CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland men's soccer team opened up a 2-0 first-half lead and held on for a 2-1 victory versus Fredonia in SUNYAC action Friday afternoon at Jets Field. The Red Dragons improved to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. The Blue Devils dropped to 8-4-1 and 2-2.

Seniors Tyler Kirschner (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) and Daniel Friend (Deer Park) scored Cortland's goals. Sophomores Matt Hellerman (Smithtown/Smithtown West) and Michael Miner (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) each recorded an assist. Junior goalie Connor Young (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) made eight saves.

Junior Aaron Hayes (Hamburg/St. Francis) tallied Fredonia's goal with senior Ryan Keller (East Aurora) assisting on the score. Freshman goalie Ty Bentham (Columbus, IN/Columbus North) turned aside six shots.

Kirschner gave the Red Dragons an early lead, netting his second goal of the season in the fourth minute. Hellerman blasted a long clear out of Cortland's defensive third down the left side. Kirschner outran a Fredonia defender to the ball and beat Bentham one-on-one with a shot to the right of the goal.

Friend made it a 2-0 game in the 30th minute, scoring his fourth goal of the season from near the top of the box on an uncontested shot. The Blue Devils cut the lead in half in the 35th minute. After Keller served a corner kick into the box, Hayes cleaned up on a loose ball with a one-time shot near the left post.

In the scoreless second half, each team generated chances. The Blue Devils nearly tied the game in the 61st minute, but Young denied Keller's open shot from six yards out, sending the ball over the end line. The Red Dragons then had three excellent chances to add an insurance goal. In the 69th minute, Miner drove a clean header from deep in the box just outside of the left post. Six minutes later, Bentham made a save on junior Kevin Carpenter's (Kings Park) bid on a loose ball inside the six, and Miner was denied by Bentham with 2:40 remaining. Fredonia's final chance to score the equalizer came with two minutes remaining, but Young made a save on Keller's uncontested shot from the top of the box.
  
Cortland 2, Fredonia 1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Fredonia: Aaron Hayes 1-0, Ryan Keller 0-1
Cortland: Tyler Kirschner 1-0, Daniel Friend 1-0, Matt Hellerman 0-1, Michael Miner 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 2, Fredonia 1
Shots: Cortland 20, Fredonia 15
Corner Kicks: Fredonia 4, Cortland 3
Fouls: Fredonia 14, Cortland 11
Saves: Ty Bentham (Fredonia) 6 (2 GA in 90:00); Connor Young (Cortland) 8 (1 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 9-2, 4-1 SUNYAC, Fredonia (Blue Devils) 8-4-1, 2-2 SUNYAC