SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Men’s Soccer (14-5-2)
 
Nov. 10^th vs. MIT, W 4-2
The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team got goals from four different players last Saturday in moving on to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament.  The Red Dragons eliminated the MIT Engineers with a 4-2 win.

Oneonta will now face Montclair State tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm in a matchup between the only two remaining squads from last year's final four in San Antonio.  Montclair defeated Salve Regina 2-1 in its first round game earlier in the day.

Despite only five shots in the first half for Oneonta, they converted three of them into goals and took that lead into halftime.

Sophomore Mitchell Cain (Marcy/Whitesboro) got Oneonta rolling with his third goal of the season in the 14th minute.  He took a thru ball into the box by classmate Justin Rivera (Bay Shore/Bay Shore) and slid a shot along the ground that caught the inside of the left post on its way to the back of the goal.

“We have a different team this year,” said Cain.  “But I think we have just a good a team as last year's team.  MIT was a good team and we knew it would be challenging, but I think we outworked them.”

Oneonta took a two-goal lead five minutes later on a beautiful header by senior Eric Fortier (Pleasant Valley/Arlington).  Fortier went up and headed a crossing pass from freshman Sean Vinberg (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) into the left side of the goal.

Senior Alex Shkreli (Bedford/Fox Lane) added a third goal in the opening half to put Oneonta in command.  He converted the only corner kick that Oneonta had in the first twenty minutes.  Senior Dan Josepher (Manorville/Eastport/South Manor) was the one who took the kick for Oneonta, as he placed it in a spot that Shkreli could get to.

“We carried a great training session into the first half today,” said Oneonta coach Iain Byrne.  “Although we didn't generate a lot of opportunities, our finishing was tremendous.”

The second half of the game was quite a contrast to the first, as MIT shook off the opening jitters and began to play with some confidence and urgency.

In the 61st minute, freshman Sean Bingham put MIT on the scoreboard.  Bingham was in the right place at the right time to collect a loose ball in the box that came off Oneonta keeper Daniel DeBottis (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) and put the ball to the back of the goal.

“In the first half, Oneonta's experience showed and we had a tough time handling their ball movement,” said MIT coach Mike Singleton.  “We started to play better in the latter stages of the half and I knew we would have a better second half.”

Singleton continued, “We have so many young players and our future is bright.  Today's game featured two skillful teams, but Oneonta played just a bit better overall and they deserved to win.”

The game got interesting in the 67th minute when MIT got one goal closer on a goal by sophomore John Kramer.  He redirected a crossing pass from the right flank by junior Matthew Monheit.  The ball got behind DeBottis and it appeared to be knocked out by a defender, but the linesman gave the signal for a goal.

“We felt that in the second half, the next goal would be critical,” noted Byrne.  “When they scored those two goals, we were taken aback.  We like to play an attacking brand of soccer and today we showed that we could grind out a win.”

Oneonta scored the insurance goal in the 76th minute when freshman Colin Volpe (Commack/St. Anthony's) was the recipient of two great passes of a corner kick.  Junior Addison Straub (Manlius/Fayetteville Manlius) sent the ball in from the corner that made its way across the box where senior Ian Tenzer (Mahopac/Mahopac) was able to head a pass to the feet of Volpe, who one-touched the ball to finish.
 
Nov. 11^th  vs. Montclair St., T 2-2 (lost 4-3 on PK’s)
And then there was one.

In a match between two of the four teams that played in the final four in San Antonio a year ago, it was Montclair State that advanced into next weekend's sectional round of the NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament with a 4-3 shootout victory over SUNY Oneonta at Red Dragon Soccer Field last Sunday.  Montclair is the only remaining 2011 final four team now, as both Ohio Wesleyan and Calvin were eliminated in the first round of the tournament.  Ohio Wesleyan was the defending national champion.

Montclair State and Oneonta battled to a 2-2 tie through regulation and both overtime periods to force the shootout session.  In the shootout, it was Montclair goalkeeper, Anthony Rogic, who proved to be the difference maker.

Rogic started the shootout by stopping the first shot by Straub, as he dove to his right to knock the shot away.  Rogic then stepped up and took the third kick, which he buried in the back of the goal to give Montclair a 2-0 advantage at the time.

“No goalkeeper really looks forward to taking a penalty kick,” said Rogic.  “You have to remain focused and go with what I feel.”

Rogic continued, “As for saving kicks. I feel I have been good at that all my life.  I look right into the eyes of the kicker.”

The Red Dragons battled back with three successive conversions by sophomore Scott Taglione (Ballston Lake/Shenendehowa), and seniors Daniel Josepher and Tenzer, which forced the final kick to be taken by the Red Hawks.

Freshman Lucas Terci made no mistake and put the ball into the goal for the decisive shot and the victory.

“It's always a tough way to end the season,” said Oneonta coach Iain Byrne.  “It was a great effort by both teams.  We played some entertaining soccer this weekend and the crowd support was great.”

“It's a shame to have two top teams play so early in the tournament,” said Montclair coach Todd Tumelty.  “Oneonta has a great team and we knew that today's game was going to be a battle based on seeing them compete in the final four last year.”

Tumelty concluded, “I am proud of my guys and I am looking forward to entering the final 16 next weekend.”

Montclair found itself down twice during the match at 1-0 and 2-1.  The second goal for the Red Hawks came in the 83rd minute when Brian Cullen one-time volleyed a crossing pass from the right flank by Dan Mendoza.

Oneonta's senior duo of Shkreli and Fortier teamed up to put Oneonta ahead 1-0 in the 16th minute of the game.  Fortier made a great through pass to Shkreli, who one-touched it by Rogic.


Montclair tied the game in the 28th minute on a great individual effort by leading scorer Almir Batista.  Batista got loose in the box and fired a shot that was initially blocked by an Oneonta defender, but on the rebound, he was able to get his head on the ball to put it past the defense into the goal.

The go-ahead goal for Oneonta came in the 69th minute by freshman Jake Sutherland (Syracuse/West Genesee), who had just entered the game.  Sutherland got his head on a crossing pass from the left flank by classmate Brian Bartichek (Massapequa Park/Massapequa), who had hustled to win the ball and then created some space to send the pass into the box.
 
Men’s Cross Country
 
Nov. 10^th at NCAA Atlantic Region Meet, 11^th with 354 points
The SUNY Oneonta Men’s Cross Country team ended their season at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship meet hosted by the University of Rochester last Saturday. The men finished just outside the top-10 in 11^th place with 354 points.
 
The highlight of the day was the performance of senior John Longo (Endwell/Maine-Endwell), who earned All-Region honors after finishing 31st overall in a time of 26:15.  All-Region honors go to the top 35 individual finishers on both sides.  Longo is the first All-Region runner for the men since Nick Pampena earned the honor in 2008.

Oneonta's next four men's finishers were all in the top 87 including a pair of freshmen.  Senior Chris Harvey (Kings Park/Kings Park) ran second for the Red Dragons today in 73rd place with a time of 26:56.  Next was freshman Jim Bernstein (Grahamsville/Tri-Valley) in 81st place with a time of 27:02 followed by junior Mitch Todorov in 82nd place with a time of 27:04.  Rounding out the top-5 was rookie Michael Delligatti (Fresh Meadows/Francis Lewis) in 87th place with a time of 27:07.

Sophomore Andrew Bohunicky (Johnson City/Maine-Endwell) and junior Tom Haskins (Tully/Tully) were the men's sixth and seventh runners.
 
Women’s Cross Country
 
Nov. 10^th at NCAA Atlantic Region Meet, 13^th with 333 points
The SUNY Oneonta women’s cross country team ended their season at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship meet hosted by the University of Rochester last Saturday. The women finished in 13^th place with 333 points.
 
Junior Danielle Kennedy (Stony Point/Albertus Magnus) and sophomore Brianna McLoughlin (Yonkers/School of the Holy Child), who finished 38th and 41st respectively, led the Oneonta women.  Kennedy covered in 6K distance in a time of 23:04 while McLoughlin was at 23:06.

Rounding out the top-5 for the Red Dragons were sophomores Marielle Genovesi (Glen Head/North Shore) and Mariel Doyle (Delmar/Bethlehem) and junior Allison Ryley (LaGrangeville/Arlington) in 65th, 81st and 108th place respectively.  Genovesi ran 23:36, Doyle ran 23:56 and Ryley ran 24:15.

Sophomore Cady Kuzmich ran sixth for Oneonta while rookie Ceili McMorrow (Pearl River/Pearl River) ran seventh.
 
Men’s Swimming & Diving (1-1)
 
Nov. 9^th at Skidmore, W 146-89
Nov. 10^th at Hartwick, L 84-157
The SUNY Oneonta men’s swimming & diving team opened the dual-meet portion of the schedule this past weekend with a pair of meets and came away with a split. The Red Dragons defeated Skimdore last Friday afternoon and fell to Hartwick last Saturday.
 
Versus Skidmore, the men won 146-89.
 
Double winners for Oneonta men in the Skidmore meet included juniors Jermaine Miller (Elmira/Southside ) and Ryan Walsh (Wingdale/Arlington) along with sophomore Colton Roe (Middletown/Pine Bush).

Roe won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.38) and 100-yard backstroke (54.16).  Miller won both diving events including hitting the NCAA qualifying mark in the 1-meter event.  Walsh won the 50-yard freestyle (23.32) and the 100-yard butterfly (54.12).

Individual winners for the men were freshmen Joseph Galan (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) and Lucas Santiago (Amsterdam/Amsterdam) along with senior Alex Miller (Oneonta/Oneonta) and sophomore Collin Donaghy (Sachem/Sachem East).

Galan won the 1000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:24.33.  Miller won the 200-yard IM in 2:02.60, which is the fastest time in the SUNYAC this season in the event.  Santiago won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 48.85 while Donaghy won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:04.71.
 
Against Hartwick, J. Miller won both diving events while A. Miller won the 200-yard backstroke.
 
Women’s Swimming & Diving (1-1)
 
Nov. 9^th at Skidmore, W 137-101
Nov. 10^th at Hartwick, L 101-140
The SUNY Oneonta women’s swimming & diving team opened the dual-meet portion of the schedule this past weekend with a pair of meets and came away with a  split. The Red Dragons defeated Skidmore last Friday afternoon and fell to Hartwick on Saturday.
 
Versus Skidmore, the women won 137-101.
 
The Oneonta women didn't have any double winners in the meet, but had seven individual winners that included three freshmen and three sophomores.

In winning the 1000 freestyle, freshman Lauren Zentko (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) recorded the fastest time (11:01.73) in the conference in the early season.

Classmates Danielle Schmalz (Middletown/Pine Bush) and Taylor Waldrop (Fairport/Fairport) won the 100 fly and 500 free respectively.

The sophomore duo of Kara Garbarino (Latham/Shaker) and Hannah Hillebrand (Stony Point/North Rockland) split the diving events with Garbarino winning the 1-meter event and Hillebrand taking the 3-meter event.

Rounding out the winners for the Red Dragon women were senior Kristen Magliola (Shoreham/Shoreham Wading River) in the 200 IM and sophomore Carly Cahill (Troy/Troy) in the 100-yard backstroke.
 
Against Hartwick,  Garbarino won the 1-meter diving event.  Waldrop was victorious in the 200 back with a time of 2:15.51.  Sophomore Kelly Ruf (Poughkeepsie/Roy C. Ketcham) won the 200-yard butterfly in a time 2:18.08.
 
Wrestling
 
Nov. 10^th at John Reese Duals hosted by Wilkes College
The SUNY Oneonta wrestling team competed last Saturday at the annual John Reese Duals hosted by Wilkes University.  The Red Dragons had a rough day dropping all four of its dual matches including two to a pair of nationally ranked squads.

The highlight for Oneonta on the day was the performance of junior co-captain Ben Mikac (Williamsville/Williamsville East), who was a perfect 3-0 in the matches that he competed.  Mikac recorded three decisions today in competition versus NYU, Johns Hopkins and York.

The only other wrestler for Oneonta to go undefeated on the day was freshman Jacob Goddeau (Peru/Peru), who recorded a pair of decisions in matches against NYU and York.
 
Women’s Basketball (0-1)
 
Nov. 15^th at Western Connecticut State, L, 40-55
SUNY Oneonta opened it’s 2012-13 season on the road at Western Connecticut State. They fell to Western 55-40.

Oneonta was led by freshman Lyteshia Price (Liverpool/Liverpool), who led all scorers with 18 points in her collegiate debut.  Sophomore Sarah Longto (Kingston/Kingston) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Western jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, keeping Oneonta scoreless for the game's first two minutes.  Oneonta closed the gap to 10-7, but the Western defense held the visitors scoreless over the next six minutes to build a 15-7 lead.  Western's largest lead of the half came with five minutes remaining in the first half, 20-11.  The Red Dragons narrowed the margin to four points with one minute remaining, but Brasa hit the final bucket of the half for a 28-22 Western lead at halftime.

The Oneonta offense struggled to score against the Western defense for much of the second half, managing only four points over the first six minutes of the second period, and then being held scoreless for an eight-minute stretch as Western moved out to a 41-28 lead with six minutes remaining in the game. 

For the game, Western held a 40-37 advantage in rebounds.  Western finished shooting 38.9% from the floor and 75.0% from the line, while Oneonta hit 28.3% and 41.2%, respectively.