NEW PALTZ, NY – The Red Dragons registered their fifth consecutive shutout, and Mateo Kanakaris (Glen Head/North Shore) assisted on a pair of second-half goals, as the nationally 11th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team began State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action with a 2-0 win at New Paltz. Cortland improves to 6-1-2 (1-0-0 SUNYAC), while New Paltz drops to 5-2-2 (0-1-0 SUNYAC).
 
Josh Carroll (Port Jefferson Station/Comsewogue) netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season, and Sam LaMendola (Buffalo/Williamsville South) scored for the third time this year. Kanakaris registered his first two points as a Red Dragon in just his second game played. Jordan Ott made six saves in goal for the Red Dragons, his sixth shutout of the year. 
 
Joe Washington made two saves for the Hawks, while Colin Brant recorded three shots on target for New Paltz. 
 
The Hawks forced Ott into making two saves in the opening five minutes of action, with Brant taking two shots on target that Ott stopped. Cortland registered its first shot attempt in the 16th minute, a shot by Jake Hutter (Smithtown/Smithtown West) that was saved by Washington.
 
Ott made three more saves through the remainder of the half to keep the game scoreless into halftime, stopping a shot by Kieran Weber in the 23rd minute and making two saves in the 28th minute on shots by Ryan Zindler and Owen Joyce. 
 
Early in the second half, Ott made his sixth and final save of the contest on a shot by Brant to once again keep New Paltz off the board. 
 
With over a half hour remaining in the second half, Dylan Pederson (Earlswood, England/Reigate) made a strong defensive intervention to stop a New Paltz opportunity and Chimelu Blandin (Jacksonville, FL/Sandalwood cleared the ball out to Carroll for a counterattack. The ball eventually was sent out wide to Hutter, who had his cross knocked out of play for a corner kick, Cortland's first corner of the second half. 
 
The Red Dragons were able to capitalize on the ensuing corner to take the lead, as Kanakaris delivered an in-swinging corner to the back post, where LaMendola was able to head the ball into the back of the net and give the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute. 
 
Cortland doubled its advantage less than two minutes later on another set piece. Kanakaris delivered a curling cross from a free kick five yards atop the 18-yard area, where Carroll headed from the right side back into the left corner of the net over the outstretched arms of Washington. 
 
The Cortland defense continued to hold New Paltz without a shot on target over the remainder of the contest, only allowing four shots that were off target and blocking two shots over the final 30 minutes to secure the victory.