The Cortland Men’s Soccer team won two tough games over the weekend, as they improve their overall record to 8-1.
The first game of the weekend came on Friday against the FAKE Red Dragons of Oneonta, who were nationally ranked 7th coming into the game, six spots higher than Cortland. The game started off well for Cortland, as Migell Ornsby sent a header past Oneonta goalie Nicholas Giordano, to give the better Red Dragons a 1-0 lead. This lead would only hold for 12 minutes, which is when Carlos
Martinez of Oneonta sent a free kick missile past Connor Young, knotting the game at 1. There would be no more scoring for the rest of the first half.
The second half started poorly for Cortland, as Oneonta would send a header past Young just 11 minutes into the half, and Oneonta was up 2-1. Something just suddenly clicked for Cortland after this goal as their offense exploded, scoring 3 goals in a span of 17 minutes. The scoring was led by sophomore Cam LaVallee and junior Jake Keller, the teams two leading scorers. That would be all that Cortland would need to secure the victory, as they knocked off SUNYAC powerhouse Oneonta by a final score of 4-2.
Records after game: #13 Cortland 7-1 overall, 1-0 SUNYAC; Formerly #7 Oneonta 4-1-1 overall, 0-1 SUNYAC
MSOC: @CortlandSoccer wins the battle of top-15 teams over Oneonta 4-2. C-State now 7-1 on the year.
— ESPN Ithaca (@ESPNIthaca) September 22, 2017
The second game of the weekend came on Saturday against the Hawks of New Paltz and was, well…underwhelming.
If you love watching heavily defensive games with very little production on the offensive side, this was the game for you. After coming up with a huge win against a really good Oneonta team, Cortland struggled mightily against a seemingly lesser New Paltz team. They struggled so much that there wasn’t a single goal scored (or any real production at all) in the first half, something that was sure to infuriate head coach Steve Axtell.
It wasn’t until the 88th minute that Cortland would put a number on the scoreboard, as Jake Keller sent a one-timer past New Paltz’ goalie. Sure enough, the last minute goal would be enough to give Cortland the win, which was undoubtedly an important one.
A win is a win everyday of the week, but GOOD LORD please don’t make me sit through that again Cortland.
The Red Dragons don’t have another home game until the 13th of October, which means no game recaps for three games. I know, I’m just as distraught as you are. Until we meet again.
Records after game: #13 Cortland 8-1 overall, 2-0 SUNYAC; New Paltz 4-5 overall, 0-2 SUNYAC
Post Game Victory Tweet
Final score | ⚽️@jakekeller7 extend his scoring run to 6 games with a clinical finish in the final minutes.
[1-0]#RedDragons
— Cortland Soccer (@CortlandSoccer) September 23, 2017
By the way, 6 games in a row with at least one goal for Jake Keller? That’s impressive, kids.
