CORTLAND, N.Y. – Mateo Marra (Ossining) scored his ninth goal of the season from the penalty spot, as the nationally-12th ranked Cortland men's soccer team opened up State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play with a 1-1 draw against New Paltz on Saturday afternoon on Holloway Field. Cortland is now 6-1-3 (0-0-1 SUNYAC) on the year, while New Paltz is 4-4-1 (0-0-1 SUNYAC).
 
Marra led Cortland with three shots on goal, while Yasin Choukri (Wilton, CT) had two shots on goal. Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) made two saves in 52:41 in goal, while Will Stanley (Virginia Beach, VA/Floyd E. Kellam) supervised a scoreless final 37:19 while making two saves.
 
Brandon Dhanoolal scored a goal for New Paltz, while Christian Micheli made six saves in goal.
 
Cortland had an excellent opportunity in the third minute after Alex Lessman (Plainview/Plainview-Old Bethpage) stepped into midfield to intercept a pass, then played a through ball behind the defense to Choukri. Choukri took the pass in stride, but saw his shot deflected just wide of the right post by Micheli.
 
Micheli then made a strong save to deny Jordan Miller (Jerico) on a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 14th minute. New Paltz had a trio of shots blocked in the final ten minutes of the half as the game remained scoreless into halftime.
 
The Hawks struck first in the 48th minute, as Dhanoolal floated a ball from 40 yards out on a free kick over Ott's outstretched arms and into the top right corner of the net. The Red Dragon pushed for an equalizer, and came very close to tying the score in the 70th minute, as Choukri's shot from close range was saved well by Micheli after a cross by Marra.
 
Cortland tied the score in the 77th minute after the referee awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box. Marra stepped up and calmly slotted the spot kick into the top left corner of the net.
 
The Red Dragons, enthused by the equalizing goal, attempted to find a late winner in the final minutes. Matt Shultz (Oneonta) had a shot saved by Micheli in the 85th minute, and Marra's follow-up shot flashed wide right of the post as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
   
Cortland 1, New Paltz 1

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Cortland: Mateo Marra 1-0
New Paltz: Brandon Dhaloolal 1-0


Halftime: Cortland 0, New Paltz 0
Shots: Cortland 14, New Paltz 14
Corner Kicks: Cortland 6, New Paltz 4
Fouls: New Paltz 21, Cortland 16
 
Saves: Jordan Ott (Cortland) 2 saves (1 GA in 52:41), Will Stanley (Cortland) 2 saves (0 GA in 37:19); Christian Micheli 6 saves (1 GA in 90:00)
Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-1-3, 0-0-1 SUNYAC (ranked 12th nationally in Div. III); New Paltz (Hawks) 4-4-1, 0-0-1 SUNYAC