ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team earned a crucial conference victory on Wednesday evening, defeating Oneonta 2-1 on the road to secure their first SUNYAC win of the season.

Facing a Red Dragon squad that had bested them in five of the last seven meetings, the Cardinals continued to flip the script in recent years, following up last season's 2-0 victory with another strong performance.

Plattsburgh wasted no time getting on the board, opening the scoring just two minutes into the match. After a short corner was whipped into the box, the ball deflected out to junior Jake McGowan (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley), who buried his second goal of the season. 

The Cardinals doubled their lead in the 36th minute when first-year Robbie Kapovich (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) collected a ball played in behind and laid it off to classmate Declan Gallagher (LaGrangeville, N.Y./Arlington), who rocketed a shot from outside the box into the top corner for his first collegiate goal, putting Plattsburgh ahead 2-0.

Oneonta pulled one back late in the first half, converting off a corner kick of their own as Tommy Kliampas headed home in the 44th minute to make it 2-1. The Cardinals outshot the Red Dragons 6-1 in the first half and carried their momentum into the second, where they continued to control possession and limit Oneonta's opportunities.

Plattsburgh's defense held firm, allowing just two shots in the second half to preserve the 2-1 win, their second straight result over the Red Dragons.

With the victory, the Cardinals improve to 6-2-4 overall and 1-2-1 in SUNYAC play, and will return home to host Canton on Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.