Devils top St. Joe's in Clarion nightcap
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
DATE: Fri., Sept. 11, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Men's soccer
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State opened the home portion of its 2009 season with a 2-1 victory over St. Joseph's College (N.Y.) at University Stadium in the second game of the Clarion Hotel Soccer Classic.
Blue Devil junior forward Peter Dagel (Rochester/Gates-Chili) scored with 9:36 remaining. He dribbled down the left side as far as the end line and scored his first goal of the season. He also had an assist.
Fredonia State broke on top on a goal by Matt Grabowski (Victor) with 19 minutes into the first half. Dagel set the goal up with a through ball which put Grabowski into the clear on a breakaway. It was the first goal of the season for the Blue Devils (1-3-0), who were scoreless in three previous road games.
St. Joseph's of Patchogue, Long Island, tallied the equalizer in the 31st minute. William Kuhlwilm (West Islip) played a cross into the box where Adam Rodgers (Hauppauge) headed the ball underneath diving Blue Devil goalkeeper Thom Cavanaugh (Slingerlands).
Cavanaugh finished with two saves on nine St. Joe's shots. Mike Dougherty (Farmingdale/Connetquot) made seven saves for the Eagles (1-3-0). The Blue Devils took 19 shots.
In Friday's other men's first round games, Penn State Behrend scored a 2-1 victory over Buffalo State on a second-half goal by Jerry Tortella (Pittsburgh/Thomas Jefferson) to break a 1-1 tie. In the 63rd minute, Behrend's Brian Bodnar (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) dribbed toward the endline and made a center pass to Tortella, who placed his shot into the left side of the net for his second goal of the season.
The Lions (3-0-1) and the Bengals (2-3-0) each scored in the first half. Buffalo State's Michael Bolan (Endwell/Seton Catholic) opened the scoring when his left-footer from just outside the 18-yard line deflected off a Behrend defender. Behrend's Kyle McKinney (Chesterfield, Ohio/West Geauga) fired a shot from 30 yards out over Buffalo State goalkeeper Ryan Wiehl (Riverside, Calif./Cortland) to tie the score.
Behrend had a 12-10 advantage in shots with goalkeeper Dustin Walker (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) credited with four saves. Wiehl made two stops for the Bengals.
The tournament resumes Saturday when St. Joseph's faces Buffalo State at 3 p.m. on the artificial turf field. The Blue Devils face Behrend at 5 p.m. on the grass field.