CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The No. 20 ranked Oneonta men's soccer team fell to Cortland in the SUNYAC Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinals, Wednesday afternoon at Cortland. Oneonta held a 2-1 lead at the break with goals from graduate student
Zach Rabadi (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) and freshman
Yacouba Bamba (Harlem, NY/Success Academy High School of Liberal Arts), then Cortland scored a pair in the second half for the decision. The result moved Oneonta to 13-2-2 this season and Cortland to 13-3-1 overall.
When asked about the match, Head Coach
Iain Byrne said, "We played well in the first half, but after losing Noah and Owen last week, we knew it would be a challenge defending high balls, and that was ultimately our undoing."
Oneonta earned the lead in the ninth minute when graduate student
Iyare Harris (Kingston, NY/Kingston) took a shot that was blocked by a Cortland defender. Rabadi recovered the ball and found an opening for a shot that found the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Cortland quickly responded and tied the game back at one with a goal from Owen Brant in the 11th minute.
In the 39th minute, Oneonta regained the lead after Bamba brought the ball down the left side and into the 18-yard box for a shot that went above the keeper for the goal.
Coming out of halftime, Cortland tied the game in the 49th minute with a shot from Jack Pachla. The match remained tied until the 68th minute, where Dylan Pederson scored to give Cortland a 3-2 advantage. Oneonta was unable to generate another shot on goal for the equalizer in the final moments of play.
Senior
James Cintron (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) finished the game with five saves for Oneonta. Jordan Ott ended the game with four saves for Cortland.
Oneonta outshot Cortland 16-13 in total shots and held a 9-7 advantage in corner kicks, while Cortland had an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.
Oneonta will now wait for the selection show on Monday, November 9, to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
