Rochester, N.Y. — The SUNY Poly men's soccer team fell 4–1 to Nazareth University in Empire 8 action. Despite a strong second-half effort highlighted by a goal from Dominick Spychalski, the Wildcats were unable to overcome the first half 4-0 deficit. With the result, SUNY Poly moves to 4–11–1 (2–7 Empire 8) on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nazareth struck first in the 11th minute when Samuel Burton converted off a setup from Gibson Spector and Tyler Warmington to give the Golden Flyers an early 1–0 edge. The hosts continued to apply pressure, forcing several early saves from SUNY Poly goalkeeper Tyler Barth, who turned away multiple on-target efforts in the opening 20 minutes.
The Golden Flyers doubled their advantage in the 29th minute when Zach Scott found the back of the net off an assist from Alexander Kobayashi, then extended the lead again just three minutes later as Joey Weaver made it 3–0. Nazareth capped off a strong first half in the 40th minute, with Spencer Neil scoring their fourth goal of the period off another assist from Kobayashi.
SUNY Poly managed a pair of solid first-half chances, including a strike from Michael Sacco that was turned away by Nazareth goalkeeper Bryan Tirado, but the Wildcats went into halftime trailing 4–0.
After regrouping at the break, the Wildcats came out energized in the second half and began generating more possession and attacking momentum. Barth continued his strong performance in goal, making a series of saves to keep Nazareth off the board, including stops on shots from Weaver and Neil midway through the half.
SUNY Poly broke through in the 73rd minute when Spychalski finished a feed from Xander Novack, putting the Wildcats on the board and shifting momentum in their favor.
The Wildcats continued to push late, with Johnpaul Jerome and Ronal Castro each testing Tirado in the final minutes, but the Nazareth keeper stood tall to prevent any further damage.
Despite the second-half surge, the early deficit proved too much to overcome as Nazareth held on for the 4–1 final.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats hit the road again on Saturday, October 25, when they travel to face the SUNY Geneseo Knights for a 1:00 P.M. start.
