Men’s soccer rallies for draw with Medaille in opener, 1-1

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.—Junior defender DJ Guy (New York City, N.Y./Saint John's Prep) scored with 5:31 remaining in regulation to give the SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (0-0-1) a 1-1 draw with Medaille College (0-0-1) in the first round of the Best Western Cardinal Classic in Plattsburgh. Senior captain Chris Schrum (Manhattan, N.Y./Millennium) recorded the assist and senior goalkeeper Nick Davies (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) finished with six saves. While the game is officially a tie, the Mavericks captured the tournament contest's tiebreaker 4-3 in the shootout.

Offensive chances were tough to come by in the early play. Medaille nearly struck first in the ninth minute as Mo Hussein broke free in front, but the shot went off the side of his foot and Davies handled it easily. Six minutes later, sophomore defender Tyler Mullery (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) caught up to a cross at the left side of the net and fired it to the far corner. However, Mavericks goalie Brian Arcara dove to his left and smothered it. The Bears tilted the field toward the Medaille goal slightly for the rest of the half, but didn't score. There was some action around each goal in the final minute, but the game was still scoreless at the half.

After the teams traded pressure in the opening minutes of the second half, Potsdam started to gain the edge in play again. With 18 minutes to go, sophomore forward Jorge Ferrer (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) fired a shot just wide of the left post. Finally, at the 76:11 mark, Emmanuel Mante capitalized in front to put Medaille up 1-0. The Bears immediately answered with a redirected shot in close, but Arcara reigned it in. Potsdam finally tied it with 5:31 left in regulation. Guy beat a defender on the right side after a long pass Schrum and moved in on Arcara. He faked right and then sent the ball into the left corner of the net. After some last minute flurries from each team, the Bears sent a direct kick from about 30 yards out onto the top of the net with under a minute to go. It was the last scoring chance in regulation.

Just 24 seconds into overtime, freshman forward Brandon Igiehon (Dublin, Ireland/Channel View School) fired a shot from outside the box and Arcara made a diving stop to his right. Less than a minute later, the Mavericks appeared to have scored the game-winner with a shot from the left side, but the goal was waved off for offsides. The Mavericks put good pressure on Potsdam with 90 seconds left in the first extra 10 minutes, but Davies and the defense kept the game even.

With just over two minutes left in the second overtime, Arcara stopped a point blank header from Schrum. Seconds later, Davies stopped a breakaway chance to preserve the tie.

The Bears fell 4-3 in penalty kicks despite goals from junior forward Brandon Laurin (Chazy, N.Y./Chazy), freshman midfielder Ted Bruschini (Wilton, N.Y./South Glens Falls) and Schrum.

Arcara made six stops in goal for Medaille.

Potsdam outshot the Mavericks 15-10 and each team recorded three corner kicks.

The Bears are back in action in the second round of the tournament Saturday afternoon when they face Salve Regina University at 1 p.m.