By Steven Merritt
PLATTSBURGH – The Mount Saint Mary College Men’s Soccer team dropped its second consecutive contest on Saturday afternoon to Plattsburgh State 6-1 in the Best Western Plus Cardinal Classic. Sophomore Matt Wyant scored the lone goal for the second straight game.
The Cardinals got on the board first as Alex Graci found the back of the net on an assist from Jimmy Marchena in the 18th minute of the first half. The Cardinals held a 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission as the Knights were outshot 9-3 by Plattsburgh. Corner kicks were tied at three apiece in the first half.
In the second half, Plattsburgh pushed the lead to three after Devin Lambe scored back to back goals that were just 59 seconds apart. Wyant scored his second goal of the season at the 60:50 mark of the second half. The Cardinals then scored the final three goals of the game as Yusif Okine, Cole Weiner scored a goal in the last 20 minutes of the contest.
Plattsburgh State outshot the Knights 15-4 in the second half and held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. Wyant led the Knights in shots with two as five other players recorded a shot for the Mount. Tyler Rapp took the loss in goal as he made six saves in 74:30 minutes of action.
Freshman J.C. Varrasi made three saves in relief in his Mount Saint Mary debut.
The Cardinals finished the contest with a 24-7 shots advantage as Weiner tallied four shots and Graci and Lambe recorded three shots each. Ryan Wilson picked up the win in net for Plattsburgh as he made just one save in the contest.
Plattsburgh State finished with 14 shots on goal compared to Mount Saint Mary’s two and the Cardinals finished with an 8-4 corner kicks advantage.
At 2-3 overall, the Mount returns home for the Skyline opener against Yeshiva on Wednesday evening. Kick-off with the Maccabees at Kaplan Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.