POTSDAM, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's soccer team recorded double-digit goals in a game for the 10th time in program history as they overpowered Potsdam, 10-1, in a road SUNYAC match Saturday afternoon. Sophomore
Tommy Kliampas (South Huntington, NY/Walt Whitman) finished with four goals, all scored in the second half, and became the 18th player in program history to score four times in a game, while senior
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) set the tempo in the first half and netted a hat trick with an assist. Junior
Erik Popp (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) scored his first goal as a Red Dragon and both junior
Michael Cocca (Lagrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) and sophomore
Chris Arriaza (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) recorded their first collegiate points as the team improved to 7-2-2 on the season, 2-0-1 in the conference, and the Bears dropped to 4-5-1 overall and 0-3-0 in SUNYAC play.
Right out of the gate, Oneonta commanded the match and recorded five goals in the first 24 minutes of play. The team got on the board as early as the second minute when senior
Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth) received the ball on the side of the 18 and crossed it in front of the net to Holder for the goal. In the 10th minute, Holder headed a Potsdam goal kick down at midfield and the ball bounced towards senior
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook). Prosperi gave it one touch then fired it in from the top of the box for his third goal of the season.
The Red Dragons made it 3-nil in the 14th minute when senior
Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) sent a lead pass into the box where Prosperi gave a light tap to Holder, who cut towards the net and split his defender and the goalie with a low shot for the score. Rogers gave the team a 4-0 lead in the 23rd minute after the Bears' keeper, Ian Schwartz, drew a yellow card on him. Rogers took the direct kick from 25 yards out and curved the ball around the four-man defensive wall and into the lower right side of the net for his third score of the season.
Holder netted his hat-trick, and sixth goal of the year, in the 24th to give Oneonta a five-goal advantage. Senior
Dillon Kelly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Beacon) gained possession of the ball from two Potsdam defenders in their own zone and started to bring it up the field. Kelly delivered a lead pass into the right side of the 18 to Holder, who ripped the ball into the net on his first touch from 10 yards out.
Before halftime, Potsdam's JJ Williams scored his team's lone goal of the game in the 26th minute on a corner kick.
The Red Dragons continued to overwhelm the Bears in the second half with five more goals, starting with Popp's first collegiate goal in the 53rd minute. Sophomore
Nico Loaiza (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) gave a centering pass in front of the goal area to Popp for a shot, but it was saved by Schwartz. Popp then gathered his miss, moved a few yards to the right, and scored an off-balanced goal on his second attempt.
Kliampas ended the match with four goals between the 56th and 89th minute. His first goal came when Cocca passed the ball to freshman
Jack Bochenski (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester) and he sent a lead pass towards the net. Kliampas ran towards the pass, leaped up and chipped the ball in mid-flight over the keeper. In the 73rd, he got the ball outside the 18, split three defenders and stopped a few yards out from the goal box to laser a shot into the center of the net. During the 87th minute, junior
Zach Tanner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) got the ball on the right side of midfield, brought the ball towards the side of the penalty box, and gave a centering pass to Kliampas, who fired in his hat trick from 12 yards out. The South Huntington, N.Y. native scored the final goal of the game in the 89th when he received the ball from Arriaza at the top of the box, took one touch while he brushed off a defender, then kicked the ball through the hands of Schwartz.
Following the match, Holder and Kliampas now co-lead the team with six goals, while Tanner leads Oneonta with five assists and Rabadi is right behind him with four.
Junior
James Cintron (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) started the first half and made one save for the Red Dragons. Freshman
Nico Osorio (Valley Stream, NY/St. Dominick's) started the second half and recorded a save in 23:42 minutes of play, then freshman
Matthew Rosen () took the pitch for the first time as a Red Dragon, and he picked up two saves in the final 21:18. Schwartz finished with six saves for the Bears.
Oneonta finished the game with a 27-5 advantage in total shots over Potsdam, 16-5 with shots on net, and they held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Wednesday, October 8, for a SUNYAC match against Plattsburgh at 4 pm on Red Dragon Field.
