CORTLAND, N.Y. -- After 90 minutes of a physical Battle of the Red Dragons, the Oneonta men's soccer team ended in a scoreless tie, 0-0, at No. 9 nationally ranked Cortland, Wednesday afternoon in SUNYAC play. Junior
James Cintron (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) completed the match with three saves for his fourth shutout of the season as Oneonta improved to 6-2-2 on the season, 1-0-1 in the SUNYAC, and Cortland moved to 6-1-3 overall and 1-0-1 in conference play.
"We played great, and did everything but score," said head coach
Iain Byrne. "It feels like we are starting to jell, and we need to build off this performance."
Oneonta controlled the pitch against their conference rival, and finished the match with the upper hand over Cortland in total shots, 18-10, a 6-3 edge in shots on goal, and a lopsided 15-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Cintron made his first save in the 25th minute when Cortland's Alberto Reyes shot one from outside the top of the 18 and the ball rolled into his chest. In the 29th minute, Owen Brant had a similar shot like Reyes, from outside the box, and it went straight into Cintron's arms.
In the 79th minute, junior
Adrian Matute (Islip, N.Y./Islip) was given his second yellow card of the contest and Oneonta had to play down a man. Cortland was able to gain some momentum in the closing minutes with a man-up and, in the 88th minute, Bruno Baez had the ball from 12 yards out for Cortland's final shot on net, however Cintron knelt down and saved the one-hopper for the eventual tie.
Senior
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) recorded the game's first shot on goal in the fourth minute, only to be saved by Cortland's Jordan Ott. Holder had another early chance for Oneonta in the sixth minute from 10 yards out, but he sailed it just over the crossbar.
Senior
Milton Mancias Magana (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) had several chances for Oneonta and finished with four shots on goal. After getting a couple on net in the ninth and 25th minutes, Mancias Magana had two great looks in the second half, but Ott saved them for Cortland. In the 52nd minute, he brought the ball in from the side of the 18, got past his defender, and sent a low shot towards the far post when Ott got a hand on the ball to deflect it. In the 68th minute, junior
Zach Tanner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) sent a pass across the top of the penalty box to Mancias Magana, who lasered a low shot towards the right side of the net, however Ott extended himself and made the diving stop.
Tanner recorded the last shot on net for Oneonta in the 72nd minute with a powerful kick from the side of the box, 20 yards out, but Ott jumped and punched it out of play. Ott ended the match with six saves for Cortland.
Oneonta is back on the road for a SUNYAC match on Saturday, October 4, against Potsdam at 12 pm.
