Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Battling a formidable opponent in SUNY Plattsburgh, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team surrendered two early first half goals, and despite battling heartily in the second half, were unable to mount the offensive firepower necessary in falling to the Cardinals 2-0 in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest under bright sunshine at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals had all of the game's scoring in the first 22 minutes, getting goals at the 3:34 and 21:35 marks respectively. The first goal, tallied by senior forward Tom Greene, came off a rebound deflection in the box and past New Paltz junior goalie Andres Montoya (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue). The second Cardinals goal was highlight material, and came off a free kick by senior midfielder Matt Hamilton. His curving shot tucked neatly into the left corner of the New Paltz goal, providing Plattsburgh with a strong 2-0 lead.

The Hawks now drop to 3-9-2, 2-4-0 SUNYAC and will next travel to Hunter College for a 5:00 p.m. game on October 15. Plattsburgh improves to 9-3-1, 3-2-0 and returns to SUNYAC play at home against Buffalo State on October 18 at 3:00 p.m.

Montoya made seven saves in the game, three in the second half that were especially spectacular. In the 81st minute, Plattsburgh junior forward Nick Parrella had a breakaway attempt that was adeptly smothered by Montoya along the right side of the cage. In the final nine minutes of the game, Montoya stopped a point blank shot by freshman forward Jonathan Gamboa and bottled up a breakaway attempt by senior forward Steve Zacharczyk.

Plattsburgh goalie Mitchell Jordan wasn't particularly tested throughout the contest. Thanks to a strong midfield presence by his Cardinals defense, which stymied much of the Hawks' push forward, he only had to make one save. It was a beauty, however, coming in the early stages of the game and off the foot off New Paltz senior midfielder Bernardo Menendez (Buenos Aries, Argentina/San Martin de Tours), who rifled a shot at the right side of the goal.

New Paltz had nine shots in the game, six coming in the first half. Plattsburgh had 15 shots, eight of which came in the first 45 minutes.