By Collin Bolebruch
Plattsburgh State men’s soccer hasn’t hosted a home playoff game since 2019. After securing six points and a playoff berth in the standings this past week and moving up to the four seed, the Cardinals (10-2-3, 5-2-1) are in the driver’s seat against the Canton Kangaroos (3-14-1, 0-8) on Saturday.
“The focus right now is, how do we get a home game?” head coach Chris Taylor said.
Good question. All the Cardinals need to do is defeat the winless and scoreless Kangaroos for the fourth seed and home field advantage in round one.
If the Oneonta Red Dragons (10-3-3, 6-2) lose or tie against the Fredonia Blue Devils (8-8-2, 3-5), Plattsburgh could move to the third seed.
“Young people can get ahead of themselves quickly,” Taylor said.
Sorry — the Cardinals’ goal right now is winning on Saturday, and the odds are pretty good.
“You worry about complacency. I worry about (Canton) more than I do about playing the big teams,” Taylor said
If Plattsburgh beats Canton, and then St. Lawrence University (7-2-4) on Wednesday, the Cardinals would enter the first round on a five-game win streak. Coming into the playoffs hot is key in making a deep run, Taylor said.
“You want to get as much momentum as possible. It’s not just winning, it’s things like clean sheets,” Taylor said. “You want to feel like you’re going in with those things clicking.”
The Cardinals are 4-1 in the games following its first lineup change in the backline, serving shutouts in each win.
Since center back Randall Ashong missed the loss to Cortland (13-3-3, 6-1-1) on Oct. 5, Tony Kochelev has been starting at left outside back. A junior, he had only played 186 minutes in his career and missed the entirety of the 2023 season.
Kochelev has stepped in and played 441 minutes and has followed Taylor’s tailored strategies. Before his elevation, he was just one of 16 field players sitting on the bench — all of which Kochelev said are contributors.
“They all bring the intensity every day, and I feel like they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t trusted and ready to make an impact on the team,” Kochelev said.
Just three players on the team have played significant minutes in a playoff game. Seniors Brian Coughlan, John Hayes and Teddy Healy all started in an upset of New Paltz in 2022.
Taylor hasn’t thought about the team’s inexperience. He said he’s confident in underclassmen starters such as Jack Murphy — who has “personality and confidence” — and Jake McGowan — “nothing scares that kid.”
Seniors Thomas O’Neill and Modou Badjie, who have transferred into the program, can be trusted when the team needs to lean on them, Taylor said.
For the seniors, the playoffs is a chance to make lifetime memories, and for rookies, it’s a chance to gain experience for future runs.
“Especially as a senior, you want to make sure you go out as high as possible,” Coughlan said. “We also want to make sure we leave the team in a good spot.”
Plattsburgh is undefeated at home with a 6-0-1 record, and Taylor called the Cardinals’ play at home their “superpower.” They’ve made the Field House an impossible place for opponents to succeed at — Plattsburgh has allowed just one goal at home all season.
If the Cardinals host, they get to sleep in their own beds the night before, warm up in their own facilities and return to their own locker rooms at half time.
Plattsburgh has the opportunity to enter the postseason with the league’s second-longest win streak, and they can hit the ground running at home. The goal, Taylor says, is to start the playoffs as high and mentally strong as possible.
“You’ve got to have that aggressive, killer instinct all the time,” Taylor said. “That’s the only way you can win relentlessly over and over.”
