Cortland advances to title game with 1-0 victory over Buffalo State

CORTLAND, N.Y. – Sophomore Matt Aprile (Smithtown/Smithtown West) scored in the 75th minute as the nationally sixth-ranked Cortland men's soccer team defeated Buffalo St., 1-0, Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the SUNYAC Men's Soccer Tournament. The Red Dragons improved to 16-2 with their 11th straight win, tying the school record for victories in a season first set in 2003 and matched in 2014. The Bengals fell to 11-7-1.

Top-seeded Cortland will host second-seeded Oneonta Saturday in the championship game at 1 p.m. with the winner earning an automatic NCAA Div. III playoff berth. Oneonta defeated Fredonia, 4-0, in the other semifinal matchup.

Senior Tyler Kirschner (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills East) and junior Ma'Cain Spragling (Akron, OH/Brush) assisted on Aprile's goal, his second game winner of the season. Junior goalie Connor Young (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) made two saves in posting his ninth shutout of the season and the team's school-record 13th of the campaign.

Senior goalie William Banahene (Rochester/Brighton) registered four saves for the Bengals.

Banahene made some big saves for Buffalo St. in the opening half to keep Cortland off the scoreboard, twice denying Spragling with diving stops. Young was forced to make one save in the first 45 minutes on a shot by Buffalo St. junior Brandon Galanti (Hamburg/Frontier) in the 32nd minute.

In the second half, Cortland controlled much of the play, outshooting the Bengals, 8-3, and creating several chances. The first good opportunity came in the 60th minute as freshman Nevin Nambiar (New Hyde Park/Herricks) put a header toward the right post on a corner kick that was cleared off the line by a Bengal player.

Cortland senior Nick Tata (Rochester/Aquinas Institute) just missed with back-to-back chances minutes later. In the 63rd minute, his 25-yard shot from the left side just bounced wide of the right post. Banahene then touched Tata's dipping shot in the 67th minute over the crossbar.

Cortland eventually broke through at 74:01. Kirschner slipped a pass to Spragling on the right side of the box. Spragling one-touched a pass to Aprile who one-timed a shot past Banahene for his second goal of the season. The only shot Buffalo St. managed on goal the remainder of the game came from senior Daniel Aguilar Lobo (Brentwood) in the 83rd minute, but Young easily pulled down the ball which came from 40 yards away.
  
Cortland 1, Buffalo St. 0

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists):
Buffalo St.: no scoring
Cortland: Matt Apile 1-0, Ma'Cain Spragling 0-1, Tyler Kirschner 0-1

Halftime: Cortland 0, Buffalo St. 0
Shots: Cortland 15, Buffalo St. 8
Corner Kicks: Cortland 6, Buffalo St. 1
Fouls: Cortland 14, Buffalo St. 12
Saves: William Banahene 4 (1 GA in 90:00), 1 "team" save; Connor Young (Cortland) 2 (0 GA in 90:00)

Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 16-2; Buffalo St. (Bengals) 11-7-1