SUNYAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – #3 CORTLAND RED DRAGONS AT #1 BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
Saturday, November 9, 2024 – 4:00 PM
Coyer Field – Buffalo, NY
FOLLOW ALONG…
LIVE STATS
VIDEO (OFFICIAL SUNYAC BROADCAST)
LAST TIME OUT… Last time out, the Bengals earned a thrilling 2-1 victory over New Paltz in the SUNYAC Semifinals to advance to their first conference championship game since 1984.
Diego Rivera (East Meadow, NY/Cairo Durham) and
Sam Gregson (Anglesey, Wales/Ysgol David Hughes) each scored for the Bengals.
Manu Prieto (Cascais, Portugal/Salesianos do Estoril) picked up an assist on each goal.
Shae Wirt (Overland Park, KS/St. Thomas Aquinas) made eight saves for the Bengals.
Both sides were in a stalemate the entire first half. New Paltz had a key opportunity late in the half, but the shot hit off the top of the crossbar. The start of the second half was much of the same and both sides played tough defense and could not gain any offensive momentum.
After each side exchanged yellow cards, the Bengals got an opportunity late in the half. Prieto sailed the corner kick right in front of the net as Rivera was able to head the ball into the net past the Hawks goalie. New Paltz got back into the action shortly after sneaking a shot behind Wirt to even the score at 1-1. With just over two minutes to go, Prieto sailed a free kick opportunity right in front of the net that Gregson was able to tap in to give the Bengals a late 2-1 lead. Buffalo State was able to hold strong for the final seconds to secure a second consecutive postseason win against New Paltz.
Overall, New Paltz outshot the Bengals 15-12 while Buffalo State had five corner kicks compared to the Hawks one.
Alex Wyant scored the lone goal for New Paltz while Lizama picked up the assist. Christian Micheli and Matt Katz combined for three saves in goal for the Hawks.
THE MATCHUP… The top-seed Buffalo State Bengals will host the Red Dragons in their second matchup of the season. Being the top overall seed, Buffalo State earned a first-round bye and advanced to the finals following their win over New Paltz. The Red Dragons make the trip to Buffalo after defeating Oneonta in penalty kicks in the semifinal round.
This will be the 39
th meeting since 1990 between Buffalo State and Cortland. The Red Dragons have a 33-4-2 series lead winning seven of the last eight matchups. The last time these teams met in the SUNYAC Tournament was a season ago where Cortland dominated in a 5-0 victory in the SUNYAC Semifinals.
Buffalo State will be competing in the SUNYAC Tournament for the eighth time in the last nine seasons. Under Head Coach
Francesco Cardillo, the Bengals have reached the postseason in all but one season. Buffalo State has reached the SUNYAC Semifinals four times now in Cardillo's tenure in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. This will be their first appearance in the SUNYAC Championship since 1984 as they look to win their first title since 1970.
Cortland has been one of the premier teams in the country making the postseason in all but three seasons since 2000. The Red Dragons have reached in the at least the semifinals every season under Steve Axtell's tenure as head coach and have won three conference titles and have had seven trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of this matchup will get an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
LAST TIME WE MET… The two sides met late in the regular season in a battle of national-ranked programs. The #17 Bengals and #18 Red Dragons battled to a 1-1 draw to close out conference play.
Tapiwa Mushonga (Johannesburg, South Africa/Hilton College) scored his first goal as a Bengal while Prieto picked up the assist. Rivera led the team with four total shots and three on goal. Wirt made three saves in goal for the Bengals.
Buffalo State got the scoring started within the first ten minutes of action as Prieto found Mushonga in front of the goal on a corner kick opportunity. The Red Dragons responded shortly after off a free-kick opportunity as they were able to even the score at 1-1. Both sides would remain in a stalemate the rest of the half with an even score after 45 minutes of play. Cortland had a chance to take the lead in the second half, however, the ball kicked out as it hit the top of the crossbar. Each side attempted to get aggressive offensively, both sides held up on the defensive front to hold a draw. Cortland narrowly out shot the Bengals 12-11 overall.
Alex Lessman scored the lone goal for the Red Dragons with Mateo Marra earning the assist. Jordan Ott made six saves in goal for Cortland.
THE BENGAL BREAKDOWN… At 15-1-3 (7-1-1), the Bengals earned the top-seed in the conference tournament after one of their best seasons in program history. After starting the season 12-0-1 (6-0-0 SUNYAC), the Bengals continued to show their consistency as one of the top teams in the SUNYAC, and finally cracked into the United Soccer Coaches Association Top 25 rankings. Poll 7 (October 22) saw the Bengals first appearance on the list at 24 while Poll 8 (October 29) had Buffalo State climb to 17, their highest national ranking since 2017.
As a team, the Bengals have lit up the scoreboard as they sit second in the conference in goals, points, shots on goal, and sit atop the SUNYAC with nine shutouts and 41 assists. The team also sits 21
st in the nation in goals, 24
th in points, and seventh in shutouts.
GO DIEGO GO… Rivera has been a staple on the Bengals offense in each of his first two seasons. Rivera leads the conference with 39 points on 16 goals and seven assists. He also has two hat tricks this season coming against Elmira and Oswego.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS… Rivera's 16 goals are tied for the most for a Bengal in a season since Theo Pencic had 16 goals back in 2021.
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND… The Bengals have 41 assists on the year. Prieto leads the team with 17 of those assists. That mark is a single season program record, which was previously 14 assists held by Theo Pencic in 2021 and Scott Martin in 1999. Nine Bengals have at least one assist with seven of those nine have multiple assists on the year. Prieto sits atop the nation in that category.
OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE… Buffalo State has tallied 145 points total on the year. That mark is second in the conference, only trailing Cortland with 146 points, and is the 24
th best mark in the country.
IN GOAL FOR THE BENGALS… Wirt has started every game in goal for the Bengals and player all but 20 minutes. Across 19 games, Wirt has accumulated 69 saves and a 0.802 save percentage along with nine shutouts. That shutout total ranks him seventh in Division III.
STRONG ON DEFENSE… The trio of Mushonga,
Salvador Gomes (Lisbon, Portugal/Colegio de S. Thomas), and
Matthew Stasyuk (Syracuse, NY/Marcellus) have paced the Bengals defensive unit. Buffalo State is allowing an average of less than one goal per game across this season.
REVENGE TOUR… The Bengals last win against Cortland came back in 2017 in a 1-0 shutout on Coyer Field. Following their draw earlier this year, the Bengals will look to overcome the Red Dragons in pursuit of a SUNYAC Championship.
RESEARCHING THE RED DRAGONS… At 14-3-5 (6-1-2 SUNYAC), the Red Dragons will look to continue to be a thorn in the Bengals side. Matt Shultz and Mateo Marra have been staples leading the squad with a combined 63 points on 28 goals and seven assists. Matias Valenzuela Matic leads Cortland with seven assists while Jordan Ott has been a staple in net. Ott has made 62 saves with seven shutouts and a 0.816 save percentage across 18 starts.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS…
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: 14-1-3 (7-1-1 SUNYAC)
CORTLAND RED DRAGONS: 14-3-5 (6-1-2 SUNYAC)
