Posted: Nov 21, 2015
Haverford, PA - The Oneonta men's soccer team added another shutout win to its ledger today with its 2-0 blanking of MIT in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Oneonta (18-3-1) will play in the national quarterfinals tomorrow at 1 p.m. against host Haverford with a berth to Kansas City on the line.
"It was a terrific win on a difficult surface," said Head Coach Iain Byrne. "We created some great chances early and, once we got the lead, we managed the game perfectly."
The Red Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the match on junior Anthony Passiatore (South Setauket/Ward Melville)'s third goal of the season. The First Team All-SUNYAC midfielder hit a shot that deflected off a defender into the upper right corner of the goal.
Oneonta took its one-goal lead into halftime, as each team registered four shots.
Senior Jake Sutherland (Syracuse/West Genesee) put Oneonta up by two goals in the 58th minute when he scored an unassisted goal. Sutherland was able to get a touch on a ball in the middle of a scuffle in front of the goal where it scooted by the MIT keeper who was down. It was Sutherland's team-leading eighth goal of the season.
As has been the case for the last two-thirds of the season, the defense played remarkably in holding the Engineers to just four shots on goal, all of which were saved by senior keeper Vincent Pellegrino (Baldwin/Baldwin). Pellegrino added to his program record with his eighth consecutive shutout while adding another shutout to his career mark, which now stands at 29. His streak of consecutive scoreless minutes stands at 730 minutes and 37 seconds.
Oneonta's opponent tomorrow defeated St. Lawrence in the first game of the day, 2-0. The No. 7 Fords (18-3) won its 16th straight game and have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in the NCAA era.
On tomorrow's game Byrne said, "MIT was a tough opponent and tomorrow we go into the lions den against possibly the best team in the country in a difficult environment."
