ROCHESTER — The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team, in less than three minutes early in the second half, all but had its season come to an end Sunday afternoon.
The University of Rochester scored two goals — both on direct kicks — 2:43 apart — and defeated the Cardinals, 3-0, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"It was a tough way to end the season and I thought our guys deserved better," said Plattsburgh State head coach Chris Waterbury.
"The guys played hard and I'm proud of them for getting to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Twenty of our 31 players are first-year players and we have to learn from this."
All three goals for the nationally-ranked Yellowjackets (13-1-3) came off set pieces.
Scott Cady gave Rochester the lead at 16:36 of the first half. Timmer McCarthy sent in a direct kick from 30 yards out that was headed by Steve Welles to Cady, who headed the ball into the net.
"It was a pretty tough first half and both teams had some fantastic scoring chances," Waterbury said. "Even though we were down, 1-0, I felt we were close to getting in.
"The team felt good about its chances in the second half and felt this was a team we could beat."
The Yellowjackets, however, then broke it open early in the second half.
Misha Carrel-Thomas sent a free kick from 20 yards out that deflected down off the crossbar and across the goal line at 4:07.
Adding insult to injury for the Cardinals was having defender David Hickman ejected with a red card, leaving Plattsburgh State to play a man down the rest of the way.
"They sent a blistering shot off the crossbar and it went straight down and then bounced out," said Waterbury. "I thought it was a goal — the referee didn't make the call, but the linesman did.
"But, then our guys just lost it and started protesting. Hickman got a red card for protesting and that changed the complexion of the game. Not only are we down, 2-0, but we're also down a man."
Phil Proud then made it 3-0 shortly after, at 6:50, when he scored on a 25-yard direct kick into the upper left-hand corner.
"It was a free kick and almost in the same place," Waterbury said. "It was an absolutely perfect shot.
"It was frustrating because once your down, 2-0, you have to throw everything and make some major adjustments. You have to give them credit for how they played."
Rochester finished with a 12-6 shot advantage and Michael Peacock made one save in the Yellowjackets' nets. Andy Heighington was not credited with a save for the Cardinals.
"Both teams were dangerous on free kicks and the game was called tightly, with a lot of fouls," Waterbury said. "We had to do a better job adjusting to the way it was called."
It was a tough end to the season offensively for Plattsburgh State (13-3-6), which did not score a goal in its last 325 minutes of play following a 1-0 win over Oneonta in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals.
—
Rochester 3, Plattsburgh 0
Plattsburgh 0 0 — 0
Rochester 1 2 — 3
First half- 1, Roch, Cady (Welles, McCarthy), 16:36.
Second half- 2, Roch, Carrel-Thomas, 4:07. 3, Roch, Proud, 6:50.
Shots: Rochester 12, Plattsburgh 6.
Saves: Heighington, PSU, 0. Peacock, Roch, 1.
