PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Under the lights for their season opener, the Plattsburgh State men's soccer team fended off a late Clarkson comeback, as a goal in the 82nd minute from Brian Coughlan (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) broke a 2-2 tie to give Plattsburgh the win. The goal was Coughlan's second of the game, marking the second time in the junior's career he has scored multiple goals in a single match.

Coughlan scored the first goal of the game's action on a penalty kick and was shortly followed by a John Hayes (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) score in the 53rd minute. Two goals came from Clarkson after the 75th minute in a five-minute span, tying the game. A minute after letting up the game-tying goal, Plattsburgh scored the game-winner, stunning the visiting Golden Knights. Teddy Healy (Amityville, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) earned the victory in net, making three saves. 

The Cardinals move to 1-0 and will next play Utica in a road match on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. Clarkson falls to 0-1 on the season and next plays Morrisville on Sept. 6 on the road. 

The first half saw both teams go scoreless as each looked to shake off the offseason rust and find their footing in 2023. In the first half, shots were nearly even, with Plattsburgh finishing with a 6-4 advantage, while the Golden Knights earned five corners to the Cards one. 

In the second half, Clarkson gave just the jolt that the Card's offense needed, when a Golden Knight player grabbed a Cardinal player's jersey in the box as he was going for the ball, resulting in a yellow card and penalty kick. Coughlan was the choice for Plattsburgh to take the kick, and the junior deposited the shot into the right side of the net with a soft chip shot, giving Plattsburgh a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute. Just over three minutes later, Hayes picked up his first score of the year as first-year Bradyn Primus (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) played the ball from the right corner of the field into the box, where Xavier Kamba (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Nyack) was able to deflect the pass directly to Hayes, who controlled and finished the play off his left foot for a 2-0 Cardinal lead.

The two-goal lead for Plattsburgh held for over 20 minutes before Eric McKean scored for the Golden Knights to cut the lead in half in the 76th minute. Just a few minutes later in the 81st minute, Nolan Grady scored the equalizer, knotting the score up at two goals apiece. 

Despite the deflating turn of events, the Cards quickly found themselves with a good chance to score in the 82nd minute with Coughlan earning a free kick just outside the center circle of the field. Playing a ball into the box, the Clarkson goalie elected to attempt to punch the kick out. Instead of getting the ball out, however, the keeper punched the ball straight up, where it eventually landed behind him, just in front of the goal. With some home-friendly backspin, the ball bounced just in front of the line and over two players before falling into the back of the net for Coughlan's second goal of the night. 

The stunned Golden Knights still gave themselves a chance to tie down the stretch, putting a shot on net and earning a corner kick, but Plattsburgh's defense held strong, earning the win.