Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Despite playing a flawless defensive first half and taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team allowed three unanswered second half goals, falling to SUNY Potsdam 3-1 in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest under sunny skies at Alumni Field on Friday afternoon.

Perseverance paid off for the visiting Bears, who found the New Paltz defense tough to crack in the first half, but capitalized on 13 second half shots (21 in total) to earn the victory with a powerful second half. Potsdam secured the game winner in the 77th minute, when senior midfielder Alessio Vitale raced through the New Paltz defense on a nifty open-field feed from freshman defender Chris Schrum for a 2-1 lead that would hold.

The loss drops New Paltz to 3-8-2, 2-3-0 on the season, while Potsdam improves to 7-5-1, 1-2-1. The Hawks will return to Alumni Field on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. contest against SUNY Plattsburgh. Potsdam travels to SUNY Oneonta for a 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday.

The Hawks, which thwarted every Potsdam offensive attack in the first half, made the most of its four first half shots, taking a 1-0 lead when freshman midfielder Sam Spring (Long Island City, N.Y./NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies) knocked home his first goal of the season off a rebound shot from senior midfielder Bernardo Menendez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/San Martin de Tours) 12 minutes into the contest. The opportunistic Hawks scored on their second shot in the
first half.

Neither team secured many offensive opportunities in the opening half, though Potsdam had a chance to knot the game at 1-1 when Vitale pitched his uncontested shot from 15 feet out just high and over the head of New Paltz junior goalie Steven Domino (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane). Domino made seven saves in the game.

The Bears used their open field speed and relentless attack on goal to score three unanswered second half goals to turn the game's fortunes around. Junior midfielder Alex Minsker accepted a through-ball pass from sophomore midfielder James Turcott in the 53rd minute to tie the game 1-1. Potsdam took the lead for good on Vitale's open space goal and added an all-important insurance goal six minutes later when sophomore forward Ben Firlit corralled a pass from sophomore forward Tom Benedetto along the left side and slid it into the right corner past Domino.

The Hawks got a taste of strong Potsdam defensive pressure in the second half and managed just two shots against junior goalie Alex Pavone, who made three saves in the game, one coming in the second half.