POTSDAM, N.Y. – The SUNY Cortland (7-1-1) took a 2-1 victory over the SUNY Potsdam Bears men's soccer team.(2-4-2) in their SUNYAC opener at the Maxcy Hall Turf Field.
 
The No. 18 nationally-ranked Red Dragons showed off their offensive firepower as they outshot the Bears 6-0 in the first half of the contest. The Red Dragons first scoring opportunity came in the 42nd minute of the opening half. Sophomore defender Jason Lee (Middle Village, N.Y./Xavier) crossed the ball over to far side of the field where freshman forward Matt Shultz (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) gathered the pass and took a shot into the upper-right corner of the net, putting Cortland up 1-0 going into the break.
 
To start the second half, SUNY Potsdam senior goalie Conor Callan (Piermont, N.Y./Tappan Zee) turned aside three shots to contain the Red Dragons' offense and keep the score at 1-0. Around the 73rd minute of the game, freshman midfielder Zach Saddlemire (Gansevoort, N.Y./Schuylerville) sent a free-kick from just outside the 18-yard box to freshman midfielder Logan Hinnerschietz (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai). He then fired the ball through a crowd Cortland junior goalie Braden Melveney (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North-Syracuse). This was Hinnerschietz's first collegiate goal. However, the Red Dragons responded four minutes later when Lee slipped a pass to senior forward Anthony Ruggiero (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East), giving Cortland the slight 2-1 advantage with 13 minutes left in the game. The Bears got one last scoring opportunity when Callan came up to midfield to take a free kick with 90 seconds remaining. The kick was unsuccessful as it got headed away from the net by a Red Dragon defender, sealing the victory for Cortland.
 
Callan ended the evening with four saves while the Red Dragons held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
 
The Bears are back in action tomorrow when they host Oswego State at 1 p.m. in the weekend finale.