The Plattsburgh State men’s soccer team continued its conference schedule this past weekend with win against rival Oswego State Lakers, while dropping its game against the Cortland Red Dragons.
PSUC now shifts its focus onto its next two SUNYAC opponents, the nationally ranked Oneonta Red Dragons, who are coming off a two-win weekend, and the New Paltz Hawks.
“We are all very focused on these upcoming conference games and we will make sure to set ourselves up for success as best as possible,” said junior defender John Latouche. “We will take things one game at a time and continue to push ourselves to be better every day.”
The Cards have reasons to hold their head high. They’ve won the last five of six matches, two of which come from SUNYAC play. Their energy could not be matched on Friday, winning their matchup against the Lakers 4-3, which saw goals scored from three different players for the second consecutive game. The win extended the win streak to five and improving their overall record to 8-2.
Head Coach Christopher Waterbury discussed the rigorous preparation that undertook the week before last weekend.
“We watch a lot of game tape, there’s a fine line between preparing for this and for what we do best,” Coach Waterbury said. “It involves a lot of high pressure tactics, and learning to break them down.”
Speaking before last weekend’s games Waterbury was not shy in letting it be known that Oswego and Cortland would not be easy opponents.
“Having the record we have is below the standard. It doesn’t mean anything,” Waterbury said. “In Oswego and Cortland, those are two clubs with the exact same record as us, so we have to do what we do best and keep them from doing what they do best.”
After letting up the first goal, six minutes into their matchup with the Lakers, the Cards’ defense settled down and did not allow another tally until the 33 minute-mark. The offense, however, was on fire the entire match. In under a minute sequence, sophomore midfielder Conor Nembach scored the tying goal followed by senior fielder Nicholas Laurent scoring the go-ahead goal.
“We will make a few adjustments, but we are going to stick with the same style we have been playing all year,” said sophomore defender Joe Gula. “We will continue to have the mindset that we are one of the top teams and should be winning week in and week out.”
In a tough outing against the Cortland Red Dragons, PSUC did not see its first goal till the 62 minute-mark, and the Cards fell short of capping off a third consecutive weekend of undefeated play. The Red Dragons held the PSUC offense scoreless, while the Cards let up two goals.
“We’re getting back to our style,” Gula said. “We have to make sure we don’t deviate from coach’s plan; we also have to eliminate errors that occurred all throughout the field.”
PSUC looks to recover quickly as they must prepare for their next opponent, the SUNY Red Dragons (7-1-1, 3-1) in Oneonta New York. The Dragons are riding a three-game win streak, which the Cards’ are surely looking forward to ending this weekend.
“We don’t look two or three games down the road, we take it one day at a time,” Waterbury said. “This is by the far the strongest the conference has been, top to bottom.”
While the upcoming weekend brings challenges, the Cards are approaching the trip with high confidence especially John Latouche.
“We will use the loss as motivation and make sure to outwork our opponent.”
Email John Peralta at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
