ONEONTA, N.Y. -- In the first round of the NCAA DIII Tournament, the SUNY Oneonta men's soccer team went on the attack and scored five goals in the first half as they defeated New England College, 5-0, Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons had a different goal scorer each time and freshman Milton Mancias Magana (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) assisted on two of them.
New England ran the field with Oneonta and had a couple scoring chances early. Off the opening kickoff, Pilgrim's Anthony Aguiar got a shot on net within the penalty box but was stopped by senior keeper Nate Hanna (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker). At 10:30, New England's Joaquin Sanchez-Korenfeld got between an Oneonta pass at midfield and had a breakaway opportunity. Sanchez-Korenfeld brought the ball into the 18-yard box but couldn't get an open shot and before he was swarmed by multiple defenders, he took a quick shot that went wide right.
Once the Red Dragons found the back of the net they didn't stop, scoring four goals in a 12-minute span. In the 14th minute, senior Ethan Brunell (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) took a shot just inside the penalty area and hit the post. Junior Robert Bruschini (Wilton, N.Y./South Glens Falls) fought off a Pilgrim defender to get the rebound and slid it to senior Ian Zingaro (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) who got away from a defenseman and kicked it with his left foot past a couple defenders and the goalie, Hayden Walker, for the score. The second goal was scored in the early 19th, when Mancias Magana brought the ball down the left side of the field and from 25 yards out centered it into the six-yard box to Lucas Fecci (Somers, N.Y./Somers), who finished it with his left. Oneonta's offense was starting to get the best of New England's defense and in the 21st minute, Oneonta forced a foul in the penalty area for a penalty kick. Senior Tristan Battistoni (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) took the kick and kicked it to the left side through the hands of Walker for the goal. In the 26th minute, Mancias Magana received the ball once again down the left side of the field. Mancias Magana turned towards the net, made a couple moves to get past his defender and sent in a center for freshman Joe Holder (Greenwood Lake, N.Y./Warwick) to head in from just outside the six-yard box.
The Red Dragons took out most of their starters in the 38th minute, however that didn't stop them from scoring one more in the 43rd. Senior Jeremy Pantoni (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) sprinted with the ball down the field and got it to senior Nate Parsons who got a touch pass on it, before it was kicked away, to freshman Sam Rogers (Broadalbin, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth). Rogers received the pass outside the left corner of the penalty area, played the ball along the top of the 18-yard line and fired off a shot into the lower left corner of the net.
Oneonta was able to hold off New England for the whole second half, allowing only one shot on net in the final 45.
Hanna played the first half for the Red Dragons and had four saves. Sophomore Jax Flugel (Rochester, N.Y.) played 36 minutes and recorded one save and senior Jake Meaney (Smithtown/Smithtown West) came in to close out the final nine minutes.
Walker ended with seven saves in the 81 minutes he played while Ricardo Aguilera played the final nine.
The Red Dragons outshot the Pilgrims 20-9 and had a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Oneonta will host Tufts University tomorrow in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at 1 pm on Red Dragon Field. Tufts defeated University of Massachusetts Boston 1-0 after a 20-yard free kick goal by Daniel Yanez in the 75th minute.
