Y./Proctor). Oneonta moved to 13-2-3 overall and will travel to take on Brockport in the semifinals of the SUNYAC tournament on Wednesday.

"A typical tough conference playoff match," said head coach Iain Byrne. "I felt we got on top in the second half, but once Geneseo scored, it was a nervy last 15 minutes."  

Geneseo had a couple shots on target early in the contest from Justin Arilotta and Tyler Lewandowski, however senior Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) made both stops. In the 35th minute, Lewandowski had another shot that was heading towards the upper 90, but Hanna was able to punch it away to keep the game scoreless heading into the break.  

The Red Dragons increased the pressure against the Knights at the start of the second half and in the 56th minute sophomore Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) stole a pass from the Knights goalie, Vincent Maronski, for an open shot on net, however Maronski intentionally tripped Holder in the penalty area, setting up an Oneonta penalty kick. Zingaro took the kick and went to the bottom right side of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Oneonta made it a two-goal game in the 69th minute when they were clearing the ball out of their zone. Sophomore Dillon Kelly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Beacon) passed it up to senior Robert Bruschini (Wilton, N.Y./South Glens Falls) for a touch pass to Somow, and with one defender on him, Somow cut towards the center of the field and fired the ball from 25 yards out for it to one-hop off the turf into the net.  

Geneseo brought it back to a one-goal deficit in the 75th minute when Eren Aydin found Jake DePaoli for the score, but the Knights did not register another shot for a chance at the equalizer and the Red Dragons held onto the win.  

Hanna and Maronski each recorded three saves in net for their teams.

Oneonta outshot Geneseo, 12-9, 6-4 on target, and had a slight edge on the corner kicks, 5-4.

The Oneonta and Brockport semifinal match will start at 3 pm on Wednesday in Brockport.  Read Full Article