ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The No. 12 SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team defeated New Paltz, 1-0, in a hard-fought SUNYAC opener, Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) scored the game-winning goal in the 54th minute and senior
Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) finished with a season-high seven saves in the shutout. The Red Dragons improved to 7-0 on the season and 1-0 in the SUNYAC while the Hawks dropped to 5-1-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference. Â
"We were lucky to win today, and it was only Hanna in goal that helped us survive the first half," said head coach
Iain Byrne. "We fought hard in the second half, showed some character, and got a fortunate goal to get our conference charge off to a good start."
Despite a scoreless first half, both sides had multiple chances to get one on the board. New Paltz registered four shots on goal, but they were all stopped by Hanna. Sophomore
Ali Somow (Utica, N.Y./Proctor) got Oneonta's first shot on net in the 22nd minute only for it to be stopped by Christian Micheli. In the closing minutes of the first, junior
Owen Siegel (Liberty, N.Y./Liberty) centered the ball into the box for it to be headed up into the air. Micheli attempted to punch it out, but he collided with a Red Dragon and the ball dribbled to senior
Ian Zingaro (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) who gave it a chip shot towards a goalie-less net, however two Hawk defenders got underneath it to head the ball away. Â
The Red Dragons got on the board with Holder's high-pressure play. Off an Oneonta throw-in in the 54th minute, New Paltz gained possession near midfield and passed it back to Micheli at the top of the box to reset their attack. Before Micheli could pass the ball off, Holder came charging in and deflected the ball just in front of him to get the shot off into the open net. New Paltz had a couple chances after Holder's goal, but both shots were stopped by Hanna. Â
Hanna recorded his fourth complete shutout and the team's sixth shutout of the season. Micheli finished with three saves for the Hawks.
New Paltz outshot Oneonta 13-11, and had a slight advantage in corner kicks, 9-7.
The Red Dragons are back in action Saturday for a SUNYAC road match at Geneseo at 3 pm.Â
