CORTLAND, NY – Josh Carroll netted the game-winning goal with 2:40 remaining in regulation to lift the Cortland men's soccer team to a 2-1 home victory over Catholic in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Sunday evening on Grady Field.
 
With the victory, Cortland is now 14-1-5 on the season and advances to the NCAA "Sweet 16" for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Red Dragons, ranked ninth nationally by United Soccer Coaches, will face nationally-second ranked Augsburg in a third round matchup next weekend. Date, time, and location for the sectional rounds will be determined after the completion of all contests in the second round.
 
Catholic suffers its first loss of the season, and finishes the year at 14-1-6. The Cardinals claimed the Landmark Conference title and earned their first NCAA victory since 2022 after knocking off defending-national champion Amherst, 1-0 in overtime, in a first-round contest on Saturday evening.
 
Carroll's goal was his team-leading 12th goal of the season. He has also scored in the NCAA playoffs for the second straight year, after also netting a goal against Messiah in the first round of 2024. Owen Brant (Loudonville/Shaker) tallied his fourth goal of the year for Cortland's first goal.
 
Alberto Reyes (New Canaan, CT) and Dylan Pederson (Earlswood, England/Reigate) each registered an assist, for their first points with the Red Dragons. Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) made nine saves for Cortland to record the victory.
 
Catholic's goal was scored by Corey Magro, with an assist from Graham Leary.
 
The Cardinals fired the first shot on target of the game in the 11th minute, a shot by Carson Shamoo that was saved in the center of the goal by Ott.
 
Catholic made a substitution in the 22nd minute to bring on Donik Elshani, which immediately began to create problems for the Red Dragons defensively. In the 28th minute, Elshani fired a shot from the right side off of the left post, and then had another shot saved by a great save by Ott to divert the shot over the crossbar less than a minute later.
 
Cortland had its first shot attempt in the 32nd minute, as Carroll knocked a shot from the left side of the six-yard area off of the left post and out of play.
 
Just before halftime, Jake Hutter (Smithtown/Smithtown West) had a shot from the edge of the 18-yard area denied with a solid block from a Catholic defender to keep the game scoreless into halftime.
 
The Cardinals scored the opening goal of the game in the 49th minute. After a cross from the right side of the field, the ball was collected to the left of the six-yard box by Leary, who sent a cross back to the right for a header at the right post by Magro.
 
Cortland very quickly responded to equalize less than three minutes later off a set piece after Brant won a free kick in a dangerous position at the edge of the 18-yard area. Reyes curled the ball off of a Catholic player in the defensive wall, and the ball popped into the air. Pederson was first to react to the ball, outjumping defenders and flicking the ball to the left post, where Brant headed back into the goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the 52nd minute.
 
Ott made three saves in under two minutes of action just before the hour mark to deny Catholic from scoring another goal. The senior then came up with a crucial save at full extension in the 80th minute, leaping to the top right corner to stop a shot from Catholic's Ben Zimmer.    
 
In the 85th minute, Ott made his ninth and final save of the contest, going to the ground to block a shot by Catholic's Seth Michalak that skidded off the snowy turf and bounced up into the air off of Ott's chest, before being collected by the Cortland keeper.
 
In the 88th minute, Cortland was able to tally the winning goal as a result of a relentless pressing effort from Carroll and a bit of misfortune for the Cardinals' back line. Chimelu Blandin (Jacksonville, FL/Sandalwood) sent a high ball from near the midfield line that took a bounce into the air off the turf and towards a Catholic defender. However, the defender slipped and collided with Carroll, before another defender attempted to clear the ball unsuccessfully. Carroll was able to intercept the clearance attempt inside the 18-yard area, and knock a right-footed shot into the center of the goal in front of an onrushing goalkeeper, before heading to the corner flag for a slide in the snow and a team celebration.
 
Cortland was able to hold off a furious assault from the Cardinals in the final minutes of action, including one final corner kick for Catholic in the final 10 seconds of the game, to secure the victory.