Box Score New Paltz, NY —The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team dropped a 4-2 game against visiting William Patterson University Tuesday at the South Turf Field.
The Hawks (10-5-1) scheduled the non-conference match up ahead of a big State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular season finale Saturday against Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta looming. SUNY New Paltz coach
Kyle Clancy strategically set up the game against the Pionneers, knowing they have a similar look to the Red Dragons.
"I think it is what we needed heading into Saturday, because it's the same type of team we're going to face," Clancy said. "We have to defend better. I thought the back line got shredded. I didn't think we were organized enough as a unit and it showed. Even in the second half, we played better… but one ball beats you and you're down 4-1 and when you're inching back, crawling back, one ball over the top can't beat you. So, just some things we got to improve on."
William Patterson (11-4-1) got on the board early, as Christopher Fuentes gave the Pioneers the lead after putting away a low-played ball across the six-yard box from Keysean Brant-Sharp.
Fuentes doubled the lead 23 minutes later, with Brant-Sharp again setting him up, this time at the top of the box where Fuentes one-timed a hard strike into the right corner for the goal.
Jordan Saling then added the Pioneers third goal in the 39
th minute on a penalty kick to boost the advantage to 3-0 at the half.
"It wasn't our best day overall as a unit defensively and even that being said we had chances to finish, we just didn't put them away," Clancy said. "They were a better team and we're going to learn from it."
The Hawks upped their game in the second half and were determined to make a late rally.
Ryan Martinez got it started in the 58
th minute, hitting a strike from atop the box that dipped past goalkeeper Gabriel Reyes (three saves).
Martinez nearly trimmed the deficit to one five minutes later, getting on the end of a through ball played in just inside the 25-yard box. Martinez one-timed his attempt that looked all-but-in, but was just inches too high, hitting off the cross bar and ricocheting back in play where the Pioneers cleared.
The almost-goal turned into a two goal swing, as 30 seconds later William Patterson came storming down the field with a ball played over the top, leaving them one-on-one with Hawks goalkeeper
John Guzzo. Guzzo came out and got enough of the player coming down for the foul, resulting in a penalty kick. Cameron Allen stepped and finished the penalty kick to push the Pioneers lead to 4-1.
"I mean, it's just finishing the chances. It was a good strike, just inches. But, you're not going to score on every opportunity, even if he doesn't hit that, we have to defend better," Clancy said. "We can't let a ball over the top beat us and that is the frustrating thing. Coming out of a weekend where we played very well, it was not good enough — stuff to work on."
Coltan Goodwine cut the William Patterson lead in half in the 79
th minute, sending a beautiful 35-yard strike into the back of the net for his first of the year. But, the Hawks couldn't put another away and ultimately took their fifth loss of the season.
Marc DePasquale got the start in goal and made one save in the loss, while Guzzo made his first appearance in eight games since dealing with a hamstring injury early in the season. The senior made two saves in the outing.
"Just getting him a little bit of game action, working on angles, working on positioning, just trying to get him back ahead of Senior Day," Clancy said of Guzzo.
Kevin Doorley led the team with six shots, followed by Martinez with four. Overall SUNY New Paltz out-shot the Pioneers, 15-11 in the game, but William Patterson had more shots on frame, 7-5. The Hawks held the advantage in corners earned, 4-3.
SUNY New Paltz hopes to bounce back Saturday when it takes on SUNY Oneonta on the South Turf Field. The game will not only serve as Senior Day for the Hawks, but will also be SUNY New Paltz's annual Heniz Ahlmeyer game.
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