NEW PALTZ — The SUNY New Paltz Men’s Soccer team lost its first two conference games this weekend to Plattsburgh and Potsdam. The losses dropped the Hawks to 1-3 on the season.
On Saturday, New Paltz came out firing against a strong Plattsburgh squad but were unable to finish any scoring opportunities. Plattsburgh struck first at the 17:05 mark when Craig Hettinger put a Dom Salemi cross home and finished the half up 2-0 on a late goal from Matt Gillis. B.J. McGrane made it 3-0 with less than three minutes to go in the game slotting the ball into the side netting past goalkeeper Kevin Smith (Niskayuna, NY). Plattsburgh finished the game with a 16-13 edge in shots. Smith kept the Hawks in the game making several point blank saves in the second half.
On Sunday, the Hawks again were unable to finish their chances and fell behind on a penalty kick goal from Achille Cavatassi with thirteen minutes to go in the first half. In the second stanza, Potsdam and New Paltz traded scoring chances throughout the entire half but neither team was able to find the net. The two teams ended the game tied with 10 shots on goal. New Paltz returns to action this weekend with two huge matches at Brockport and Geneseo.
