Box Score New Paltz, NY – With about 15 minutes left in regulation, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team looked primed to put away the go-ahead goal against visiting Buffalo State Saturday. The Bengals' Saleman Salim was hit with his second yellow in the 78^th minute and gave the Hawks a man-advantage with the game still scoreless. But a defensive breakdown shortly after resulted in a goal for Buffalo State, which ultimately was the difference in the, 1-0 defeat.

"It was definitely disappointing," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "Mistakes are going to happen, like yesterday against Fredonia we let a runner run free in the box. We missed our mark, but Marc [DePasquale] made up for it with a great save. So when we give away a ball, can we put better pressure on the ball? If we don't put that pressure on, can we track our runs better? We made three big mistakes [that led to the goal]. When you have players like that at Buffalo State they are going to make you pay for that."

What made the loss tougher was how well the Hawks came out in the first 45 minutes. They dominated the Bengals in possession and created ample chances, especially along their right side with Brendan McGaley and Ryan Martinez combining for numerous overlapping runs, which resulted in dangerous crosses inside the box.

With 11 minutes remaining before the break, Martinez earned a free kick just outside the right edge of the box. James Hennessy sailed it in and SUNY New Paltz's Kevin Doorley flicked on the ball with his heel and nearly gave his team the lead, but Bengals keeper Andreas Queen made a good save on the attempt.

"I told them that was the best 45 minutes I've seen a New Paltz team ever play," Clancy said. "The possession was awesome. They were technically sharp, hitting to feet, excellent movement off the ball and we talked about the game plan against Buffalo State with the way they defend. We have to find our players and obviously space between the lines and they did. They did a really good job of it. The only thing missing was the crosses were under hit at times. [Robert Williamson] did a great job on their team of winning a lot the first balls and being able to clear it out."

The Hawks' prominence on the ball reflected in the box score, as they out-shot Buffalo State, 7-0, within the first 45 minutes. But, the Bengals adjusted and looked like a different squad in the second half of play.

The first 20 minutes of the second period was all Bengals. They held possession in SUNY New Paltz's defensive half for the majority of the stretch and earned two free kicks in the center, right outside of the box. Williamson's first attempt at goal was missed wide by inches, while the Hawks' goalkeeper, DePasquale, made the save on the second opportunity.

"It's a difficult environment and you know that Buffalo State didn't have the best first half, so they are going to be fired up," Clancy said. "They had the wind and it helped them and our clearances weren't as good. They pressured more and put us in tight spots. Instead of relieving that pressure with a little of direct play, we were still trying to build and we put ourselves in a lot of pressure. We fouled too much, so we lost momentum for the first 15-20 minutes and they really took advantage and had some good opportunities."

SUNY New Paltz started settling in as the half went on and garnered multiple chances to take the lead. Spencer Ryczek played a little ball inside the six-yard box for Coltan Goodwine, which put him and Queen one-on-one, but the Bengals keeper made the stop.

Ryan Stevens had a breakaway opportunity in the 76^th minute with Mikey Considine the catalyst on the counter attack, blocking a Buffalo State shot and then playing the ball to Stevens running on. But Stevens was taken down by Salim on the play, which earned him his second yellow.

Shortly after, Zakaria Shaibi played a ball through to an open Ali Shawish on the left side. He took a few touches inside the edge of the box and smashed a shot top corner past DePasquale for the score in the 80^th minute.

SUNY New Paltz kept pressing and got another prime opportunity to knot up the score, with Stevens out in front on another break-away, but again Queen was there to make the save. Doorley took the ensuing corner with Sebastian G-S-Archer getting a head on the other end, but Queen was there once more to knock the attempt away, which then solidified the win for Buffalo State.

"I just think it is stepping out on the field after a really good first half and being aware that it's the environment in which their style might change and us being able to counter that with really good play," Clancy said. "It was nothing different in how they attacked. It was just a little bit more defensive pressure moving forward."

The Hawks held the advantage in shots (12-5) and corners (4-2). Queen finished with six saves, while DePasquale registered two.

SUNY New Paltz will have an opportunity to bounce back Friday and Saturday, as it is back home to take on Oswego State and SUNY Cortland, respectively.

"We're going to learn from it and we're going to be definitely improving on defensive discipline, better balance defensively, especially when we go up a guy, not to over commit too many numbers at times," Clancy added. "We could have out-possessed them just with the way we were playing in the first half. We'll go over that and then finishing. We had too many opportunities today, working a little bit more on finishing and striking a ball, just being a little bit more confident in our finishing." 

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