CORTLAND, N.Y. - The New Paltz men's soccer team scored two goals in each half and defeated Cortland, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in SUNYAC action. Despite the loss, the Red Dragons (5-9-2, 4-4-1 SUNYAC) earned the fifth seed in the conference tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded Oneonta for a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Hawks improved to 7-9-2 overall and 2-7 in the conference.

For Cortland, juniors Andrew Schwert (Buffalo/West Seneca East) and Steve Bartkowski (Buffalo/Kenmore East) each scored a goal, while senior Logan Keeney (Virgil/Cortland) and sophomore Lukas Wear (South Salem/John John-Cross River) collected one assist apiece. Graduate student Steve Axtell (Franklin/Sidney) made one save.

Sophomore James Altadonna (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) led New Paltz with two goals. Junior Dave Gardiner (Malta/Ballston Spa) and freshman Nicholas DiPaola (Huntington) chipped in with a goal and assist each, while sophomores Joe Emberger (Poughkeepsie/Roy C. Ketcham) and Tommy Garafola (Richmond Hill/St. Francis Prep) recorded one assist apiece. Junior goalie Peter Carmel (Ronkonkoma/The Stony Brook School) stopped one shot.

New Paltz opened up a quick 2-0 lead with goals in the ninth and 11th minutes. Gardiner started the scoring when he settled a cross from Garafola in the box and tucked a shot into the upper right of the goal. Less than three minutes later, Gardiner fed a pass to Altadonna on the left side, who one-timed a shot inside the right post.

Cortland made it a 2-1 game, three minutes, 15 seconds before the half. Keeney's original shot was deflected by a defender and Schwert jumped on the rebound with a one-time left-footed shot inside the left post.

The Hawks, however, went ahead, 3-1, just 2:48 into the second half when DiPaola sent a shot inside the right post after he carried into the right side of the box. In the 60th minute, the Red Dragons had an excellent chance to pull to within a goal, but New Paltz senior Anton Shipman (Howard Beach/Molloy) made a diving clear of freshman Simon Park's (Williamsville/Williamsville East) shot toward an open net. After losing a player to a red card in the 66th minute, Cortland capitalized on a corner kick in the 68th minute. Carmel went high to play a ball by Cortland junior Matt Kutzer (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius) but the ball slipped from his hands to the far post. Wear put a touch on the ball and Bartkowski finished off the play with his third goal of the season.

New Paltz struck for an insurance goal in the 75th minute. Altadonna one-timed a pass from DiPaola on the right side from eight yards out for his team-high 11th goal of the season.

 New Paltz 4, Cortland 2

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)
  New Paltz: James Altadonna 2-0, Dave Gardiner 1-1, Nicholas DiPaola 1-1, Joe Emberger 0-1, Tommy Garafola 0-1
  Cortland: Andrew Schwert 1-0, Steve Bartkowski 1-0, Logan Keeney 0-1, Lukas Wear 0-1

Halftime: New Paltz 2, Cortland 1
Shots: Cortland 11, New Paltz 10
Corner Kicks: Cortland 8, New Paltz 0
Fouls: Cortland 15, New Paltz 11
Saves: Peter Carmel (New Paltz) 1 (2 GA in 90:00), 1 Team save; Steve Axtell (Cortland) 1 (4 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 5-9-2, 4-4-1 SUNYAC; New Paltz (Hawks) 7-9-2, 2-7 SUNYAC