SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Men’s Soccer (2-2-1)
 
Sept. 7 vs. Medaille, L 3-4 (Mayor’s Cup)
It what was a tale of two halves, the SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team was on the short end of a 4-3 score last Friday versus Medaille in the opening game of the 2012 Oneonta Mayor's Cup Tournament hosted by Oneonta.  The Red Dragons held a 3-1 halftime lead before the visiting Mavericks charged back in the second half.

Medaille led the charge in the second half scoring three unanswered the game-winner in the 89th minute. 

Oneonta controlled the opening half and made the most of its eight shots in the first 45 minutes.  The Red Dragons finally broke through in the 26th minute on a great long crossing pass from the right flank by sophomore Justin Rivera (Bay Shore/Bay Shore).  The recipient of the pass was sophomore Brian Bartichek (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) who took the ball on his head and redirected it to the back of the goal for the 1-0 lead.

Oneonta went up two in the 33rd minute on a connection by a pair of players who had just entered the game.  Senior Alex Shkreli (Bedford/Fox Lane) controlled the ball on the right flank and sent a ball across into the box where a charging Dan Josepher (Manorville/Eastport-South Manor volleyed the pass into the back of the goal.

Medaille got one back five minutes later on a missed clear by the Oneonta keeper, Daniel DeBottis (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse). 

Oneonta got its two-goal lead back just three minutes later when freshman Colin Volpe (Commack/St. Anthony's) scored his first collegiate goal.  Volpe was about 25 yards out and sent a ball in towards the keeper that sailed over his head into the net.


DeBottis made four saves in the loss for the Red Dragons.
 
Sept. 8 vs. John Carroll, W 1-0 2OT (Mayor’s Cup)
SUNY Oneonta senior Josepher headed in a perfect cross from the left flank by sophomore Rivera in the 106th minute to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 win against John Carroll University on the final day of the 2012 Division III men's Mayor's Cup Tournament.  The win for Oneonta was its first of the season.

Oneonta completely dominated the first half with a gusty tailwind to aid them, but were kept scoreless.  Oneonta outshot John Carroll 11-1 in the opening half, but their keeper came up with eight saves, a few from close range.

In the second half, the Blue Streaks had the help of the wind and were able to muster up an attack of its own, but came away empty as well.  Freshman Colan Balkwell (Schaghticoke/Hoosic Valley) made seven saves in the game for Oneonta and picked up his first collegiate win and shutout.  Balkwell made three saves in the second half and another three in the first overtime period as he kept the Blue Streaks off the board.

Josepher was left unmarked in front of the goal and was just waiting for the ball to get to him before redirecting the pass by the keeper, who could only put up his hands in disbelief that Josepher was left unattended.
 
Sept. 11 vs. RPI, W 3-1
Three different players scored last Tuesday as the SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team took care of the visiting Engineers of Rensselaer 3-1.  Oneonta won its second straight contest.

Oneonta was holding onto a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute when a shot by a Rensselaer appeared headed for the back of the goal, but Oneonta freshman keeper Balkwell came up with a diving, one-handed stop to deny the goal.

Three minutes later, the Red Dragons added an insurance goal as junior Luke Halberg (Norwich/Valley Heights Christian Academy) intercepted a pass inside the box and blasted a shot by the Rensselaer keeper to make the score 3-1.

Oneonta scored first today in the 12th minute.  The senior combination of Josepher and Eric Fortier (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) hooked up to give Oneonta an early lead.  On a throw-in, Fortier sent the ball well ahead of a charging Josepher into the box where Josepher out ran the defender and put a shot over the keeper's head.

Rensselaer tied the game in the 39th minute after a misplay of a ball by Balkwell as a long ball bounced over his head.  The initial shot was saved by an Oneonta defender, but the player got his own rebound and put the ball to the back of the goal for the equalizer.

The Red Dragons struck in the waning seconds of the first half to take a lead into the break.  Freshman Dylan Williams (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) got his foot on a shot by sophomore Bartichek that trickled into the right corner of the goal.  The shot by Bartichek was set up with a through ball into the box.

Oneonta outshot Rensselaer 13-9 and finished the game with a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks.  Balkwell made four saves in picking up his second straight win.
 
Women’s Soccer (2-2-1)
 
Sept. 8 vs. TCNJ, L 0-1 (Mayor’s Cup at Hartwick)
Sept. 9 vs. William Paterson, W 3-2 (Mayor’s Cup at Oneonta)
Senior leadership led the way last Sunday for the SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team as the Red Dragons disposed of William Paterson 3-2 on the final day of the 2012 Mayor's Cup tournament.  The win for Oneonta earned them a weekend split of its games as last Saturday they were edged by #20 TCNJ 1-0.

The Red Dragons didn't waste any time in getting on the scoreboard in this one as seniorLindsey Doxtader (Oneonta/Oneonta) collected a loose ball in the box and got her foot on it enough to lift it over the Pioneers' keeper.

Thirteen minutes later senior Kayla Brantmeyer (Center Moriches/Center Moriches) dribbled through four players on her way to giving Oneonta a 2-0 lead.

The Pioneers battled back to cut Oneonta's lead to one goal in the 26th minute.  A Pioneer took advantage of a loose ball in the box and put it by Oneonta keeper Rori Stark (Brewster/Brewster).

Brantmeyer struck again six minutes later on a tough angle shot.  She had the ball near the end line to the right of the goal and got off a shot that managed to catch the inside left corner of the goal to give Oneonta a 3-1 lead.

Oneonta outshot the Pioneers in the first half 13-1 and finished the game with an 18-8 advantage in shots.

Stark made two saves in picking up her second win of the season. 
 
Field Hockey (3-2)
 
Sept. 8 at William Smith, W 4-3
SUNY Oneonta junior Samantha Smith (Webster/Webster Thomas) netted a pair of goals last Saturday to lead the field hockey team to a 4-3 win against #13 William Smith College on the road.  The win for the Red Dragons was its first against the Herons since 2003, when the Red Dragons defeated them in an ECAC Tournament game and kept them perfect in the early season at 3-0.

“William Smith is always a challenge for us,” said head coach Kelly Kingsbury.  “We were able to execute on our penalty corners and maintain possession.  I am proud of this team.  They played hard and earned this win.”

Oneonta was able to capitalize on three of its seven penalty corners in the game for a nearly 50 percent conversion rate.  Oneonta's first goal of the game was on a corner and came eight minutes into the match, with Smith tapping the ball in from the right post off a cross from classmate Ashley Morgan (Putnam Valley/Putnam Valley). Oneonta's second goal came seven minutes later when senior Ashley Johnson (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs) taking on the Heron goalkeeper in front of the net, putting the ball in unassisted. The third goal of the game came from Smith on the right post again, this time coming off a cross from junior Stephanie Fiske (Marathon/Marathon).

William Smith got one back. With two minutes left in the opening half, a Heron player took the ball from midfield through the defense and into the circle, blasting a shot into the cage.

Fiske converted on another corner early in the second half to give the Red Dragons its three-goal cushion back.

The Herons dominated the rest of the game with two unanswered goals and a close fight until the end. In the 41st minute, William Smith scored off a penalty corner. With 19 minutes left in the game, a deflected shot snuck in to cut the Red Dragons' lead to one.

The Herons put three shots on frame down the stretch, but could not find the equalizer.


For Oneonta, Tess Tracy (Liverpool/Liverpool) stopped two of the five shots she face in the opening 50:11, while Krista Servedio (Shrub Oak/Lakeland) stopped three shots to preserve the win.
 
Sept. 9 at University of Rochester, L 1-3
A battle of two unbeaten teams surely lived up to the billing last Sunday with the University of Rochester field hockey team defeating SUNY Oneonta 3-1 in a non-conference tilt.

The up-tempo game between the two teams produced many scoring opportunities and at the end, Oneonta outshot Rochester 19-13.

Early on, the Rochester goalie held strong, fending off shots off two Oneonta penalty corners, keeping the score knotted at zero.

Then at the 8:30 mark, a hard shot from the top of the circle off of a UR penalty corner that was deflected in by an Oneonta defender, making the score 1-0 in favor of Rochester off the own goal.

The Yellowjackets made it 2-0 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.

The Red Dragons were able to answer right back a minute later when Suzanne Wright (Hudson/Germantown Central) collected a pass from Andrea Day (Greene/Greene) that slipped through the defense.  It was Wright's third goal of the season and cut the UR lead in half.

At the break, UR held a slim 2-1 lead.

Early in the second half, Oneonta applied pressure in the transition game and turned that into multiple chances including two corners and four shots in the first six minutes.

In goal, Tracy made six saves while Servedio made one for the Red Dragons. 
 
Sept. 12 vs. Skidmore, L 2-3 (2OT)
The SUNY Oneonta field hockey team looked as though they would run away from No. 6 Skidmore last Wednesday, but the Thoroughbreds charged back and nipped the Red Dragons 3-2 in the second overtime.  An Engineer ended the game in the 89th minute when she received a drop pass and blasted a shot from the top of the circle that found the back of the goal.

Skidmore scored the game-tying goal in the 51st minute.

Oneonta scored the first two goals of the game despite only four shots on goal in the first half of play.  Senior Wright got things started for the Red Dragons in the ninth minute after receiving a pass from junior Morgan. Wright was unmarked on the right side of the goal and shot from about five yards away.

In the 31st minute, sophomore Day collected a loose ball from a sea of players before banging one home for a 2-0 lead.

Skidmore continued to battle over the last five minutes of the opening half and scored its first goal after time had expired in the half.  The Thoroughbreds scored on a penalty corner to cut the halftime lead to one goal.

Skidmore outshot the Red Dragons 26-15 in the game.

Oneonta goalie, Tracy, had a season high 16 saves in the game, including a couple from close range during the overtime periods.
 
Volleyball (7-2)
 
Sept. 7 & Sept. 8 at University of Rochester Invitational
vs. University of Rochester, L 0-3; vs. Hamilton, W 3-2
vs. D’Youville, W 3-0; vs. Medaille, W 3-2
The SUNY Oneonta volleyball traveled this past weekend to compete in the Rochester Invitational and came away win three wins in its four matches played. 

Oneonta's only loss of the weekend came to the hosts in its first match on last Friday night.  The Red Dragons went down 3-0 (17-25, 18-25, 23-25).  Senior Kacy Boburka (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) led Oneonta with 10 kills.

In its second match on Friday, Oneonta went five sets before taking out Hamilton 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 15-8).  In the match, senior Brittany Calvello (Gloversville/Broadalbin-Perth) recorded a triple-double with 10 kills, 19 assists and 15 digs.  Boburka recorded 16 kills and 13 digs while junior Kristina Pelaccio (Verplanck/Hendrick Hudson) led the defense with 23 digs.

On Saturday, Oneonta swept D'Youville, 3-0 and then defeated Medaille, 3-2.  Versus D'Youville, Boburka had 12 kills, five aces and 11 digs to lead Oneonta.

In the match against Medaille, Calvello recorded her second triple-double of the weekend with 12 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs.  Freshman Jill Darpino (Endicott/Union Endicott) had 11 kills while her sister Erica had nine blocks.

Boburka was selected to the All-Tournament Team for her weekend performance.
 
Women’s Tennis (1-2)
 
Sept. 7 vs. Plattsburgh, L 4-5
Sept. 8 vs. New Paltz, L 2-7
The SUNY Oneonta women's tennis team dropped a pair of weekend matches to open its home schedule as they fall to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in the SUNYAC.  The Red Dragons began play last Friday  afternoon, but ran out of daylight in its match versus Plattsburgh tied at four apiece.  The only match left to play was at second singles, which was won by Samantha Engebrecht in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 against junior Lauren Skolnick (Sayville/Sayville) to clinch the win for the Cardinals.

Immediately after its loss to Plattsburgh, Oneonta had to get back to action versus New Paltz and came up on the short end of a 7-2 score.  The two wins in the match for the Red Dragons came at first doubles and second singles.  Senior Danielle Browarski (Colonie/Colonie) and Skolnick won 9-8 at first doubles over Kayla DiPaulo and Montana Wilson.  Sophomore Brynn Sussman (Highland Mills/Monroe-Woodbury) picked up a win at second singles in a third set super tiebreak over DiPaulo, 6-4, 1-6, 10-8.

New Paltz won at second and third doubles while winning five of the six singles points. 

In the Plattsburgh match, winners for Oneonta were Colette Lankowicz (Sayville/Sayville) at fourth singles and Abigail Smith (Seneca Falls/Mynderse Academy) at fifth singles.  Browarski and Skolnick won at first doubles and Smith and Sussman picked up a win at third doubles.