CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The nationally sixth-ranked Cortland men's soccer team scored a goal in each half and held on for a 2-1 victory versus Alfred St. in the first round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs Saturday afternoon at Holloway Field. The Red Dragons improved to 16-2-2 and advanced to the second round to face Case Western Reserve Sunday at 1 p.m. The Spartans defeated Hobart, 3-2, in the second game of the day.
Senior
Jack Coleman (Newark Valley/Maine-Endwell) and sophomore
Scott Schuyler (Cincinnatus) scored Cortland's goals. Senior
Mateo Marra (Ossining) and junior
Cade Denlinger (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown Area) each picked up an assist. Sophomore goalie
Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) stopped one shot.
Junior Andres Mateos (Batavia) scored for Alfred St. Junior Josh Price (Greece/Greece Arcadia) assisted on the goal. Freshman goalie Brayden Fox (Homer) registered five saves.
The Red Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute on Coleman's 10th goal of the season. Marra slipped a pass across the box to Coleman on the left side who buried a one-time shot into the upper right corner.
The 1-0 lead held until the 73rd minute when Schuyler scored his first goal of the season on a header placed inside the right post on Denlinger's cross from the left. The Pioneers made it a one-goal game in the 82nd minute on Mateos' second goal of the season, touching a cross from Price that snuck inside the left post. Alfred St. pushed up looking for the equalizer, but the Red Dragons were able to consistently clear the ball from danger and eventually run out the clock to seal the 2-1 win.
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Cortland 2, Alfred St. 1
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Alfred St.: Andres Mateos 1-0, Josh Price 0-1
Cortland:
Jack Coleman 1-0, Scott Schuylr 1-0,
Mateo Marra 0-1,
Cade Denlinger 0-1
Halftime: Cortland 1, Alfred St. 0
Shots: Cortland 21, Alfred St. 5
Corner Kicks: Cortland 8, Alfred St. 0
Fouls: Alfred St. 16, Cortland 14
Saves: Brayden Fox (Alfred St.) 5 saves (2 GA in 90:00);
Jordan Ott (Cortland) 1 save (1 GA in 90:00)
Record after game: Alfred St. (Pioneers) 17-4-1; Cortland (Red Dragons) 16-2-2Â (ranked sixth nationally in Div. III)
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