CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Junior Miguel Tunas (Carmel/North Salem) scored his second goal of the season to lead the nationally 18th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team to a hard fought 2-1 victory versus Potsdam on Friday evening in a SUNYAC matchup. The Red Dragons improved to 9-1-2 with the win, while the Bears fell to 4-6-1. 

Tunas scored the Red Dragons' first goal of the game with 3:35 left in the first half on a one-timer rebound after a Cortland corner kick. Just 23 seconds later, junior Jake Keller (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) added to Cortland's scoring, as he received a through ball from senior Migell Ormsby (Kingston, Jamaica/DeWitt Clinton (NY) and sent a shot inside the left post, giving Cortland its second goal of the game. Potsdam's junior goalie Jakeb Mitchell (Brockport) put forth a great defensive effort, as he turned aside eight shots from the unrelenting Cortland offense, giving his team an opportunity to stay in the game. Cortland junior goalie Kiernan Kirby (Northport) tallied two saves. 

Despite first half struggles for the Bears, they came out of the locker room looking like a different team. Potsdam seemed to control the pace for the beginning of the second half, and found its first real scoring opportunity of the game. In the 55th minute, sophomore Justin Crovetto (Highland Mills/Monroe-Woodbury) struck a ball towards the Cortland goal from 25 yards out that was out of the reach of  Kirby. The ball collided with the crossbar and was eventually cleared out of the Cortland zone. Just five minutes later, Potsdam got on the board when senior Tyler Mullery (Holtsville/Sachem East) knocked a ball past Kirby into the back of the net after two blocked Potsdam shots couldn't be corralled by anyone on the Cortland defense. 

Despite momentum being in favor of Potsdam, it was Cortland that attempted to keep its foot on the pedal. In the 73rd minute, junior Sam Fuller (Liverpool) ripped a shot at the Potsdam goal, which Mitchell had to leap to make the save, forcing the ball over the end line. That save led to a Cortland corner kick, where Brandon Gracias (Poughkeepsie/F.D. Roosevelt) sent a header on goal that was again saved by Mitchell, ending the Cortland scoring threat. 

Despite a late-game push by Potsdam, the Bears weren't able to generate any other scoring threats. Tunas held off a defender as time winded down, giving Cortland the 2-1 victory. The victory improved the Red Dragons' SUNYAC record to 3-1, as the Bears dropped to 0-4 in conference play. 

Cortland 2, Potsdam 1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Potsdam: Tyler Mullery 1-0, Matt Saddlemire 0-1
Cortland: Miguel Tunas 1-0, Jake Keller 1-0, Migell Ormsby 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 2, Potsdam 0
Shots: Cortland 22, Potsdam 7
Corner Kicks: Cortland 14, Potsdam 1
Fouls: Potsdam 12, Cortland 8
Saves: Jakeb Mitchell (Potsdam) 8 (2 GA in 90:00; Kiernan Kirby (Cortland) 2 (1 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 9-1-2, 3-1 SUNYAC (ranked 18th in Div. III); Potsdam (Bears) 4-6-1, 0-4 SUNYAC