CANTON, NY –
Matteo Kanakaris (Glen Head/North Shore) and
Dylan Pederson (Surrey, England/Reigate) both scored twice as the nationally 19th-ranked Cortland men's soccer team used a four-goal barrage in the opening 12 minutes of the second half for a 4-0 road win at Canton in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play on Saturday afternoon. The Red Dragons move to 9-2-1 (4-0-0 SUNYAC), while Canton falls to 1-10-2 (0-3-1 SUNYAC).
Pederson's two goals give him four on the season, all of which have come in the last five games. He also tallied one assist. Kanakaris's two goals were his first two goals as a Red Dragon.
Shay Daly (Elwood/John Glenn) registered two assists, and
Diego Rivera (East Meadow/Cairo-Durham) and
Sebastian Olego (Bedford Corners/Byram Hills) each had one assist.
The Cortland defense allowed just one shot attempt for Canton, and
Jordan Ott (Fort Worth, TX/Southwest Christian) did not need to make a save in goal in earning his ninth shutout of the season.
Jason Vela made 10 saves in goal for the Roos, as Cortland finished with a 15-0 advantage in shots on target.
Rivera was close to giving Cortland an early lead in the sixth minute, as
Aidan Miller (Savannah, GA/Richmond Hill) lofted a pass over the top of Canton defense and Rivera was first to the ball ahead of the onrushing Vela, but Rivera's shot attempt was cleared off of the goal line by a Canton defender to deny the chance.
The game remained scoreless through the end of first half, with Cortland having seven shots on target, and Vela recording six saves.
Cortland scored just 3:38 into the second half to open the scoring. Kanakaris played a corner kick short to Olego, who returned the pass to Kanakaris just inside the 18-yard area, before Kanakaris fired a shot that nested into the bottom left corner of the goal.
The Red Dragons nearly doubled their lead only a minute later after a penalty kick was awarded following a foul inside the penalty area. However, Vela made a strong save on the spot kick to keep the deficit at just one goal.
Cortland scored its second goal in the 52nd minute, as Daly delivered a cross from the right side just outside the 18-yard area that Pederson headed into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Less than two minutes later, Daly and Pederson connected again for Cortland's third goal. Daly delivered a cross from a free kick from just outside the box on the left side to the right post, where Pederson headed a shot back into the goal for his second tally of the game.
The Red Dragons capped the scoring in the 57th minute, as Pederson slid a pass to Rivera in the midfield and Rivera quickly found Kanakaris at the top of the 18-yard area. Kanakaris collected the pass, turned and rocketed a low shot into the bottom right corner of the goal for his second goal of the game.
The Cortland defense secured the win by not allowing a shot attempt over the final 85 minutes for the victory.
