CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team secured the fourth seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament beginning next Saturday, as they defeated SUNY Canton 5-0 in road SUNYAC action. The Cardinals have one regular season game remaining but will face the fifth seeded New Paltz Hawks on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Thomas O'Neill (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) notched the game-winning goal in the 13^th minute, as Jack Murphy (Blauvelt, N.Y./Tappan Zee) tallied his first career score with the other first half goal. The Cardinals poured it on in the second stanza, as John Hayes (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River), Ryan Shalvey (Blauvelt, N.Y./Tappan Zee), and Bradyn Primus (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) each tallied scorers. Assists on the day came from Connor Howe (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill), Tristan Laundree (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley), Santiago Vargas (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage), Jake McGowan (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley), and Mariano Marra (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining). Teddy Healy (Amityville, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) earned the win with 45 minutes in goal, while Matthew D'Ippolito (Baldwin Place, N.Y./Somers) and Joey Raap (Evans Mills, N.Y./Indian River) each saw time in goal in the second half.

The Cardinals allowed just one shot and one corner on the day, winning both categories easily, with shots at 21-1 and corners at 12-1.

Plattsburgh State improves to 11-2-3 (6-2-1 SUNYAC) with the win and next takes on St. Lawrence for a non-conference tune-up heading into playoff action, taking on the Saints on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. The Cardinals have also matched their highest win total since 2019 when the Cards advanced to the SUNAYC final. SUNY Canton falls to 3-15-1 (0-9-0 SUNYAC) and concludes their 2024 season.

The entire game saw dominance from the Cardinals on each side of the ball, as they controlled possession and pace of the game. The team got themselves on the board early, a corner kick led to a near goal from O'Neill in the 13^th minute, but his initial shot hit the cross bar. Luckily, the shot came right back to O'Neill who finished the play for his second goal of the season.

The Cards added on for their second goal of the first half in the 39^th minute, as Murphy controlled a Howe pass just outside the six-yard box and finished off another easy opportunity for the Cards. The goal was the first of Murphy's career, as the outside back already has three assists this season for a five-point year so far.

The second half started quickly for the Cardinals as Hayes scored his team leading 13^th goal of the season off assists from Laundree and Vargas, as the trio worked up the field, before Laundree found Hayes about eight yards away for the goal for a wide-open score. The assist was Vargas' fifth, tops on the team.

Shalvey was the next to score for Plattsburgh, as McGowan found the first-year wide open on the left side of the box for another easy Cardinal score, putting the team up 4-0. The final goal of the day came off a Plattsburgh free kick, as header missed from Marra off the crossbar, but Primus cleaned up the mess for his third goal of the season. The assist was the first point of Marra's career, putting the final touches on the 5-0 Cardinal win.

Nolan Sullivan took the loss in goal for the 'Roos, making three saves in 90 minutes of action.