SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Men’s Soccer (9-3-4/5-0-2 SUNYAC)
 
Oct. 19^th vs. New Paltz, T 2-2 OT2
The SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team certainly has a flair for the dramatic this season, as last Saturday they once again tied the score late to force overtime.  Unfortunately, the Red Dragons had to settle for a tie against visiting SUNY New Paltz, 2-2. 

The hero on the afternoon was sophomore Dylan Williams (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury), who notched both of Oneonta's goals on the afternoon.  His second goal of the game came on a penalty kick when senior Luke Halberg (Norwich/Valley Heights Christian Academy) was knocked to the ground inside the box in the 87th minute.

Williams' first goal gave the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on two great passes, setting him up for a wide open shot from the top of the box.  The initial pass came from freshman Hans Purtell (Johnson City/Johnson City), who sent a ball across the box from the left flank where junior Justin Rivera (Bay Shore/Bay Shore) gave a one-touch pass to Williams, who finished the play with a rocket past an outstretched New Paltz keeper.

New Paltz battled hard throughout the contest holding an 8-5 shot advantage in the opening half of play.

In the 34th minute, New Paltz knotted the game at 1-1.

The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the second minute of the second half when they were awarded a penalty kick. 

Statistically, Oneonta held the advantage in both shots (23-15) and corner kicks (12-4).  Oneonta junior Vincent Pellegrino (Baldwin/Baldwin) made six saves.

Women’s Soccer (7-4-3/4-0-3 SUNYAC)
 
Oct. 19^th at New Paltz, W 1-0
The SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team travelled to SUNY New Paltz last Saturday afternoon and came away the victor by the score of 1-0 on an 84th minute goal by sophomore Kayla Distin (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley).

The Hawks had their only shot on goal in the fourth minute of play forcing the lone save from the Red Dragons starter, Rori Stark (Brewster/Brewster). From that point on, Oneonta controlled the majority of the play.

The Red Dragons had five shots in the first half that were on the goal but four saves by Hawks keeper Krysten Kane, some very good ones and a blocked shot, kept the game scoreless going into the halftime break.

The Hawks best opportunity to take the lead came off a corner kick, one of their four corners. The ball was swung into the box and found the head of a Hawk, but her header hit the post and was cleared out before it could be of any more danger.

Oneonta began to pick up the pressure as they earned a corner kick of their own. Sophomore Liz Lasota (Cutchogue/Mattituck) curled the ball into the box that found the foot of classmate, Kayla Ceschini (Miller Place/Miller Place), but once again Kane was up to the task.

The moment of heroics came at the 83:50 mark, when Distin picked up the ball off the initial shot taken by Karly DeSimone (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) that was saved and chipped it over Kane and into the back of the net to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead. The goal is Distin's second of the season.
 
Oct. 22^nd vs. Ithaca, L 0-1
The SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team was edged out, 1-0, on Red Dragon Soccer Field last Tuesday afternoon as they played host to Ithaca College.

Ithaca came in to the game as the #5 nationally ranked team in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

The first half was end-to-end as both teams had some open looks at the goal but were unable to capitalize as the keepers stood their ground. Oneonta's best opportunity came in the 19th minute as DeSimone was able to maneuver around the defense and get off a good shot that only a diving save by Bombers keeper kept the game knotted at 0-0.

Ithaca had a great opportunity of their own as a Bomber was able to break through the Oneonta backline. Oneonta's starting keeper, Stark, was able to thwart the breakaway as the forward touched the ball a bit to far in front and Stark made a terrific one-on-one save to send the game into the halftime break still tied at 0's.

The Bombers went on the offensive to start the second half as a shot from 20 yards out hit the crossbar in the 50th minute of play.

Oneonta would counter with a right-footed blast by sophomore Caitlyn LaPier (Chazy/Chazy) that was saved.

Ithaca had the one break they needed as they countered off a Red Dragons corner kick at the 53:07 mark. An Ithaca player picked up the loose ball just outside her own 18 yard box and played it forward to a streaking midfielder, who found herself with 50 yards of open space. Before a defender could close her, she was able to tuck the ball under Kelley Murphy (Albany/Colonie Central), who had came in to the game in the first half for an injured Stark, to give the Bombers the 1-0 lead.

With 20 minutes to play in the game, Oneonta picked up the pressure and had their best scoring opportunity in the 73rd minute. Junior Sarah Glowa (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) worked the ball down the right side of the field and served a ball into the box that the Bomber keeper perryed off the crossbar. The ball fell right in front of the goal but was unable to be tucked home by an Oneonta player.

Oneonta would have three more cracks at tying the game in the last nine minutes on shots by sophomores Ceschini, LaPier and Lasota.

The Red Dragons outshot the Bombers 13-11 as Ithaca held a slight advantage in corner kicks 4-3.

Stark made 2 saves and Murphy 3.
 
Volleyball (13-15/2-4 SUNYAC)
 
Oct. 18^th at Hartwick College Invitational
vs. Lebanon Valley, L 0-3; vs. Utica, W 3-1
The SUNY Oneonta volleyball team came away with a split of a pair of matches played last Friday on the first day of the Hartwick Invitational. 
In Oneonta's opening match, the Red Dragons were swept by Lebanon Valley, who ran its season record to 22-3 overall.  Oneonta played three close sets, but ended up falling 22-25, 20-25, and 23-25.  Sophomore Jill Darpino (Endicott/Union Endicott) had eight kills, one ace and one block in the match.  Senior Natalia Poljak (Brewster/Brewster) recorded four kills and four blocks.  Junior Becca Horton (Owego/Owego Free Academy) collected 14 assists and a pair of aces.  Senior Kristina Pelaccio (Verplanck/Hendrick Hudson) led the defensive effort with 12 digs.

In the second match of the day, Oneonta dropped its first set to Utica College, 12-25, before rebounding to win the next three sets, 25-16, 25-14, 25-11.  Darpino and freshman Paige Carpluk (Yaphank/Bellport) each recorded eight kills to lead the attack.  Senior Erica Darpino (Endicott/Union-Endicott) had seven kills and a team high six blocks.  Sophomore Karly Greco (East Patchogue/Bellport) fueled the attack with 16 assists.  Carpluk also collected 12 digs as did sophomore Allyson Coniglione (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake).
 
Oct. 19^th at Hartwick College Invitational
vs. CCNY, W 3-0; vs. New Paltz, L 1-3
The SUNY Oneonta volleyball team had an up-and-down day last Saturday on the final day of the Holiday Inn/Hartwick Invitational.  The Red Dragons came away with a victory against CCNY, but fell in its second match to SUNY New Paltz. 
 
Oneonta had no trouble in sweeping CCNY to begin its day (25-4, 25-15, 25-17).  Sophomore J. Darpino led the Red Dragons with 10 kills, which included no errors in 15 attempts.  Senior K. Pelaccio had four aces and eight digs, which led Oneonta.

Against New Paltz, Oneonta won the first set, 28-26, but dropped the next three sets, 17-25, 15-25, 22-25.  Seniors E. Darpino and Bridget McHugh (New Hyde Park/Herricks) each had eight kills to lead Oneonta.  Sophomore Coniglione and Pelaccio led the defense with 16 and 14 digs respectively.
 
Erica's weekend performance earned her selection to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Oct. 22^nd vs. Ithaca, W 3-0
The SUNY Oneonta volleyball team recorded 15 aces tonight en route to overpowering the visiting Ithaca College Bombers tonight on senior night.  The victory for the Red Dragons was only its second win against the Bombers during head coach Colleen Cashman's 16-year tenure.  Oneonta is now 13-15 overall, as they head into the final SUNYAC weekend of the regular season at SUNY Geneseo. 

The closest of the three sets tonight was the first set where the largest lead was at the end when Oneonta won 25-20.  The set included nine ties and four lead changes, the last one coming when Oneonta took a 20-19 lead en route to scoring six of the final seven points.  The Red Dragons recorded 13 kills in the opening set.

In the second set, Oneonta rolled to a 25-10 win.  The Red Dragons ran out to an 11-2 lead on the strength of six aces.

The third set started out as the first set and stood at 6-5 Oneonta before the Red Dragons put the match out of reach with a 14-4 run en route to a 25-13 victory to take the match.

It was all about Oneonta's four seniors tonight, as they were honored prior to the match.  Senior E. Darpino led the attack tonight with 10 kills. Senior McHugh recorded a team high four blocks.  Senior K. Pelaccio led Oneonta with 14 digs and shared top honors in aces with six with freshman Carpluk.  Senior Katie Sheehan (Bellmore/John F. Kennedy) had one ace and four digs for the Red Dragons tonight.
Men’s Cross Country
 
Oct. 19^th at Oberlin Inter-Region Rumble, T-8^th place with 268 pts.
The SUNY Oneonta men's cross country team ventured out of the New York region last Saturday and found itself amongst some of the top teams in Division III at the Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin College in Ohio.  The Red Dragons came away with a strong team performance overall, finishing tied for eighth as a team with 268 points.  Five of the seven squads that finished ahead of them are all ranked in this week's NCAA coach's poll including three in the top-20.

The overall team champion was NYU, who is currently ranked No. 6 in Division III.  SUNYAC rival, No. 19 SUNY Geneseo, was second with 93 points.  The top-5 was rounded out with No. 20 Allegheny in third, No. 31 Rochester in fourth and Case Western, who received votes this week for the national poll, was fifth.

Leading the men this past weekend was freshman David Busby (New Paltz/New Paltz), who was the 34th overall finisher in a time of 26:22 for the 8K distance.  For Busby, it was a collegiate best time for the distance.

Busby was followed by junior Mike Didas (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) (51st, 26:34), senior Tom Haskins (Tully/Tully) (56th, 26:40), juniors Bobby Gallant (Scotia/Scotia-Glenville) (60th, 26:44), Andrew Bohunicky (Johnson City/Maine-Endwell) (67th, 26:46) and Charles Remillard (Peru/Peru) (72nd, 26:51), and freshman Jean-Paul Scott (Fairport/Fairport) (77th, 26:53) to round out Oneonta's top-7.
 
Women’s Cross Country
 
Oct. 19^th at Oberlin Inter-Region Rumble, 6^th place with 195 pts.
The SUNY Oneonta women's cross country team ventured out of the New York region last Saturday and found itself amongst nearly a dozen top-35 teams in Division III at the Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin College in Ohio.  The Red Dragons came away with a season highlight performance overall, finishing sixth as a team with 195 points.  The five squads ahead of them are all ranked in this week's NCAA coach's poll including three in the top-15.

The two teams behind the Red Dragons in seventh and eighth were Elizabethtown and Rochester, who are No. 31 and No. 28 respectively.  The meet was won by NYU, who is No. 15.  They were followed by SUNY Geneseo (#10), Carleton (#21), Case Western Reserve (#27) and Oberlin (#11).  Oberlin, who came in fifth, just edged Oneonta by three points.

Leading the women again this past weekend was senior Danielle Kennedy (Stony Point/Albertus Magnus), who was the seventh overall finisher in a time of 22:05 for the 6K distance.  For Kennedy, it was a collegiate best time for the distance.

Kennedy was followed by sophomore Alyssa Drapeau (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) (23rd, 22:24), freshman Mary Kate Bida (Millbrook/Millbrook) (38th, 22:41), junior Marielle Genovesi (Glen Head/North Shore) (46th, 22:54), senior Allison Ryley (LaGrangeville/Arlington) (81st, 23:33), freshman Samantha Wilks (Endwell/Maine Endwell) (87th, 23:38) and freshman Elizabeth Chichester (Mount Morris/Mount Morris) (119th, 24:08) to round out Oneonta's top-7.  All of the day's top-7 runners recorded collegiate best times for the 6K distance.
 
Men’s Swimming & Diving
 
Oct. 19^th at Hartwick Relays, 2^nd place with 112 pts.
The collegiate swimming & diving season began last Saturday with the SUNY Oneonta men opening the 2013-14 season at the Hartwick College Relays.

The season opening event, races relays of various lengths and disciplines along with team diving. There were no individual events completed in the meet.


The diving quartet of senior Patrick Capriglione (Highland Mills/Monroe Woodbury), junior John Buckley (Highland Mills/Monroe Woodbury) and freshmen Brendan Leahy (/Warwick) and James Giebler (/Pine Bush) led the men's team. The four combined to win both the 1 & 3-meter diving events. Capriglione & Leahy took the 1m with a score of 376.95 while Buckley and Giebler took the 3m with 307.90 points.

In the pool, the men had six second place finished on the day. The men recorded a second place finish in 300-yard backstroke, 300-yard butterfly, 850-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 600-yard IM and 200-yard medley.

Juniors Colton Roe (Middletown/Pine Bush) and Kevin Flessa (Middletown/Middletown) swam on three of the six relays together. They swam the 300 backstroke, 200 freestyle and 200 medley.

Senior Ryan Walsh (Wingdale/Arlington) swam in the 300 butterfly and the 850 freestyle while classmate John Rein (Holbrook/Sachem North) swam the 850 freestyle and the 200 freestyle. Junior Daniel Donaghy (Holtsville/Sachem East) swam a leg in the 850 freestyle and the 200 freestyle. Sophomores Joseph Galan (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) (850 free, 600 IM), Joseph Morgan (Cornwall/Cornwall) (300 backstroke, 600 IM), Lucas Santiago (Amsterdam/Amsterdam) (300 butterfly, 600 IM) and Zach Comeau (Pine Bush/Pine Bush) (300 butterfly, 200 medley) all swam in two of the second place relays.

Freshman Conor Kelly (/St. Peters) was the final member of the 200 medley team.
 
Women’s Swimming & Diving
 
Oct. 19^th at Hartwick Relays, 2^nd place with 108 pts.
The collegiate swimming & diving season began last Saturday with the SUNY Oneonta women opening the 2013-14 season at the Hartwick College

The season opening event,
 races relays of various lengths and disciplines along with team diving. There were no individual events completed in the meet.
 
The women won four of the relays on the afternoon, while setting a record in two of them. They also finished second in two other relays. The Red Dragons were the victors in the 300-yard butterfly relay, 850-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and the 200-yard medley relay. Their second place finishes were in the 600-yard IM and the 400-yard freestyle.

The trio of senior Alexxa Poliachik (Niagara Falls/Niagara Wheatfield), junior Kelly Ruf (Poughkeepsie/Roy C. Ketcham) and sophomore Lauren Zentko (Glenville/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) set the first of the two records in the 300-yard butterfly relay as they touched the the wall in a time of 3:07.4, six-tenths of a second faster than the previous record.

The winning foursome for the 850-yard freestyle relay included Sarah Greco (Merrick/Sanford H. Calhoun), Chandler Shepard (Delhi/Delaware Academy), Carly Cahill (Troy/Troy) and Zentko. The quartet touched in a time of 8:49.55, almost two seconds faster. The 850-yard freestyle consists of 50, 100, 200 and 500-yard legs.

Poliachik, Shepard and Greco teamed up with freshman Nicole DiFilippo (Danville,PA/Danville ) to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:44.59. The win was just .4 seconds ahead of Hartwick.

Sophomore Kristin Higgins (Queensbury/Glens Falls) joined forces with DiFilippo, Zentko and Shepard to take first in the 200-yard medley. Their time of 1:56.70 was over two seconds better than the second place finisher Hartwick.