ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team controlled the pitch for the full 90 minutes in the Battle of the Red Dragons and shutout No. 14 nationally ranked Cortland, 4-0, Wednesday afternoon in SUNYAC play. Senior
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) finished with a brace, scoring in his third straight game. Senior
Ali Somow (Utica, N.Y./Proctor) had a goal with an assist, and junior
Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay East) and senior
Dillon Kelly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Beacon) each recorded two assists. Oneonta improved to 6-1-3 on the season, 2-0-0 in the SUNYAC, while Cortland dropped to 6-2-3 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play.
"That was a great performance," said head coach
Iain Byrne. "We bossed the first half and scored some quality goals against a top team."
Oneonta jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime, scoring in the 19th, 31st, and 40th minutes. For the game-winning goal, Somow gained control of the ball near midfield and dribbled down towards the side of the penalty area. He moved past his defender towards the baseline and centered it to Kelly, who quickly redirected the ball towards Prosperi. The senior forward was in front of the goal area when he took a shot that went through a wall of Cortland defenders and into the net.
Moments before Prosperi extended Oneonta's lead, junior
AJ Lucas (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) recorded his first save in the 30th minute off a shot from Matt Shultz. Lucas then cleared the ball and it hit off a Cortland player out of play for an Oneonta throw in. Senior
Nate Masucci (Greece, N.Y./Greece Athena) received the throw in, gave it to Kelly and he passed the ball into the penalty area to Rabadi. With his momentum going towards the corner, Rabadi got the ball and centered it back to Kelly who gave a quick touch pass that set up Prosperi for his fifth goal of the season from nine yards out.
Oneonta made it 3-0 in the 40th when senior
Owen Siegel (Liberty, N.Y./Liberty) gave a cross-field pass over to junior
Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth). Rogers dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and passed it in front of the goal area to senior
Derek Marques (Somers, N.Y./Somers) for a shot that went into the lower left corner of the net.
Somow added Oneonta's last goal to the scoreboard in the 59th minute. Rabadi got a touch on the ball out near midfield where Somow gained control, took a few touches and fired one from 30 yards out through the hands of Cortland's keeper, Will Stanley, for the final score.
Oneonta's defense held Cortland to eight shots total and only three on target. Lucas finished with three saves for Oneonta and now has three shutouts and two combined shutouts this season. Stanley had three saves for Cortland and allowed all four goals in 62:01, Luke van Galen played the final 27:59 and did not face a shot attempt.
Oneonta held an 11-8 advantage on shots, 7-3 on target, and had three corner kicks to Cortland's zero.
Oneonta continues SUNYAC play with a match against Potsdam on Saturday, October 5, at 12 pm on Red Dragon Field.
