BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The nationally 12th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team bolted out to a 4-0 lead in the first half and held on for a 5-3 victory at Buffalo St. in SUNYAC action Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons won their 10th consecutive, their longest winning streak since the 2016 season, and improved to 10-1-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Bengals dropped to 7-3 and 1-2 with the loss.

Senior Anthony Ruggiero (Holtsville/Sachem East) paced the Cortland offense with two goals and an assist. Graduate student Nicholas Pfeiffer (Commack) tallied one goal and one assist, graduate students Blake Aronson (Huntington Station/Walt Whitman) and Scott Cebollero (Commack) each netted a goal, sophomore Jack Coleman (Endwell/Maine-Endwell) collected two assists and senior Mikey Lanzetta (Somers) contributed one assist. Junior goalie Braden Melveney (Syracuse/Cicero-North Syracuse) registered nine saves.

Theo Pencic scored twice and recorded an assist for the Bengals. Zak Shaibi added a goal, and Trevor Moreland contributed an assist. Goalie Dylan Guarino made six saves.

Ruggiero opened the scoring just 1:40 into the game. After a Buffalo St. turnover, Ruggiero scored on a rebound after an initial save by Guarino. Ruggiero made it a 2-0 score in the 19th minute when he chested in a cross from Coleman in the 19th minute. Aronson followed with his team-high eighth goal of the season, finishing off a give-and-go with Ruggiero in the 20th minute. The lead grew to 4-0 in the 27th minute. On a restart, Pfeiffer tapped the ball to Cebollero, who blasted a shot into the upper left corner. Shaibi put Buffalo St. on the scoreboard just under three minutes later, but Pfeiffer pushed the lead to 5-1 at the break when he scored at the near post after a cross from Lanzetta.

The Bengals chipped into the lead in the second half on a pair of Pencic goals. Pencic scored his first 3:41 into the half off an assist from Musa. He then made it a 5-3 score in the 70th minute, converting a penalty kick. The Bengals continued to pressure, forcing Melveney to make six of his nine saves, but Cortland held on for the 5-3 win.

Cortland 5, Buffalo St. 3

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Anthony Ruggiero 2-1, Nicholas Pfeiffer 1-1, Blake Aronson 1-0, Scott Cebollero 1-0, Jack Coleman 0-2, Mikey Lanzetta 0-1
Buffalo St.: Theo Pencic 2-1, Zak Shaibi 1-0, Trevor Moreland 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 5, Buffalo St. 1
Shots: Cortland 17, Buffalo St. 15
Corner Kicks: Buffalo St. 4, Cortland 1
Fouls: Cortland 15, Buffalo St. 11
Saves: Braden Melveney (Cortland) 9 saves (3 GA in 90:00), Dylan Guarino (Buffalo St.) 6 saves (5 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 10-1-1, 4-0 SUNYAC; Buffalo St. (Bengals) 7-3, 1-2 SUNYAC