BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's soccer team won a thriller this afternoon in the opening round of the SUNYAC Tournament defeating the New Paltz Hawks by a final of 1-0 on Coyer Field.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 1, New Paltz – 0
LOCATION: Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 11-4-3 (5-3-1 SUNYAC), New Paltz: 9-3-3 (4-2-2 SUNYAC)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Aladin Ali (Rochester, NY/East Irondequoit) played hero for the Bengals scoring the game winning goal.
- JB Almontaser (Lackawanna, NY/Lackawanna) earned the assist on the goal.
- Shae Wirt (Overland Park, KS/St. Thomas Aquinas) was stellar this afternoon making seven saves to keep the shutout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first half of action was a stalemate as both defenses were strong.
- New Paltz had multiple opportunities, however, Wirt made a pair of incredible saves to keep the Hawks off the board.
- New Paltz had 11 shots in the first half while Buffalo State had seven.
- The second half was filled with action on both sides of the ball.
- Almontaser lined up for the throw in and launched the ball right in front of the net.
- Ali was able to kick the ball behind him just out of reach of the New Paltz goalie.
- After a pair of Bengal yellow cards, New Paltz attempted to put the pressure on.
- The Bengals defense held tough and refused to let the Hawks find the back of the net.
- Buffalo State outshot New Paltz 19-15 overall.
- The Bengals will see the SUNYAC Semifinals for the first time since 2021and third time in the last four seasons.
FOR THE FOES
- Phillip Varner led the Hawks with four shots.
- Christian Micheli made eight saves for New Paltz.
UP NEXT
The Bengals advanced to the SUNYAC Semifinals where they will take on the top-seeded Cortland Red Dragons at Cortland on Wednesday.
