ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team netted two goals in the final 10 minutes to defeat Fredonia, 2-1, in their regular season finale Saturday afternoon. Freshman
Tommy Kliampas (Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt Whitman) scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute moments after senior
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) tied it in the 80th. Senior
Ali Somow (Utica, N.Y./Proctor) recorded the assist on both Red Dragon goals as the team finished the regular season 11-3-3 overall, 7-2-0 in SUNYAC play, and the Blue Devils ended the season 8-9-2 overall and 3-6-0 in the conference. Oneonta finished second in the SUNYAC standings and earned a first-round bye in the conference tournament. They will play the winner of the three and six seed matchup between Cortland and Oswego on Wednesday, November 6, at Red Dragon Field.
"It ended up being an exciting finish, with so much on the line for both teams, and I'm sure it was great to watch," said head coach
Iain Byrne. "It's been the story of our season leaving it to the last minute, but the guys showed great heart and character to fight back and close it out."
Prosperi had a couple early chances on goal in the first and 20th minutes while senior
Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth) recorded a shot on net in the 22nd, however Jack Phelan stopped all three to keep it scoreless. Lee Hartke and Sam Evans had a shot on goal for Fredonia in the 13th and 24th minutes, but junior
AJ Lucas (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) made the saves for a 0-0 tie at half.
Brian Taylor gave the Blue Devils the 1-0 lead in the 73rd minute, until Prosperi tied it in the 80th. Somow gained possession on Oneonta's side of the field, brushed off one defender, and began to bring the ball up the field. He sprinted all the way near the left side of the penalty area then passed it in front of the goal area to Prosperi for the goal.
In the 85th minute, freshman
Nico Loaiza (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) got the ball back to Somow outside of the penalty area. Similar to the Red Dragons' first goal, Somow went to the left side of the 18 and sent his pass towards the front of the goal area to Kliampas, who used his right foot for the game-winner.
Lucas finished with three saves for the Red Dragons while Phelan had eight saves for the Blue Devils. Oneonta outshot Fredonia 22-9, 10-4 on target, while the Blue Devils had a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.Â
