PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.--The No. 4-seeded Plattsburgh State men's soccer team will play host Oneonta State in the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championship Tournament on Friday. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Red Dragon Soccer Field. Friday's other semifinal pits No. 2 seed Fredonia State against No. 3 and defending SUNYAC champion College at Brockport.

The Cardinals are 13-4-2 overall, finishing in fourth place in the SUNYAC standings with a 6-3 conference record. The top-seeded Red Dragons ended the regular season with an 11-4-3 mark and shared the pre-tournament title with Blue Devils and Golden Eagles with identical 7-2 records.

SUNYAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 5 (Semifinals): Oneonta vs. Plattsburgh, 11 a.m.; and Fredonia vs. Brockport, 1:30 p.m.  
Saturday, Nov. 6 (Championship):  Friday's semifinal winners, 11 a.m. 
(Note: All games played on Red Dragon Soccer Field, which has a Kentucky Bluegrass surface; Astroturf All College Field is an alternate site in the event of inclement weather.)

The conference champion earns the SUNYAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, which begins Thursday, Nov. 11 with first-round action.

TICKET PRICES
The SUNYAC office has set the cost for $5 adults and $2 students.

MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS
According to the Oneonta Sports Information Office, LiveStats will be available for all three contests at the link http://www.sidearmstats.com/oneonta/msoc/index.htm and the championship game will have a free video webcast at http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/irc/qt/qt.html

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Plattsburgh and Geneseo played to a 1-1 draw last Saturday in the SUNYAC Quarterfinals before the host Cardinals prevailed in the penalty-kick shootout, 5-3, to advance. The Blue Knights (9-7-2, 5-4 SUNYAC) were the fifth seed. Oneonta received a first-round bye and earned the right to host the final four because of a head-to-head tiebreaker, sweeping Fredonia at home, 2-1 on Sep. 24, and Brockport on the road, 2-0 on Oct. 2.

ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Plattsburgh enters the weekend with a 6-3-1 mark in its last 10 outings--with all three losses coming by one goal margins and in overtime. The team leads SUNYAC in shots (323), points (106), goals (37), assists (32), shutouts (12), corner kicks (128) and is ranked second in fewest goals allowed (12). Team leaders are Chris Taylor with 19 points and a SUNYAC-leading 11 assists, which is third in NCAA Division III; Pat Shaughnessy with six goals and 50 shots; and goalkeeper Andy Heighington (12-4-2) with a 0.62 goals-against average and 61 saves.

Click on the link for the numerical roster that leads to players' biographies: http://www.gocardinalsports.com/roster.aspx?path=msoc  

PLATTSBURGH'S SUNYAC HISTORY
The Cardinals are 11-5-6 all-time in the conference tournament, appearing for the 12th consecutive year. Plattsburgh is a six-time conference champion in 1992, 1994, 1998-2000 and 2005. In the 2009 title game in Plattsburgh, Brockport defeated Plattsburgh 11-10 on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie through regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. The SUNYAC has held a tournament every year since 1998 and also from 1983-89.

HEAD COACH CHRIS WATERBURY
A 1981 undergraduate of SUNY Cortland, the 26-year veteran of the Cardinal sideline is the winningest coach in SUNYAC history with a 360-110-49 worksheet (.741). Overall, Waterbury is 384-128-53 (.726) in 29 years that includes stops at Plattsburgh, Lyndon State (1983-84) and New England College (1982). Click on the link for his complete biography: http://www.gocardinalsports.com/coaches.aspx?rc=49&path=msoc   

CHARTING HISTORY
Team captain Chris Taylor, a senior midfielder, set the Cardinals' all-time assists record earlier this season and currently has 36 for his four-year career.

Andy Heighington, a sophomore, needs one shutout to tie Eric Rienecker for second-place (12 in 1994)on the all-time single-season list and to surpass John Schraner (20 from 1996, '99-01) for third place on the career ladder with 21. 

CARDINAL NOTES
Plattsburgh has a overtime record of 2-2-2 in 2010...is 1-2 versus the SUNYAC Final Four field, including a 4-0 win against Oneonta and losses to Brockport, 3-0, and Fredonia, 2-1...is ranked sixth in the NCAA East Region Rankings, followed by Oneonta in seventh and Brockport, eighth (the new poll comes out Wednesday)...is 5-2-1 in road games, plus 1-0 at a neutral site.

SCOUTING THE RED DRAGONS 
Dan Josepher is the leading scorer with 15 points on six goals and three assists. Jonathan Kowalski is right behind him with 14 points, including six goals. Dan Scott is the top playmaker with six assists. Maxwell Siegelman has seen the majority of time in goal, compiling a 9-3-3 record, 0.72 goals-against average and 68 saves in over 1371 minutes of action.

Oneonta is undefeated at home this season at 6-0-2, riding a 13-game unbeaten streak (11-0-2) dating back to Oct. 2, 2009. The Red Dragons have outscored opponents 24 to 15, including a favorable shots margin of 232-202.

Coach Iain Byrne is in his eighth year at the helm of the Red Dragons.