CORTLAND, N.Y. – The No. 18 Plattsburgh State men's soccer team lost its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) match of the season Saturday at Jets Field, falling to SUNY Cortland, 4-0.
 
After both teams put up strong defensive fronts early in the contest, Cortland finally broke through in the 41st minute, as junior defender Bronson Harris forced a turnover by the Plattsburgh State goalkeeper and headed the ball across the goal line into an empty net.
 
Freshman defender Derek Beers scored Cortland's second goal at 48:57 off a pass from senior forward Tyler Kirschner, and the Red Dragons swelled the advantage to 3-0 in the 75th minute, as Kirschner fed senior midfielder Daniel Friend, whose shot from the left side ricocheted off the far post and into the goal. Cortland completed its scoring in the 85th minute, as junior forward Kevin Carpenter cashed in on a feed by sophomore midfielder Michael Miner.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 9-2-0 overall (2-1-0 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNYAC rival SUNY Oneonta on Friday, Oct. 7, at 3 p.m. Cortland rises to 8-2-0 overall (3-1-0 SUNYAC) with the victory and next hosts Fredonia on Friday, Oct. 7, at 3 p.m.
 
Both teams finished with 13 shots, while Plattsburgh State held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Junior midfielder Nicholas Laurent (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) took a game-high-tying three shots for Plattsburgh State, while junior midfielder Ian Spear (Peru, N.Y./Peru) took two shots, both of which were on goal.

Junior goalkeeper Andrew LaClaustra (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) made five saves in the loss for the Cardinals, while junior goalkeeper Connor Young turned aside five shots in the shutout victory for the Red Dragons.