It would be tough to imagine a better start for the Plattsburgh Cardinals men’s soccer team. The team remained without a loss through last weekend, culminating in a second conference win over a SUNYAC rival, the Fredonia Blue Devils.

The Cardinals defeated the Blue Devils 2-1 on Saturday, Oct. 7, moving its conference record to 2-0-3 and its overall record to 7-0-4. The Blue Devils fell to 5-4-4 overall.

The game saw the Cardinals fall behind in the first half. Fredonia came out strong, notching a 16th-minute goal to go up 1-0 early in the game. The Cardinals remained aggressive despite this early deficit, as it got off eight first-half shots to the Blue Devils’ six. The Cardinals held Fredonia scoreless at the start of the second half with junior goalkeeper Teddy Healy contributing two of his six saves to keep the score 1-0.

The Cardinals’ offense began to push for a comeback in the second half. In the 64th minute, junior forward Brian Coughlan scored the game-tying goal after beating two defenders. With the game now tied, the Cardinals looked to control the ball as it would give up no shots to the Blue Devils after the 76th minute.

BY JAYSON GASTON Staff Writer MSOC >

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Cardinals fall short in Binghamton Team drops out of playoff race with two SUNYAC losses

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals (8-6, SUNYAC 2-5) wrapped up its SUNYAC season and were eliminated from postseason contention during a three-game trip to the Binghamton Tennis Center. The matches took place from Oct. 5 to Oct. 7, and the Cardinals finished 1-2 over the conference stretch.

The Cardinals entered the tournament on a high note with a 7-2 win over the Brockport Golden Eagles (2-8, SUNYAC 1-6) Thursday. The following day, Plattsburgh faced off with the Geneseo Knights (7-3, SUNYAC 5-2) and lost 8-1. The Cardinals then played Fredonia (1-7, SUNYAC 1-6) in a close match, losing 4-5 to close the tournament Saturday.

The conclusion of the Binghamton matches marks the end of the SUNYAC season for the Cardinals. Four seniors draw a close on their collegiate tennis careers: Jacqueline Svantner, Nicole Svantner, Samantha Svantner and Sarah Benowitz.

These seniors played through all three of Head Women’s Tennis Coach Kelci Henn’s seasons as head coach, and she had nothing but praise for their influence on the team.

“I can absolutely say that all four of the seniors have made this team what it is.

Every success that our team has seen is because of those four seniors and the effort that they put in day in and day out,” Henn said.

“Their leadership on and off the court for sure has really made the impact on the

Friday, Oct. 6: TEN 1-8 LOSS vs. Geneseo *SUNYAC*

VB 3-1 WIN vs. Oswego *SUNYAC*

Saturday, Oct. 7: TEN 4-5 LOSS vs. Fredonia *SUNYAC*

MXC 10th, WXC 5th at James Early Inv.

VB 0-3 LOSS vs. Cortland *SUNYAC*

MSOC 2-1 WIN @ Fredonia *SUNYAC*

WSOC 1-0 WIN vs. Fredonia *SUNYAC*

Wednesday, Oct. 11: WSOC 1-1 TIE @ Cortland *SUNYAC* team. I mean, our team like I said before, we wouldn’t be who we are without the four of them.”

Plattsburgh State saw great success through its firstyear athletes as well. Ava Carey and Jacklin Mitchell both saw starting roles in singles and doubles as partners and were a driving factor in many of the Cardinals’ wins this season.