BY MATTHEW PITARRESI
The top-seeded Plattsburgh State men’s soccer team punched its ticket to the State University of New York Athletic Conference, SUNYAC, Championship on Wednesday afternoon, defeating fourth-seeded Buffalo State, 4-0, in the conference semifinals at the Field House Complex.
Following a double-round bye into the semifinals, the Cardinals faced a Buffalo State squad coming off a second-round victory over Fredonia. The matchup marked another postseason meeting between the programs, with Plattsburgh State’s last victory over the Bengals coming in the 2019 SUNYAC semifinal, which sent the Cardinals to the conference championship.
Plattsburgh State broke through in the 26th minute when senior captain Xavier Kamba converted a penalty kick to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals carried that advantage into halftime while holding Buffalo State to six first-half shots.
The Cardinals extended their lead in the 61st minute as senior Tristan Laundree found the back of the net off an assist from senior Jack Murphy, making it a 2-0 contest.
Plattsburgh continued to build its advantage in the 72 minute when sophomore Sebastian Ruiz scored his first goal of the season, finishing a play assisted by sophomore Rocco Ruscitto and first-year Oliver Filip to push the Cardinals ahead by three.
With just over a minute remaining in regulation, Ruscitto added another goal for Plattsburgh State, finishing off an assist from senior Nicholas Espitia in the 89 minute to seal the 4-0 victory.
The Cardinals finished with 14 shots, including seven on goal, while earning 11 corner kicks compared to five for the Bengals. Defensively, Plattsburgh State held Buffalo State to 14 shots, with junior goalkeeper Matthew D’Ippolito recording eight saves to earn the shutout.
With the victory, the Cardinals improve to 11-3-3 on the season and advance to the SUNYAC Championship, where they will take on Cortland in a rematch of the regular-season finale that determined the top seed in the conference. This time, the two sides will meet with the SUNYAC title on the line.
