Box Score 2011 Men's Soccer Senior Day Gallery
Box ScoreNEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team (8-9-1) fell to non-conference Drew University (15-2-0), 1-0, Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field on Senior Day.
The match was the Hawks' last prior to competing in the 2011 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament. The Hawks clinched a spot in the SUNYAC Tournament on Saturday, defeating Buffalo State in a 3-2 decision to grab the sixth seed in the conference tournament.
Despite already having locked up its positioning in postseason play, New Paltz gave Drew a run for its money, holding the Rangers to a scoreless tie at half. Senior goalkeeper
Tom Viscardi (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) minded the net for the entirety of the first period, saving seven shots with no goals allowed, before giving way to freshman goalkeeper
Andres Montoya (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue) at half. Montoya finished with three saves, playing the entire second stanza.
The Rangers broke into the scoring column at 67:23, when Matthew Gragnano found himself alone in the offensive third after a midfield pass from Michael Pezzuti led him through the defense. Gragnano evaded an oncoming defender from behind and was able to beat Montoya to the right side of the net for the game's only marker.
Senior forward
James McGaley (Babylon, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) led the Hawks with two shots on goal in a game where New Paltz was outshot, 21-10. Freshman midfielder
Stephen Browne (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) also took two shots.
Thirteen seniors were recognized for their time with the team prior to the game during a Senior Day ceremony, and head coach
Gene Ventriglia started a lineup made up entirely of senior players. They were: forward
Jimmy Altadonna (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa); midfielders
Joe Emberger (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and
Michael Santalesa (New Hyde Park, N.Y./St. Francis Prep); defenders
Evan Martel (West Sayville, N.Y./Sayville),
Brendan Ujvary (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park),
Robert Wexler (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) and
Jamal Lis-Simmons (Highland, N.Y./Highland); midfielder/forwards
Tommy Garafola (Richmond Hill, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and
Stephen Bafumi (Meriden, Conn./Francis T. Maloney); defender/midfielder
Dimitris Alexiou (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and Viscardi in goal. McGaley and defender
James Berbrick (Melville, N.Y./Walt Whitman) both came into the game early in the first half.
The sixth-seeded Hawks, having now completed their regular season, next play on Saturday, Oct. 29, against No. 3 SUNY Geneseo in the quarterfinals of the SUNYAC Tournament. The game will be contested in Geneseo, N.Y., at 1 p.m. The winner of that contest will go on to face No. 2 The College at Brockport on Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Brockport, N.Y., in the semifinals.
