Box Score Fredonia, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team took an early 2-0 lead over hosting Fredonia State Friday, and despite going down a man with 30 minutes left in the contest, held on to earn a 2-1 victory and put an end to its two-game losing skid.
"After the red it was great to see them battle and defend so well," said Hawks coach
Kyle Clancy. "The goal down a man was huge in the end. We needed to dig deep the last two minutes and it felt great to see them finish the game off."
Jared Sparks was a spark off the bench for SUNY New Paltz (6-9 overall, 2-6 SUNYAC), as the freshman knocked in a rebound off an initial shot by teammate
Andres Salcedo to give the Hawks the, 1-0 lead.
SUNY New Paltz clung onto the goal advantage and took the goal lead into halftime after out-shooting the Blue Devils (8-6-2 overall, 2-4-2 SUNYAC), 13-3 in the first 45 minutes.
The momentum changed however in the 62
nd minute after Hawks defender Sebastian G-S Archer was hit with his second yellow card, which resulted in a red, forcing SUNY New Paltz to play a man-down the rest of the match.
The Hawks defense tightened, and then scored a pivotal second goal in the 78
th minute to give them some breathing room.
Kevin Doorley knocked his fourth goal of the season into the top right corner of the netting, with fellow freshman
Ryan Martinez picking up the assist on the play.
The Blue Devils answered in the 89
th minute, but it was too little too late, as the Hawks held on from there to pick up their second conference win of the season.
"It was the best we've looked all season," Clancy said. "Up until the red card we were excellent in possession and built well out of the back. We had some great combinations in the middle third, just struggled to find the right final pass."
John Guzzo finished with six saves for SUNY New Paltz, while Ty Bentham recorded nine stops for Fredonia.
The Hawks are back on the road Saturday, as they take on No. 14 Buffalo State in their season finale at 1 p.m.
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