Athletics

The Morrisville State College hunt seat equestrian team opened the 2010-11 season at Skidmore Saturday morning, earning reserve champion honors at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) show in Saratoga Springs. Three Morrisville State riders posted place finishes to qualify them for the regional championships at the end of the season; Renee Petruzzelli (Clifton Springs, NY) and Katherine Irace (Goshen, NY) in the walk trot canter class and Nicole Hallenback (Fonda, NY) in the novice equitation over fences class.

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) recently announced its student-athlete of the week selections for the week ending October 24, naming Morrisville State sophomore Austin Townsley (Horseheads, NY) the men's cross country runner of the week. Townsley finished the 8k Heron Invitational in second place out of 30 runners with a time of 28:28, a 5:43 per mile pace, to lead the Mustangs. He has posted three top 10 finishes to date for the men.

Sophomore Nicole Sharick (Corfu, NY) scored with 4:11 remaining in the second overtime period to lift visiting Keuka College women's soccer to a 1-0 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory over Morrisville State Tuesday night in Morrisville. Keuka held the 40-5 advantage in shots and mustered five more in the second overtime before Sharick was able to sneak one past Morrisville State keeper Cheyanna Waters (Woodhull, NY) on a thru ball from Deanna Nortier (Marion, NY).

The Morrisville State College men's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking loss Tuesday night, as visiting Keuka Storm notched the 1-0 overtime North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory on Drake Field in Morrisville. A foul with just under three minutes to go in the overtime period proved costly for Morrisville State as Christian Sterner redirected a Brian Cunliffe free kick, a header, for the game winning score.

The Mustangs fell to SUNY Oswego 3-0 tonight in Morrisville. Oswego took the set 25-17, 25-15 and 25-20. Morrisville's record falls to 7-21 overall. Nicole Wright (Dryden, NY) led the team with seven kills, one set assist, five defensive digs and two solo blocks. Angelina Ciaschi (Ithaca, NY) added four kills, one solo block and one set assist. Deanna Zbikowski (North Syracuse, NY) recorded 12 set assists. Teammate Devan Hirst (Cobleskill, NY) tallied 11 defensive digs for the Mustangs. Lexi Hansen (Taberg, NY) had one kill and one solo block.

Host SUNY Cobleskill broke the tie with 20 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to net the 2-1 sudden victory over visiting Morrisville State College women's soccer Saturday afternoon in Cobleskill. Morrisville State took the 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute as Erin Rundle (Marathon, NY) crossed the ball to Beth Fisher (Bolton Landing, NY) who put the ball into the undefended net for the score.

Visiting nationally ranked SUNY Cortland cruised to a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory Saturday afternoon, posting a 42-6 win over host Morrisville State College on Drake Field in Morrisville. Cortland opened the scoring with a 64-yard rushing touchdown by Justin Autera on the first play of the game to give the Red Dragons the early 7-0 lead.

Austin Townsley (Horseheads, NY) came in second, with a time of 28:28, to lead the Morrisville State College men's cross country team at the Heron Invitational held at William Smith College Saturday morning. Only 24 seconds behind Townsley, Ben Sargrad (Manlius, NY) claimed third place, posting a time of 28:52. Tim Austen (Clifton Park, NY) crossed the finish line with a time of 29:38 for sixth place to round out the top 10 finishers for the men.

The Morrisville State men's soccer team beat SUNY Cobleskill 1-0 today in Cobleskill. The Mustangs' overall record rises to 8-6-1. Andrew Brobbey (Bronx, NY) scored the only goal of the game unassisted 52 minutes into the game. Goalkeeper Shane Sullivan (Sherrill, NY) shut out SUNY Cobleskill, saving three and playing all 90 minutes in net. Mack Curran (Cooperstown, NY) tallied the loss in goal, with 90 minutes of play and five saves in the game.

The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) released its 2010-11 preseason men's ice hockey coaches poll Thursday afternoon, ranking Morrisville State College sixth overall. Oswego earned the top spot, followed by Plattsburgh, Geneseo, Fredonia, Potsdam, Morrisville, Brockport, Cortland and Buffalo State.