BUFFALO, NY – The fourth-seeded Buffalo State men's soccer team continues their revenge tour in the SUNYAC Semifinals when they take on top-seeded Cortland on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Bengals overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Geneseo 2-1 on Saturday evening to earn a berth in the semifinals, avenging a loss to the Knights from earlier in the regular season. Theo Pencic (Oslo, Norway/Heltberg) tallied a goal and an assist to lead Buffalo State to the victory. Saleman Salim (Nairobi, Kenya/Hutch Tech) scored the game-winning goal in the 68^th minute off a corner kick cross from Pencic. Zak Shaibi (Buffalo, NY/McKinley) added an assist on Pencic's game-tying goal.
 
Head Coach Francesco Cardillo appreciated the resilience that his team showed against Geneseo to take control of the second half after being outplayed for much of the first half.
 
"I thought how we responded after giving up the first goal was great," Cardillo said. "We talk about making sure that the previous day's practice isn't our last one, and the seniors stepped up to make sure it wasn't."
 
Buffalo State sports a 13-5-1 overall record (5-3-1 SUNYAC), while Cortland is the ninth-ranked team in the country with a 14-2-1 overall record (8-1-0 SUNYAC).
 
The Bengals will be looking for some revenge on Wednesday afternoon. Cortland scored five goals in the first half on the way to a 5-3 victory over Buffalo State on Oct. 2. Now the Red Dragons are the final opponent standing between the Bengals and accomplishing their preseason goal of reaching the SUNYAC Finals for the first time since 1984.
 
"We came into this year with the goal of making the finals, and now we're one game away."
 
The Bengals will need to replicate the dominance that they showed in the second half against Geneseo for the entire game if they are to upset Cortland.
 
"If we can stay disciplined and organized, and play at our full potential for a full 90 minutes, we'll have a good chance to win."
 
The winner will advance to the SUNYAC Finals, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Saturday, November 6 at 1 p.m.