Plattsburgh and Geneseo will advance to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) men's soccer semifinals after winning Saturday. The first round saw two upsets as the Cardinals beat Brockport 2-1, and the Knights topped Buffalo State, 2-0.
In the first game of the day, a goal in only the 10th minute of the game by junior forward Alex Price (Beekmantown, N.Y.) gave Plattsburgh an early lead over Brockport. The team maintained the one point lead throughout the rest of the first half, holding the Golden Eagles to only one shot. The second half saw more action as sophomore midfielder Connor Nembach (Smithtown West, N.Y.) found the back of the net with a header in the 60th minute, assisted by Senior forward Nicholas Laurent (Clarkstown South, N.Y.), which put the Cardinals up 2-0. The Golden Eagles immediately responded with a goal by sophomore midfielder Jason Hayes (Brockport, N.Y.) just one minute later, tightening the score to 2-1. Brockport battled on their home turf in the second half with 11 shots total, including two shots on goal, but were unable to pull out a goal to even the score.
The second game of the SUNYAC men's soccer championship tournament first round series saw SUNYAC six-seed, Geneseo, defeat nationally ranked thirteenth and overall conference third seeded, Buffalo State at a damp Coyer Field. The first half was full of scoring opportunities, but solid defense and goaltending in this winner advances, loser goes home playoff game kept the back and forth game scoreless until 1:43 seconds before the half when Knights junior midfielder, Isaac Sanabria (Bedford Hills, NY), scored on a pass from senior midfielder, Reidis Lata (Vestal, NY), to give the Knights a 1-0 lead heading into the break. Things started to get real chippy in the second half as the greater portion of it was played without a goal scored thanks to some incredible saves by Geneseo's Dillon Medd (Bedford Hills, NY) and Buffalo State's Andreas Queen (Stone Ridge, NY). Late in the second, Geneseo senior Nick Keneally (Pittsford, NY) put the final nail in the coffin scoring on a pass from Sanabria, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead and eventual victory.
Plattsburgh moves on to play top seeded Cortland while Geneseo will face the #2 seed, Oneonta, Wednesday, November 1, at 1 p.m.
With this loss, the Golden Eagles end their season with a 10-6-3 overall record. Buffalo State finished the regular season as the thirteenth ranked team in the country and ends with an overall record of 14-2-3.
