ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The No. 20 nationally ranked Oneonta men's soccer team prepares to travel to Cortland for the semifinals of the SUNYAC Men's Soccer Tournament at Holloway Field on Wednesday, November 4, at 3 pm. General admission tickets are $6 and tickets for children ages 5-17 are $4. Children ages four and under, and students from SUNYAC schools with a valid ID will be admitted free of charge. A link to buy the tickets can be found on the schedule page, or by clicking HERE. 

Oneonta (13-1-2) clinched the three seed in the SUNYAC and a first-round bye in conference tournament, then they defeated Potsdam in the second round, 4-1. Oneonta was led by graduate student Iyare Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston), who scored two goals and an assist, while senior Imari Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and freshman Drew Lennon (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) each struck the back of the net.  

Cortland received the two seed in the conference tournament after going 7-1 in the league to win the West Division, while posting a 12-3-1 overall record this season. Cortland received a double round bye with the seeding.

The two teams did not face each other in the regular season due to the conference's realignment. The last time these two teams saw each other was in last season's SUNYAC semifinals in Cortland. Oneonta gained a 3-0 lead before receiving a red card, allowing Cortland to tie the game and force overtime. After neither team scored in the extra time, the match went to a penalty shootout where Oneonta won 4-3 and advanced to the conference final. 

Oneonta's offense has averaged a staggering 2.88 goals per game, firing off 17.8 total shots and 8.8 shots on goal per game. The team is tied for 15th in Division III in goals per game. The production can be ignited by any Red Dragon as 11 players have scored two or more goals this season, while six of them have also recorded at least three assists. At the top are the Harris brothers. Iy. Harris leads the team and the SUNYAC with 11 goals and seven assists for 29 points. He has found the back of the net in the last six games, while he leads the conference in goals and points. Im. Harris has totaled eight goals and three assists for the 19 points, the seventh most in the conference. The Oneonta senior has four game-winners to his name this year and has recorded at least one point in six of his past eight appearances.

Graduate students Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) and Milton Mancias Magana (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) have been key factors to the Red Dragon's attack. Rabadi is third on the team with 15 points, totaling five goals with five assists. He assisted Iy. Harris on his first goal in the playoffs against Potsdam. Mancias Magana is tied for third in the conference with seven assists, while adding two goals for 11 points this season. Rabadi has struck the net in three of his last six appearances, while Mancias Magana has registered two goals and three assists in his last six games.

Freshmen Yacouba Bamba (Harlem, NY/Success Academy High School of Liberal Arts), Elias Curran (Rondout Valley, NY/Rondout Valley), and junior Nico Loaiza (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) are a few more contributors to Oneonta's offense. Bamba entered the postseason with two goals and five assists for nine points in 12 games. He has recorded a goal and four assists in his last three appearances. Loaiza has also added two goals and five assists for nine points on the year, and Curran has scored twice in his last five appearances, totaling three goals and two assists in his freshman campaign. Both Curran and Loaiza recorded an assist in the team's playoff win.

Oneonta's defense has limited opponents to 8.9 total shots, 3.6 shots on goal, and 0.81 goals per game, while they accumulated six shutouts this season. The team's backline consists primarily of senior captain Adrian Matute (Islip, NY/Islip), senior Erik Popp (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay), junior Anthony Traube (Centereach, NY/Centereach), and sophomore Noah Hechler (Somers, NY/Somers), with Lennon as the defensive midfielder.

Popp and Lennon are the only two Red Dragons to start all 16 games this year as they are first and second, respectively, on the team in minutes played. Lennon found the back of the net in the second-round win for his second goal this season, recording five points this year. Popp has totaled a goal and an assist this season. Hechler has started all 14 games he has appeared in, and offensively, he has scored two goals and an assist for five points. Traube has played in all 16 games, starting 14 of them, and has two assists on the season. Matute has started 13 games at center back for Oneonta, while senior Owen Rubio-Heeney (Valhalla, NY/Valhalla) has appeared in 13 games as a center back with six starts.

Senior James Cintron (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) has manned the net for Oneonta for majority of the season. Cintron has started 13 games, recording 30 saves for a .732 save percentage, while allowing 11 goals for a 0.90 goals against average. He has secured three shutouts and one combined shutout this season. Sophomore Nico Osorio (Valley Stream, NY/St. Dominick's) has been the Red Dragons keeper in five games, starting three of them. Osorio has totaled 11 saves for a .846 save percentage, allowing two goals for a 0.75 goals against average. The Oneonta sophomore has had one shutout and one combined shutout.

On the other side of the pitch, Cortland averaged 2.25 goals and 18.8 shots per game. The offense is led by Diego Rivera and Owen Brant. Rivera is tied for second in the conference in goals and points as he leads the team with 10 goals, including four game-winners, and five assists for 25 points. Brant is right behind Rivera with 24 points, totaling nine goals and six assists. He has scored five goals in the last three games.

Dylan Pederson, Jake Hutter, and Jack Pachla are a few other offensive contributors to Cortland's attack. Pederson is third on the team with five goals and two assists for 12 points, recording at least one point in four of the past six matches. Hutter has added four goals and two assists for 10 points, and Pachla co-leads with Brant with six assists, totaling three in his past three appearances while scoring once for eight points.

Cortland relies on Jordan Ott as their keeper. Ott has started in 16 of 17 games, saving 36 shots for a .837 save percentage while allowing seven goals for 0.44 goals against average. He has recorded 11 shutouts this year for a 12-3-1 record.

The winner of Wednesday's match will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal match between fourth-seeded Buffalo State and top-seeded Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC Final. The conference championship game is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, with the highest seeded team remaining hosting.

Oneonta is competing for a chance at back-to-back SUNYAC titles and the 14th in program history. Cortland is going for their 22nd conference championship in program history, and their first since 2024.