Box Score

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team (0-1-1) played to a 1-1 draw with the United States Coast Guard Academy (1-0-1) on Saturday in their first matchup of the Gary Smith Invitational hosted by St. Joseph's (LI) College. The Hawks advance to the tournament final against Fairleigh Dickinson-College at Florham after defeating the Bears in a penalty kick shootout.

After a scoreless first half, junior midfielder Alec Johnson (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) scored his first goal of the season off a feed from senior forward Javier Ventas (Madrid, Spain/Santa Maria del Pilar) in the 52nd minute to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. After a strong defensive effort for almost the entire game, the Hawks could not hold the lead in the final 10 minutes of the second half. Coast Guard's John Tarzian managed to put one past junior goalkeeper Steven Domino (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) to tie the game in the 82nd minute and force overtime and the eventual draw.

Domino made five saves en route to his first tie of the season. Coast Guard's Richie Burns stopped eight shots to help keep his team in the game and give it a chance to tie.

Both teams fired off 15 shots in Saturday's stalemate, but the Hawks put nine shots on goal to the Bears' six. Coast Guard held the advantage in corner kicks, earning six compared to four for New Paltz.

The Hawks take on FDU-Florham at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 8, in the Gary Smith Invitational final.