CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior defender Ian Blugh (Staten Island/Curtis) scored a pair of second-half goals to lead the nationally 17th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory in SUNYAC action Wednesday afternoon in a game that was a tale of two halves. The Red Dragons improved to 10-3-2 overall and 4-0-2 in the conference. The Hawks fell to 6-4-3 and 3-2-1.

Senior Riley Williams (Watertown/South Jefferson) and junior Alex Lessman (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) each recorded an assist for Cortland. Freshman goalie Luke van Galen (Georgetown, MA) registered five saves, all in the first half.

Senior Ryan Hilliard (Congers/St. Joseph's Regional) tallied New Paltz's goal. Sophomore goalie Christian Micheli (Carle Place/St. Anthony's) stopped seven shots, five of the saves coming in the second half.

The Hawks outshot the Red Dragons, 8-2, in the opening 45 minutes, holding Cortland without a quality scoring chance. Hilliard gave New Paltz a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute with a one-time volley on a loose ball after the Cortland defense failed to clear the ball out of danger.

The Red Dragons controlled the second half, outshooting New Paltz, 10-0, and holding an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks over the 45 minutes. In the 54th minute, Williams nearly tied the game with an 18-yard blast from the middle of the box, but Micheli made a save on the shot.

Five minutes later, Blugh struck for his first goal of the game and the season. After constant pressure by the Red Dragons resulting in several corner kicks, Cortland eventually capitalized on a set piece. Williams played a short corner into junior Jack Coleman (Newark Valley/Maine-Endwell), received the ball back and served a pass into the box where Blugh finished off a strong header to tie the game at 1-1.

Just over 10 minutes later, Blugh scored the game winner as the Red Dragons continued to dominate. Lessman touched a loose ball over to Blugh on the right side of the box who finished off the play with a shot deposited into the upper left. As the Hawks pushed up offensively to try to score the equalizer, Cortland was able to counter and nearly made it a two-goal game on a 3-on-1 break, but Micheli denied a bid by sophomore Yasin Choukri (Wilton, CT) with a sprawling save. Choukri had another late chance turned aside by Micheli in the 87th minute. New Paltz created one final push that resulted in a corner kick with less than 15 seconds to play, but the ensuing serve into the box was sent harmlessly over the end line as Cortland secured the 2-1 win.

Cortland 2, New Paltz 1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
New Paltz: Ryan Hilliard 1-0
Cortland: Ian Blugh 2-0, Riley Williams 0-1, Alex Lessman 0-1

Halftime: New Paltz 1, Cortland 0
Shots: Cortland 12, New Paltz 8
Corner Kicks: Cortland 11, New Paltz 5
Fouls: Cortland 11, New Paltz 8
Saves: Christian Micheli (New Paltz) 7 saves (2 GA in 90:00); Luke van Galen (Cortland) 5 saves (1 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: New Paltz (Hawks) 6-4-3, 3-2-1 SUNYAC; Cortland (Red Dragons) 10-3-2, 4-0-2 SUNYAC