BUFFALO, NY - The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team tied Buffalo State 2-2 on Saturday, earning themselves a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoff berth in the process. Rocky Bujaj (Yorktown Heights, NY/ Yorktown) scored both goals for the Cardinals, coming up huge off the bench for Plattsburgh.

The Cards earned the final SUNYAC playoff spot, as they will slot in as the sixth seed in the conference postseason. They will play New Paltz on Saturday, Oct. 29, with a time yet to be determined. The team went into the day needing a win or a tie, and losses from Oswego and Fredonia to get them into the SUNYAC playoffs, and saw each of those results come to fruition. After missing out on the postseason last year, the team will now look to match their 2019 playoff run or exceed it, as they advanced to the conference championship game that year. 

The Cardinals see their record move to 7-6-3 (2-4-3 SUNYAC) clinching a .500 or better regular season finish with just one game to go. Buffalo State, who was eliminated from playoff contention with a loss or tie, moves to 4-7-5 (2-5-2 SUNYAC).

As they have on the road the majority of the season, the team fell behind early as Yousif Kowa scored for the Bengals to put his team up 1-0. 

However, Plattsburgh was able to respond quickly, scoring two goals in a near five-minute span both off the foot of Bujaj. The senior midfielder tied the game in the 31st minute thanks to an assist from Brian Coughlan (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River), who tied the conference lead in assists with his ninth of the year. Coughlan also added a point to his name with the assist, moving him into sole possession of second place in that category this year. 

Bujaj wasted no time getting the lead for the Cards, firing off a shot into the net in the 36th minute that gave the Cardinals the lead. At the half, the Cardinals were outshooting the Bengals 6-2, while Buffalo State earned the half's only corner kick. 

Each defense gave a stronger effort than the score might show, as each team was only able to get three shots on goal. The strong defensive play showed in the second half, as each team was held scoreless for nearly 50 minutes of game time before Nacho Caceres tied the game for Buffalo State in the 84th minute. Bujaj was able to get one more shot off for Plattsburgh to try and secure them a win, but his shot was off target, missing right, sealing the tie.

Teddy Healy (Amityville, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) earned the tie for his play in net, stopping one shot over 90 minutes. In 14 starts this year, he has played all 90 minutes in each game, holding a record of 6-6-2. 

The Cardinals will head to New Paltz for their opening-round playoff game on Oct. 29, to face the Hawks who bested Plattsburgh 1-0 earlier this year. In over 60 years of competition, the Cards are 35-13-3 against New Paltz, but the Hawks have won three of the last four meetings between the two teams.