ONEONTA, N.Y. -- After a scoreless first half, the Oneonta men's soccer team scored three times in the second half to beat Fredonia, 3-1, in SUNYAC competition Saturday afternoon at Red Dragon Field. Graduate student
Iyare Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston) led the team with two goals and an assist, and senior
Imari Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston) netted the insurance goal to secure the victory. Freshman
Sean Griffin (Long Island, NY/Comsewogue) recorded his first career point, as the win improved the Red Dragons to 9-0-2 this season, 3-0-1 in the SUNYAC, while the Blue Devils dropped to 5-3-4 overall and 3-1-0 in conference play.
"That was a real Oneonta performance today in front of a huge crowd," Head Coach
Iain Byrne commented. "It was a perfect day to play and an entertaining game to watch."
Oneonta continuously pressured Fredonia during the first half, recording five corner kicks and eight shot attempts, but neither shot was on target, and the match went into the half in a scoreless tie.
The Red Dragons broke the tie in the 47th minute with Iy. Harris' first goal of the game. Griffin got the ball and passed it into the box to Harris, who sent it back to the Oneonta freshman. With possession of the ball inside the 18-yard box, Griffin passed it once more to Harris for a shot that went into the right side of the net for the goal.
Iy. Harris extended Oneonta's lead to 2-nil in the 58th minute. Junior
Anthony Traube (Centereach, NY/Centereach) sent the ball to Im. Harris, who had his cross pass blocked and roll back to Traube. The Red Dragon junior delivered a pass to Iy. Harris, and he worked past his defender to fire a shot from the left side of the goal area that went above the keeper's shoulder for his fourth goal of the season.
In the 72nd minute, Im. Harris gave the Red Dragons a 3-0 lead with his team-leading sixth goal of the season. Iy. Harris received the ball from junior
Nico Loaiza (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) and had two defenders close in on him. After fighting off the Blue Devils to maintain possession, Iy. Harris passed the ball behind him to Im. Harris for a worm-burner from the top of the 18-yard box into the lower left side of the net for the score.
Fredonia scored their lone goal in the 83rd minute with a shot from Kai Sendziak, however they could not trim the lead anymore and Oneonta held on for the win.
Sophomore
Nico Osorio (Valley Stream, NY/St. Dominick's) started in net for Oneonta and made one save, which happened in the 86th minute.
Thomas McDonald did not record a stop during his 90 minutes in net for Fredonia.
The Red Dragons outshot the Blue Devils 15-4 in total shots, 3-2 with shots on target, and they finished the game with an 11-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Oneonta is back home for their next match on Wednesday, October 14, for a SUNYAC match against Cobleskill at 4 pm at Red Dragon Field.
