Men’s Soccer (18-3-2)
Dec. 3rd vs. Calvin, L 2-4 (NCAA Tournament Semifinal in San Antonio, TX)
The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer magical run through the NCAA Div. III tournament was halted last Friday night by the Calvin College Knights in the national semifinals, 4-2, thus ending its greatest season in nearly 40 years. The Red Dragons finish its season with a final record of 18-3-2, with the 18 wins being a single season record.
Oneonta scored the first and last goal in the match, but in between, Calvin made the most of its limited opportunities. Oneonta finished the game with a 15-10 advantage in shots.
The opening half began with some fireworks as it was already 1-1 before the game reached 10 minutes. Oneonta scored first on a rocket off the foot of junior
Jeff Christian (Middletown/Minisink Valley).
Junior
Eric Fortier (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) moved the ball to the right flank to senior
Gary Laronde (Wheatley Heights/Half Hollow Hills). Laronde carried the ball towards the middle of the field and sent a short pass to Christian who was following the play to just outside the top of the box. After settling the ball, Christian rifled a shot that found the upper right corner of the goal.
Oneonta's lead didn't last long as the Knights came right back three minutes later and tied the score on a header.
The action of the first half continued to go end-to-end with both teams searching for more opportunities to take a lead. That lead came for Calvin with a pair of goals just six minutes apart as they took a 3-1 lead.
Calvin's second goal came on a long pass from the right side of the field from about 40 yards out that was heading to the left side of the goal. A Knight was able to head on the pass and redirect it by Oneonta keeper
Maxwell Siegelman (Roslyn/Roslyn).
In the 34th minute, Calvin connected on a set piece where another long pass came into the box.
The second half was still played at a torrid pace with Oneonta creating some scoring chances early in the half. With the score still 3-1, Oneonta junior
Dan Josepher (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor) had a shot inside the box go past the keeper. But before it could cross the line, a Calvin defender kicked it off the goal line to keep the score at 3-1.
A diving save by Siegelman on a breakaway in the 69th minute kept Oneonta within striking distance.
Seven minutes later, Calvin scored their fourth goal in the 76th minute to put the Knights ahead by three goals. Josepher scored in the 86th minute on a direct kick for the final.
Men’s Basketball (1-7/0-3 SUNYAC)
Dec. 2nd vs. Buffalo State, L 76-80
Sophomore
Kevin Donahue (South Glens Falls/South High) scored a season and collegiate career high 19 points, but the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team came up short versus Buffalo State last Friday night 80-76 in the SUNYAC opener for both teams. Oneonta had five players reach double figures and they shot 49 percent from the floor including 7-of-15 from long range.
The game was close throughout with neither team being able to get close to a 10-point lead. The largest lead by either team was in the second half by Buffalo State at 77-71 with 3:28 remaining in the contest.
A three-point basket by Donahue cut the Bengals lead to one point at 77-76 with 29 seconds to go. Oneonta fouled junior a Bengal, who made his two foul shots.
On the ensuing possession, freshman
Frankie Kelly (Brewster/Kennedy Catholic) missed a lay-up, but junior
Cameron Boyden (Vestal/Vestal) grabbed the rebound and got it back out front for a reset. As time was running down, Kelly had to take an off-balance three, which was rebounded by Buffalo.
The score at halftime was 39-36 in favor of the Bengals. Simmons scored 13 of his points in the opening half while junior
Nick Sarchioto (Duanesburg/Bishop Gibbons) led Oneonta with 10 points off the bench.
The two teams traded 7-0 runs in the first five minutes of the contest. The score was tied five times during the half with the last coming at 34-34. The largest lead for either team was six points by Oneonta at 20-14 at the 11:51 mark.
Sarchioto finished with 17 points. Boyden had 14 points and 12 boards. Kelly had 10 points and six assists while sophomore
Dan Lee (Ballston Lake/Shenendehowa) had 12 points.
Dec. 3rd vs. Fredonia, L 61-72
Sophomores
Lee and Donahue scored 18 points and 13 points respectively, but the SUNY Oneonta men's basketball fell to Fredonia at home 72-61 last Saturday afteroon in SUNYAC action. The Red Dragons have dropped five straight and are now 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference while Fredonia moves to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC.
Fredonia built its 13-point halftime lead into 20 points at 55-35 on a basket at the 13:30 mark of the second half. Over the next seven minutes, the Red Dragons cut into the Blue Devils lead to get to within 10 points at 63-53 on a pair of free throws by junior
Dan McLaren (Troy/Troy).
Oneonta could only get as close as eight points, the last time coming at the 3:03 mark on a lay-up by junior
Boyden, but the Blue Devils held off the surge en route to the 11-point win.
Boyden reached double figures for Oneonta with 12 points.
Dec. 6th at Potsdam, L 68-72 OT
The Red Dragons had three players in double digits last Tuesday night at Potsdam, but came out on the short end in overtime, 72-68.
The two teams traded baskets and the lead during the first half three different times. Potsdam led at halftime 25-24 and the trend continued the second half with Oneonta taking the lead by a point with 18:41 remaining before the Bears took it back. Oneonta led by as many as five points with 8:33 left but the two teams continued to battle.
The score was tied at 59 at the end of the second half, sending the game into overtime. In the overtime period, Potsdam took the lead with 3:56 remaining before Oneonta tied it up at 60 apiece, but the Bears regained the lead and never looked back.
Donahue led the Red Dragons with 15 points, including 3 three-pointers. Kelly and Boyden each contributed 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Dec. 8th at Hartwick, L 51-57
The men’s basketball team dropped their game against cross town rival Hartwick 51-57 after leading at halftime 38-28.
The Red Dragons came out running and gunning in the first half hitting 54% of their shots. The second half was completely different as the Hawks picked up the intensity and pressure. Oneonta shot 19% from the floor with their last basket coming with 7:28 left in the game on a pair of Kelly free throws.
Lee led the Red Dragons with 15 points and 8 boards. Sarchioto added 10 points and Boyden grabbed 10 rebounds.
Women’s Basketball (4-4/3-0 SUNYAC)
Dec. 2nd vs. Buffalo State, W 65-61
Senior
Madison Slagle (Rome/Rome Catholic) scored a game high 20 points in leading the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team to a 65-61 win versus Buffalo State in the SUNYAC opener for both squads.
The difference in the contest came at the foul line as Oneonta outscored Buffalo State 22-12. The Red Dragons connected on 22-of-26 while the Bengals hit only 12-of-19. Oneonta hit its last nine free throws over the final seven minutes including four each by Slagle and classmate
Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills/New York Mills). Szkotak was the other Red Dragon in double figures last Friday night with 13 points.
Oneonta was trailing 46-40 with 9:17 remaining in the game.
Oneonta put together a quick 9-3 run capped by a lay-up by sophomore
Grace Schilling (Northport/Northport), which tied the game for the fourth time at 49-49. The Red Dragons grabbed its largest lead of the game at five points at 59-54 after a pair of free throws by Szkotak.
Buffalo State came back to tie the score for the last time at 61 apiece.
The two teams battled to an even 29-29 score through the first 20 minutes of play. The two teams were tied at 6-6 through the first five minutes before Buffalo State began to create some breathing room, opening up a 15-8 lead at the 11:30.
Still trailing 23-14 with 6:57 to go in the opening half, Oneonta built some momentum and closed the half with a 15-6 run to get even at the break. The Red Dragons hit seven field goals in the first half, five of them from behind the arc. Slagle scored 11 points in the opening 20 minutes including nine points from long range.
Dec. 3rd vs. Fredonia, W 56-47
Senior
Slagle and sophomore
Kristin Pappalardo (Mahopac/Lakeland) scored 15 points and 12 points respectively in leading the SUNY Oneonta women's basketball team to a 56-47 win last Saturday afternoon versus Fredonia. The win for the Red Dragons was its third straight.
The two teams combined for 46 turnovers in the contest while not shooting very well. Every time it appeared that Oneonta was in control Fredonia would come right back. The Blue Devils actually made the game close after trailing by as many as 20 points with 7:41 left to go the game.
Fredonia got to within seven points at 46-39 on a pair of free throws with 2:46 remaining. The Red Dragons quickly expanded the lead back to 11 points on a three-point play by sophomore
Schilling and a free throw by Slagle.
The first half was played out in three runs, the first being a 7-0 run by Oneonta to start the game. Fredonia countered with a 12-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. The final run was 16-0 by the Red Dragons as the Blue Devils went the final 9:12 without scoring a point. Slagle led all scorers with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Dec. 6th vs. Potsdam, W 61-33
The SUNY Oneonta women's basketball defeated visiting SUNY Potsdam 61-33 last Tuesday night to win its fourth straight game. The win for Oneonta was also its third consecutive in the SUNYAC as they remain atop the conference standings with its 3-0 record.
After falling behind 3-0 early in the contest, the Red Dragons scored five unanswered points to take the lead for good. Oneonta built itself a 41-22 halftime lead en route to the lopsided victory. The Red Dragons shot 40 percent from the floor while clamping down on Potsdam holding them to 26 percent shooting while forcing 24 turnovers. Oneonta converted those turnovers into 20 points while the Red Dragons' bench outscored Potsdam's bench 26-8. No players reached double figures for the Bears in tonight's game.
Leading the Oneonta bench with eight points each were sophomores
Alyshia Crawford (Oxford/Oxford) and
Vania Simpri (Brewster/Brewster). Crawford hit 3-of-6 while Simpri had six rebounds to go with her eight points in eight minutes of action.
Senior
Slagle this week's SUNYAC Player of the Week, continued her strong shooting and led all scorers with 15 points.
Dec. 8th at Hartwick, L 47-52
The Oneonta women’s basketball team was defeated by cross-town rival Hartwick last Thursday night by a score of 52-47.
The first half saw four ties in the score and five lead changes between the two teams with the Hawks taking the lead into halftime 20-17. The greatest lead either team could muster in the first half was four points to which the other team responded quickly.
Hartwick took the momentum they gained at halftime and never looked back as the Red Dragons could not get any closer than three points after only being down one with 19:18 left in the game on a Szkotak jumper.
Szkotak led all scorers with 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Men’s Swimming & Diving (1-2)
Dec. 2-4th at ECAC Winter Meet, 3rd with 912.50 points
The highlight of the three-day event that began last Friday afternoon was the performance of sophomore diver
Jermaine Miller (Elmira/Southside ). Miller won the 1-meter diving with a score of 426.15 while finishing second in the 3-meter event with a score of 378.30. His performances earned him the Diver of the Meet as selected by the coaches of the participating teams. Miller becomes the second male diver for Oneonta to win an ECAC title. The first was Tony Sarcona in 2005 when he also won the 1-meter event.
Miller's diving coach,
Mike Martinez, who graduated from Oneonta in 2010, earned honors as the Diving Coach of the Meet. Besides Miller, freshman
John Buckley (Highland Mills/Monroe Woodbury) and sophomore
Patrick Capriglione (Highland Mills/Monroe Woodbury).
Buckley was third in the 3-meter event (362.20) and fourth in the 1-meter event (366.45). Capriglione was fourth in the 3-meter (355.10) and fifth in the 1-meter (357.65).
Posting four top-10 finishes on the men's side in the pool was junior
Alex Miller (Oneonta/Oneonta), who broke two of his own school records in two of the events. Miller broke his school records in the 200 and 400-yard IM events. In finishing seventh in the 400 IM, he established a new record time of 4:18.56 nearly one second faster than the old record. His time of 2:01.30 in the 200 IM beat his old record of 2:01.38, which he set earlier this season.
Miller's other top swims included a sixth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.76) and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke (54.72).
Women’s Swimming & Diving (1-2)
Dec. 2-4th at ECAC Winter Meet, 4th with 797.5 points
The women had their best showing ever at the ECAC Winter Championships held at the Nassau County Aquatics Center on Long Island. The women finished in 4
th place overall, out of thirteen teams, with 797.5 points.
Divers,
Kara Garbarino (Latham/Shaker) and
Hannah Hillebrand (Stony Point/North Rockland) had top five finishes in both the 1 and 3-meter events.
Garbarino and Hillebrand had the top overall finishes for the weekend on the women's side. Garbarino was fifth in the 1-meter (268.80) and seventh in the 3-meter (258.50). Hillebrand was fifth in the 3-meter (295.60) and sixth in the 1-meter (255.75).
Wrestling (1-3)
Dec. 3rd at RIT Invitational, 5th place with 103 points
Sophomore
Ben Mikac (Lackawanna/Williamsville East) won his second straight Invitational title at 133 lbs. in leading the SUNY Oneonta wrestling team to a fifth place finish at the 46th annual RIT Invitational. Mikac, who was seeded second in his weight class, had his day highlighted with his selection as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Invitational.
Mikac won the Oneonta Invitational two weeks ago and last Saturday, he defeated top-seeded Omar Santiago of Oswego in the championship match by a score of 9-5. Mikac reached the final match after recording a pin and a 9-5 decision in his first two matches before being awarded a medical forfeit in the semifinals.
Mikac is now 15-2 overall this season with three pins.
Other place winners for Oneonta in the Invitational were junior
Joey Hauser (Yorktown Heights/Lakeland), sophomores
Brian Barry (Poughkeepsie/Arlington),
Dan Graff (LaGrangeville/Arlington), Stephen Provenzano (Islip/Islip) and
Vincent Barber (Clintondale/Highland) and freshmen
Donnie VanBuren (Boiceville/Onteora) and
Anthony Paratore (Nanuet/Nanuet). Hauser and Graff finished second at 149 and 157 lbs. respectively. VanBuren and Paratore were fifth at 157 and 174 lbs. respectively. Barry, Provenzano and Barber were all sixth in their respective weight classes of 141, 184 and 285.
Men’s Indoor Track & Field
Dec. 3rd at Cornell Relays
The SUNY Oneonta track & field team opened it’s season last Saturday at the Cornell Relays. The meet was a non-scoring event, but Oneonta had some top performances in the meet. The Red Dragons brought most of its squads that included sprinters and field event participants.
Junior
Sean Bernstein (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) who had the top performance of the day. He ran an ECAC qualifying time (6.98) in the 60-meter dash. This was Bernstein's return to the track after an injury kept him out all of last year.
Women’s Indoor Track & Field
Dec. 3rd at Cornell Relays
The SUNY Oneonta track & field team opened it’s season last Saturday at the Cornell Relays. The meet was a non-scoring event, but Oneonta had some top performances in the meet. The Red Dragons brought most of its squads that included sprinters and field event participants.
The top performer of the day was senior
Sarah Timmons (Schodack/Maple Hill), who won both the 20-lbs. weight throw and the shot put. Her toss of 15.74m (51'-07.75”) on her second throw was good enough to defeat Erin Rossi of Cornell by one-half inch. In winning the shot put, Timmons bettered her school record by one-quarter inch with a heave of 11.69m (38'-04.25”).
Oneonta's only other event winner on the day was junior
Kacy Boburka (Binghamton/Chenango Valley), who picked up where she left off last winter, hitting 1.70m (5'-7”) in the high jump. Her height equaled her school record in the event while hitting the ECAC qualifying mark.
