ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team was firing on all cylinders in the Battle of the Hills, defeating Hartwick, 5-0, Wednesday evening. Five different players found the back of the net for Oneonta as juniors
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) and
Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) both recorded a goal and an assist. The Red Dragons improved to 3-1-2 on the season while the Hawks dropped to 2-3-1 overall.
"It was a good win where we managed to score goals at crucial times in the game," said head coach
Iain Byrne. "That made it difficult for Hartwick to keep their early pressure on us."
Oneonta got in front of Hartwick early in the game and did not look back. In the 14th minute, Rabadi sent a pass from midfield to junior
Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth) on the left side of the field. Rogers took a few dribbles towards the center of the field, got past one defender, and lasered the ball from 30 yards out through the keeper's hands and into the net.
The Red Dragons gained a 2-0 lead in the 34th minute when senior
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) scored his first goal of the season. Junior
Kevin Butler (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) sent a long pass to Holder who had an open field in front of him to dribble up and take a shot from 20 yards out. The shot was saved by Dante Gesamondo, however the ball stayed in play just in front of the net where Prosperi was able to sneak past one defender and kick it in. In the 41st minute, Hartwick's Jake Daly tried to get his team on the board with a shot from 25 yards out that was on target, but junior
AJ Lucas (Beacon, N.Y.) made the diving save and kept the game 2 nil heading into the break.
Lucas made another save in the 48th minute when the Hawks' Ollie Lincoln had an open shot from just outside the penalty area, but he kicked it right into Lucas' chest. Oneonta responded to Hartwick's chances with two goals in the 51st and 52nd minutes, 40 seconds apart from each other. For the first goal, senior
Owen Siegel (Liberty, N.Y./Liberty) received the ball near the corner, danced past one defender and passed it to the top of the penalty area to Rabadi who took two touches and shot a worm burner to beat Gesamondo. Rabadi immediately had a chance for his second goal when he received a pass inside the penalty area but it was saved. Fortunately, the ball deflected straight towards the left foot of Holder who shot it into the lower right side of the net.
The Red Dragons tallied one more goal in the 79th minute when freshman Wilman Castellón centered the ball for freshman
Angelo Jara (Levittown, N.Y.). Jara had to slide for the ball and simultaneously passed it towards junior
Kieran Weinstein (New Paltz, N.Y.) in front of the net for the goal. Castellón and Jara recorded their first collegiate points as they were credited with a double assist for Weinstein's goal.
Lucas finished with three saves in the combined shutout performance, while freshman
Jack Resnick (Planview - Old Bethpage, N.Y.) played the final 12:33 for the team. Gesamondo ended with two saves for the Hawks. Oneonta outshot Hartwick 13-4, 7-3 on target, and had a slight advantage in corner kicks, 7-5.
The Red Dragons are back on the road for their upcoming match against RPI on Saturday, September 21, at 3 pm.
