Oswego, NY —The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team completed another successful comeback, as it scored a last minute, game-winning goal to defeat Oswego State in an electric 2-1 game Friday.

"It was an impressive second half by the team," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy, "They adjusted well to the defensive tactics Oswego threw at us and we were able to create enough chances for  the win. In the end, great execution by the team."

SUNY New Paltz (12-3 overall, 7-1 SUNYAC) came back after a tough loss to Buffalo State on Oct. 16 to secure its eighth win in its last nine games. The victory also gave the Hawks their best win total since the Stuart Robinson-led 2004 team went 12-10, and are a win away from securing its best winning percentage since 1988, when the Art Goon led team had a .722 winning percentage.

Both teams started slow on offense, with a third minute corner kick for SUNY New Paltz and an eighth minute shot by the Lakers Liam Rothar represented the only offense for either team. That changed instantly in the 11th minute, when a pass back to graduate student goalkeeper Marc DePasquale was intercepted, creating an open net opportunity. The Lakers' Kieran Gilroy passed inside the box to Ryan Young, who kicked it right into the goal to get Oswego State on the board first. 

The Hawks played aggressively following the opening score, as they kept the ball on the Lakers' side of the field for the majority of the half. An opportunity in front of the net in the 17th minute for sophomore midfielder Brian Boylan was headed toward goal but quickly picked up by Oswego State goalkeeper Brian Terra. In a span of eight minutes, from the 19th to the 27th minutes, SUNY New Paltz had three corner kicks and five shot attempts; both shots by freshman forward Gino Mazzella were saved on tremendous plays by Terra to keep the Hawks off the board.

SUNY New Paltz had six corners and three of seven shots on goal at halftime, but no score. The only shot on goal for Oswego State was Young's goal, as the Hawks kept the hosts away from their net for the remainder of the half.

The second half started with two immediate opportunities for junior midfielder Kenneth Roby, but his first shot in the 46th minute was saved and the second went wide. In the 49th minute, SUNY New Paltz finally got on the board and tied the game when Roby's corner kick was deflected by Kane, but found Mazzella for his third goal of the season, an easy score into the left corner. He nearly had a second goal 47 seconds later off a cross from sophomore defender Colden Abbott, but his shot went well over the net.

The Lakers' offensive attack began to come alive later in the game, finding more open opportunities than they did in the first half. In the 57th minute, Kyle Hanner's header chance hit the right post and bounced out of bounds. Meanwhile, the Hawks continued their attack when the ball found Oswego's half, but the shots weren't putting much pressure on Terra, as sophomore midfielder Papis Konate's attempt through traffic was picked up, representing one of the only four shots on goal after the Mazzella goal.

A wild sequence in the 75th to 76th minutes represented the Lakers best chance to take the lead late. A 75th minute attempt by Nikola Kovacevic was stopped by DePasquale, who stood his ground on the hard shot from short range. With Oswego maintaining possession on the Hawks side of the field and creating chaos, Ryan Young's shot attempt was knocked down by DePasquale, then Hanner's attempt from the top of the box eight seconds later was also saved on a leaping catch. A yellow card on SUNY New Paltz senior defender Jonathan Tola in the 82nd minute near the goal — which almost came inside the penalty box —led to an excellent chance from close range for the Lakers, but Caleb Munski's shot attempt went wide.

"Every game is going to have those moments where momentum shifts, and chances are created by the other team," Clancy said. "We defended the box well and Marc made the saves that he needed to make to keep the game within our grasp. A great effort all around."

The Hawks raced up the field with just three minutes left and got close to the Oswego goal when a foul was called on Rothar on a slide tackle near the box. Joseph DiPreta stepped up to take the resulting free kick in the 88th minute and the freshmen found sophomore defender Tim Kane, who's header tipped off of Terra and went into the goal for the go-ahead score, his second goal of the season.

With less than two minutes left to play, the Lakers only opportunity for a miraculous, game-tying score was a long ball towards the goal that was caught by DePasquale. Good SUNY New Paltz defense kept Oswego State from getting another chance as the clock expired. 

"The team defended well even under immense pressure," Clancy said. "Oswego 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."

SUNY New Paltz had 18 shots, seven of them on goal, while just four of Oswego State's 12 shots were on target. The Hawks also had eight corner kicks compared to Oswego State's two. After a relatively calm first half with just three fouls, both teams combined for five fouls and three yellow cards in the second half.

After not recording a save in the first half, DePasquale finished with three saves — all in the 76th minute — in the second half to move his season total up to 38. Terra had five saves in the match.

The win clinched the Hawks at least the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinals of the SUNYAC postseason tournament. With Cortland's 1-0 win against Oneonta Friday, SUNY New Paltz will play the No. 9 ranked Red Dragons for the top seed in the playoffs in both team's final SUNYAC action on Saturday.

The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

"We will prepare the same way we prepare for every game," Clancy said. "The guys know every game matters and have approached each one with the same level of importance. We will prepare our game plan, go over it as a group, and make sure that we execute on both sides of the ball. Cortland is a good team, but we have the mentality and ability to beat anyone and I am certain this group is ready for the challenge tomorrow."

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