CORTLAND, N.Y. – The nationally 20th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team scored goals early in each half and defeated Buffalo St., 2-0, Saturday afternoon in SUNYAC play at Holloway Field. The Red Dragons stretched their unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive games, improving to 9-1-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Bengals dropped to 5-3-2 and 1-3.
Juniors
Yasin Choukri (Wilton, CT) and
Jack Pinnata (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) tallied the goals for the Red Dragons with Pinnata's being the first of his career. Senior
Mateo Marra (Ossining) and junior
Matt Shultz (Oneonta) collected assists.
Sophomore goalie
Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) made two routine saves in the first half in posting his fifth shutout of the season for the Red Dragons. Junior goalie Shae Wirt (Overland Park, KS/St. Thomas Aquinas) registered nine saves, several on point-blank shots by Cortland, for the Bengals.
Choukri gave Cortland a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute with his sixth goal of the season. Shultz served a pass over the top of Buffalo St.'s back line, and Choukri struck a shot from the right side of the box inside the left post.
Pinnata added an insurance goal just 1:20 into the second half, scoring on a header off a free-kick serve from Marra. The Red Dragons continued to press throughout the half, ending with a 13-3 shot advantage over the final 45 minutes, but Wirt repeatedly denied quality scoring bids as he finished with seven second-half saves to hold the score at 2-0.
Cortland 2, Buffalo St. 0
Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Buffalo St.: no scoring
Cortland:
Yasin Choukri 1-0,
Jack Pinnata 1-0,
Matt Shultz 0-1,
Mateo Marra 0-1
Halftime: Cortland 1, Buffalo St. 0
Shots: Cortland 21, Buffalo St. 8
Corner Kicks: Cortland 8, Buffalo St. 3
Fouls: Cortland 14, Buffalo St. 9
Saves: Shae Wirt (Buffalo St.) 9 saves (2 GA in 90:00);
Jordan Ott (Cortland) 2 saves (0 GA in 90:00)
Record after game: Buffalo St. (Bengals) 5-3-2, 1-3 SUNYAC; Cortland (Red Dragons) 9-1-1, 3-0 SUNYAC (ranked 20th nationally in Div. III)
