PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Despite holding No. 22 SUNY Oneonta scoreless in the first half, the Plattsburgh State men's soccer team was unable to hold off the Red Dragons' attack in the second stanza, falling, 3-0, in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) match Friday afternoon at the Field House Soccer Complex.
 
Plattsburgh State nearly got on the board in the 36th minute, as senior forward Alexis Archilla (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) received a ball from the Cardinals' defensive third, drove the length of the field and fired off a hard-struck shot from the top of the 18-yard box cloaked by Oneonta defenders. Oneonta's freshman goalkeeper Ryan Wilson turned aside the shot, however, to preserve the 0-0 score.
 
Oneonta, the two-time defending SUNYAC champion and current SUNYAC leader, applied pressure in the waning moments of the first half, as junior forward Brandon Arango struck a ball from the right wing right before time expired, but junior goalkeeper Andrew LaClaustra (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) was there to make the stop. That save sent the two teams into the intermission at a scoreless stalemate.
 
After a first half that was mostly played in the midfield, the two sides began going on the attack in the second period. Oneonta took two shots in the first five minutes of the second half before sophomore midfielder Alejandro Ruiz put the Red Dragons on the board in the 52nd minute. Plattsburgh State committed a foul just outside of the 18-yard box on a prime scoring chance for Oneonta, and Ruiz curled a ball off a direct kick from 20 yards out into the top right-hand corner of the net to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 advantage.
 
Plattsburgh State nearly leveled the tally in the 63rd minute, as Archilla sent a short pass to sophomore forward Alex Price (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) inside the 18-yard box, and Price's sliding strike went just right of the goal.
 
Oneonta received a big insurance goal in the 65th minute when freshman forward Witman Hernandez scored off of a corner kick. Ruiz played the ball in and sophomore midfielder Justin Cebollero put a head on it before the ball bounced to Hernandez, who promptly buried it into the back of the net. Finally, in the 87th minute, Hernandez received a feed from Cebollero from the left side of the six-yard box and cashed in for his second goal of the contest.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 9-3-0 overall (2-2-0 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY New Paltz tomorrow at 1 p.m. Oneonta rises to 9-2-1 overall (4-0-1 SUNYAC) and next visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 1 p.m.
 
Archilla led the Cardinals with three shots, including the squad's only shot on goal. Senior midfielder Hans Purtell, senior forward Dillon Johnson and Hernandez each finished with three shots for the Red Dragons.
 
LaClaustra made two saves in the loss for Plattsburgh State, while his counterpart, Wilson, turned aside one shot in the shutout win for Oneonta.
 
While both teams fired off four shots in the first half, the Red Dragons outshot the Cardinals, 10-4, in the second stanza to finish with a 14-8 margin in the statistical category. Plattsburgh State did, however, outgain Oneonta in corner kicks, 3-1.