Captain Kye Castelluccio helped the Devils to a first-round win (photo by Riley Olson).
A corner kick off the foot of senior Chance LaCroix found its way to the noggin of Ryan Ameis, and the lanky defender headed the ball into the net to provide the only score as the Fredonia State men's soccer team claimed a 1-0 victory at Plattsburgh in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament. The Devils also defeated the Cardinals 1-0 earlier this year.
In a scoreless game with just over 11 minutes left to play, the Cardinals had a golden opportunity to score. A crossing shot from the right side of the goal was headed to the net. A diving Thomas McDonald punched the ball wide to save a goal. The Devils capitalized on that momentum two minutes later as LaCroix lofted his corner kick perfectly to a waiting Ameis with 9:07 left on the clock.
With 6:25 left to play, McDonald made another huge save, this time punching a straight on, line drive shot up over the net. He would finish the day with six saves for his sixth shutout of the year.
His counterpart for the Hawks, Matthew Dippolito, was not credited with any saves, as the only shot on goal was good for a score.
New Paltz outshot the Devils, 12-2, and had a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. The Cardinals also led 8-4 in corner kicks.
The last time the Devils won a post-season game, it was a win over Plattsburgh back in 2016. The Devils claimed the win in a shootout after the teams played to a 0-0 double-overtime tie.
Plattsburgh, who was the No. 3 seed, ends the season at 10-3-5.
The No. 6 seed Devils (8-6-4) will play another road game on Wed., Nov. 5.
