NEW LONDON, CT. -- The Oneonta men's soccer team was defeated by Babson College, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Connecticut College, Saturday afternoon. After a scoreless first half of play, it felt that whichever team was to score first was going to advance, and it was the Beavers who found the back of the net in the 71st minute for the game's only goal. Junior keeper
James Cintron (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) kept the Red Dragons in the match with multiple one-on-one stops and finished the day with seven saves.
"It was a good game on a bumpy pitch, which made connecting passes challenging," said Head Coach
Iain Byrne. "Both teams had chances, but today we couldn't get one to fall our way."
Babson scored in the 71st as they were bringing the ball up the field and passed it to the top of the 18 to Connor Hanrahan. The ball was kicked away by a Red Dragon defender before Hanrahan could get a touch, however Alex Vablonovskiy kept possession for the Beavers, brought it towards the endline and passed it between three defenders to Hanrahan, who was just inside the goal area for a low shot past Cintron.
Cintron's first save, and the match's first shot on goal, happened in the 26th minute when he made a diving stop near the left post on Yablonoskiy's shot from the goal area, then he caught a liner into his chest during the 29th minute.
Sophomore
Nico Loaiza (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) had Oneonta's first look in the 38th minute off a corner kick, but it was blocked by a teammate. Junior
Imari Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston) had a chance shortly after in the 40th minute when he received the ball from sophomore
Tommy Kliampas (South Huntington, NY/Walt Whitman) and took a step into the 18 for a shot, though it went just wide of the net.
Cintron made a remarkable stop in the 50th minute when Titus Charles got the ball with no defenders in front of him for a shot from eight yards out and the Red Dragon keeper quickly reacted and stuck out his left arm to redirect the ball off his foot and out of harm's way. Oneonta moved the ball down the field after the save and set up senior
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) for a shot from 25 yards out, but Babson's goalie, JB Montague, saved it.
Prosperi had another shot on goal in the 53rd minute from 12 yards on the right side of the box, though Montague was there for the stop.
Before the Beavers scored, Cintron made another pair of impressive stops in the 67th and 68th minutes. The first save he dove straight at Hanrahan as he took the shot from the right side of the goal area, then on the ensuing corner kick, Cintron punched away Yablonoskiy's header.
Following the goal, the Red Dragons had one chance in the 83rd minute for the equalizer. Prosperi took the corner kick for Oneonta and delivered it into the box where freshman
Noah Hechler (Somers, NY/Somers) leaped from the penalty mark for the header, however it went straight at Montague for the stop. Montague ended with four saves for the Beavers.
Babson outshot Oneonta 18-12 in total shots, 8-4 in shots on goal, and they had a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
Except for those that have a remaining year of eligibility, and if they choose to use it, this was the final match for seniors
Kevin Butler (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees),
Iyare Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston),
Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick),
Dillon Kelly (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Beacon),
Milton Mancias Magana (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck),
Braeden Morrison (Marathon, N.Y./Marathon),
Luigi Prosperi (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook),
Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay), and
Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth).
Oneonta finished the 2025 season as the SUNYAC Champions with a 12-5-4 overall record.
