POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's soccer team (1-0) and the Plattsburgh State Cardinals (1-0) were each victorious in the first round of the 2017 Potsdam College Cup. The Bears handled Baruch College (0-1) 3-1 and the Cardinals routed the College of Mount Saint Vincent (0-1) 8-0 on Friday afternoon.
Senior captain Chris Schrum (Manhattan, N.Y./Millennium), senior midfielder Djavan Guy (New York, N.Y./Saint John's Prep) and senior forward Ritchie Hetherington (Falkirk, Scotland/Herkimer County Community College) each scored for the Bears. Junior forward Chris Robertson (Thiells, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional), sophomore forward Kyle Pfaff (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and junior forward Austin Tetreault (Rouse Point, N.Y./Northeastern Clinton) each netted two goals for the Cardinals.
Against the Bearcats, the first half was a defensive battle. The Bears grinded out five shots, while not allowing one. In the 13th minute, Schrum finished a pass from junior midfielder Tyler Mullery (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) for a 1-0 lead. Baruch nearly tied the contest 16 minutes later, but the goal was waved off due to offsides.
Just over five minutes into the second half, Guy was awarded a penalty kick. He beat Bearcats sophomore goalie Victor Torres (El Progreso, Honduras/Instituto San Jose) for the eventual game-winner. At the 68:22 mark, Baruch freshman midfielder Cormac Foley (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) played the ball off a Potsdam defender at the left side of the net and closed the gap to 2-1. Six minutes later, Hetherington picked up a booming goal kick from sophomore goalie Jakeb Mitchell (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) in stride and deposited he ball in the right corner of the net to close the scoring at 3-1.
Torres stopped two shots on the afternoon and Mitchell earned his fifth career victory with five saves. The Bears outshot Baruch 10-8 and the Bearcats had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Plattsburgh 8, Mount Saint Vincent 0 - Box Score
The Cardinals scored four goals in each half to earn the 8-0 whitewashing. Plattsburgh sophomore midfielder Connor Nembach (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) set up both of Robertson's goals just eight minutes apart (13:45 and 21:47) in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Jimmy Marchena (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) scored at 20:49 on an assist from senior forward Nicholas Laurent (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) to make it 2-0. Pfaff struck with seven minutes left in the half to make it 4-0.
Pfaff then opened the scoring in the final 45 minutes, finishing a feed from junior defender CJ Barbontin-Jimenez (Tracy, Calif./Animo Ralph Bunche) in the 57th minute. Tetreault scored the next two in a row at 64:55 and 73:05 with helpers from freshman forward Yusif Okine (Schenectady, N.Y/Schenectady) and senior midfielder Sean Maruscsak (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa), respectively. Maruscsak and Tetreault then reversed roles for the eighth and final goal of the game at 88:25.
Dolphins sophomore goalie Padelis Astrinidis (Flushing, N.Y./Archbishop Malloy) allowed four goals and made one save in the first half and senior Rich Diodati (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) stopped five shots and allowed the last four goals in the second half. Plattsburgh sophomore goalie Patrick Feeley (Harriman, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) earned the victory without facing a shot in the opening 59:15. Fellow sophomore keeper Kiernan Kirby (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) stopped the only shot he faced in the last 30:45.
The Cardinals are now 5-0 in Potsdam College Cup play, having captured tourney titles in both 2013 and 2015.
Tomorrow, Plattsburgh faces Baruch at 1 p.m. and Potsdam hosts Mount Saint Vincent at 3:30 p.m.