Fredonia, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team won its seventh in a row Friday in a tight 1-0 victory over Fredonia State.

SUNY New Paltz (11-2 overall, 6-0 SUNYAC), playing its first match since the program was ranked 21st in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Association, moved into sole possession of first place in the SUNYAC. It also secured its fifth straight win against the Blue Devils (6-7, 1-5 SUNYAC). The Hawks are now one win away from securing the program's best win total since 1988, when the Art Goon led team went 12-4-2.

"We knew this group had tremendous potential and we believed we had the ability to enter the national picture," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "It's a testament to the work they put in every day and the focus on the process and the little things we constantly work on to improve and be better."

The match started off slow offensively for both teams. Graduate student defender Tommy Jelstrom's fourth minute attempt that was saved by Blue Devils' goalkeeper William Richardson was the only shot recorded for either team for the first 40 minutes of the game. Multiple offside and foul calls, including a yellow card on Ryan Hillard in the 36th minute, halted attempts to get into the box, and the Blue Devils' four corner kick opportunities were well defended by the Hawks and amounted to nothing. 

A free kick attempt by Fredonia's Jackson Retzer in the 39th minute was grabbed and saved by graduate student goalkeeper Marc DePasquale. SUNY New Paltz got up the field just a minute later and senior midfielder Ryan Stevens had his shot attempt saved by Richardson. Both teams were kept off the board for the remainder of the half.

The second half started with similar strong defense from both sides. However, in the 50th minute, Fredonia found its way into the box with its best scoring chance in the game, but the attempt was waved off with an offsides call. Sophomore midfielder Papis Konate's low right attempt two minutes later was saved by Richardson.

The deadlock finally broke in the 61st minute, when junior Philip Varner found a pass from beyond the box in front of the goal, then slipped past a diving Richardson trying to scoop up the ball, and tapped in the open net shot to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. It was Varner's fourth goal of the season. An argument from the Blue Devils about a potential missed offsides call led to two yellow cards for Kaleb Steward and Sam Wagner. Varner nearly had a second goal in the 64th minute, but his low liner attempt from the top of the box was beautifully saved by Richardson on a dive.

Fredonia found itself in SUNY New Paltz territory more often than it had earlier in the game throughout the remainder of the half. Parker Ange discovered open space near the goal in the 73rd minute, but his attempt was knocked out of bounds by DePasquale. The resulting corner kick was well defended again by the Hawks.

Both defenses kept things quiet for the next 16 minutes, but a foul by Jelstrom began a wild end to the game. The ball stayed on SUNY New Paltz's half of the field nearly the entire time after the free kick, and the Hawks defense forced two corner kicks. The first set piece was deflected out of bounds for another corner on the other side of the field and the second attempt marked the best chance for Fredonia to tie the game. The kick was well placed, and Robert Aboagye headed the ball towards the goal, but it hit off the top of the crossbar and went out of bounds. With just 37 seconds remaining, that effectively sealed the victory for the Hawks.

"The team defended well even under immense pressure," Clancy said. "Fredonia is always a difficult team to play and they close out games with a high level of pressure and intensity to create chances. We were up against it, but the group worked hard to defend the box well and preserve the shutout."

All nine shot attempts in the game — SUNY New Paltz's five and Fredonia's four — were on goal. While the Hawks had nine fouls compared to six for the Blue Devils.

DePasquale had four saves to move his season total up to 35 and earn his SUNYAC-leading eighth shutout of the season. Richardson also had four saves in the match.

"We had to move a few pieces around today and guys did a good job of stepping up in key spots to help get the win and shutout," Clancy said. "Not our best performance, but after a slow start, it was a good response in the second half."

SUNY New Paltz enters the toughest stretch of the season Saturday when it takes on Buffalo State. Following its match against the Bengals, the Hawks will end its SUNYAC schedule at Oswego State on Oct. 23 and a crucial, potential first place clinching match at SUNY Cortland on Oct. 24.

Even with the tough schedule for one of the best teams in program history, Clancy said his team will approach those games one at a time.

"Every team in this conference can win on any given day, so you always must be locked in, bring a high work ethic and play as a unit," he said. "Our focus now is on Buffalo State and getting prepared to battle another very good opponent. We will be ready."

The match at Buffalo State is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. Saturday.

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