Lucky Number 13

Senior captain, Steve Bartkowski, feels his final season is "personal" as Red Dragons look to bounce back at the start of SUNYAC play

As you open the SUNY Cortland men’s soccer guide you’ll find senior captain, Steve Bartkowski, listed as number thirteen. A number commonly associated with bad luck.

“My birthday is April 13^th. I love when people say 13 is unlucky because I think it’s the luckiest number in the world,” a chuckling Bartkowski exclaimed.

Via Cortlandreddragons.com

At a very young age a passion was born for the soccer star at Kenmore East high school.

“When I was about 4 years old, my parents enrolled me in little kids play, and it just kept going from there. At Kenmore East we were a winning team, winning a few sectional titles, the winning aspect of it all increased my love for the game.”

Soccer comes as second nature for the sport management major that spent his pre-college years growing up in Buffalo, New York where he was a member of the high honor roll and graduated in the top-10 percent of his class at Kenmore East as a two year starter in varsity soccer. Bartkowski has been a member of the SUNY Cortland men’s soccer team for all four years he’s spent at Cortland.  The decision to enroll at SUNY Cortland came in convincing fashion once the defensemen-stepped foot at the Red Dragons home field.

“The first time I visited Cortland, one of the first things I did with Coach Hornibrook was take a tour of the stadium.  Just seeing the atmosphere, the whole stands; it brought me to the field. It brought me to Cortland.”

In his freshmen year of 2009, Bartkowski played in 13 games. “It was an interesting season during my freshmen year because it’s a completely different game coming from the high school to college level. It’s faster, more physical, “ says Bartkowski.

The 2008 season was one in which Bartkowski could have never imagined. He played in 19 games and started in 11 as the Red Dragons won the SUNYAC championship, finishing the season ranked 17^th nationally going 11-7-3 after earning a win in the NCAA Division III playoff opener over Misericordia, 1-0.  It was the first time since 2003 that the Red Dragons men’s soccer had appeared in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

“That was a huge season for me as well as all the others on the team. The beginning of the season was kind of slow, just as this season has so far right now.  As the season went on, we kept building, building, and building, and when we got to the SUNYAC playoffs everything fell into place.  Everything went our way, bounces went in our favor, we won in penalty kicks in the semifinals and it just led us to the title. It was just an awesome feeling,” says Bartkowski.

After reaching the top of the summit from a team standpoint in 2008 season, Bartkowski had a personal setback in the 2009 campaign. A broken arm derailed a portion of Bartkowski season appearing in 17 games as well as starting in 11 as the Red Dragons finished at a record of 5-9-3.

Approaching his final season as a member of the Red Dragons Bartkowski feels it’s an honor to be chosen as a captain claiming, “It’s a huge, huge privilege, it was voted on by the players of the team. It’s nice to see the players looking up to me and seeing me as a role model on and off the field.”

Bartkowski feels it is imperative to show the SUNYAC conference that the 2008 season was no fluke emphatically saying, “This year is really important. Our team goes from winning the SUNYAC Championship two years ago to losing in the SUNYAC quarterfinals last year, just a disappointing year overall. We have around ten seniors on this team this year, with seven of them starting. We want to show everyone that we are not a joke team in the SUNYAC’s.”

The SUNY Cortland men’s soccer team may not get all the press on campus, but

Bartkowski believes the team is coming together.

“The team morale is great. Going into the season is always tough because we only have a week and half of preseason, then we get right into games, with freshmen and sophomores not adjusted to their roles. Coming into preseason in the second day, we had a spaghetti dinner, we’ve gone out as a team for miniature golf. Everyone is coming together; we are building that bond on-and-off the field,” says Bartkowski.

The senior captain who idolized Zinedine Zidane growing up is hopeful that his final season as a Red Dragon is capped off with a SUNYAC title saying, “We want to win the SUNYAC’s. It’s personal basically now, especially since I’m a captain, it’s personal that we do well this year.”

The Red Dragons started off SUNYAC play on Saturday vs. Oswego at home as their quest towards a conference title begins.

Asked if he will use the art of flopping as an integral part of his game after watching the act perfected in the 2010 World Cup, Bartkowski laughingly claims “Absolutely not. I hate flopping more than anything.”

For more student athlete interviews tune into Around the Dragon every Friday from 2-4 p.m. with Michael Millstein and Steve Cuce for everything Cortland sports on WSUC 90.5 FM and www.cortland.edu/wsuc.

Red Dragons withstand Cougars, 24-12

Lopez, Autera led Red Dragons to first win of the 2010 campaign

The Cortland Red Dragons locked up their sixth straight season opening win in a 24-

12, victory over the Kean Cougars, but this task was easier said then done in Union, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

“Right out of the gates, just fire on all cylinders was Coach MacNeill’s pre-game speech. It was important for us to set the tone early on the road,” exclaimed senior cornerback, Joe Lopez.

The New Jersey Athletic Conference’s preseason favorite per the league’s coaches’ poll did not disappoint early. Cortland jumped out to a 17-0 lead with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter thanks in part to an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown by sophomore running back/return specialist Justin Autera on the game’s opening kickoff. Autera’s offensive onslaught also included an 18-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

Cortland saw their big lead begin to evaporate after the first quarter, as Kean tacked on two touchdown drives with touchdown passes receptions from junior Louis Haynes and senior running back Jason Gwaltney, but both point after attempts were unsuccessful. The Cougars offensive surge cut the deficit to five at the start of the fourth quarter.

The contest’s final quarter saw Autera return a 43-yard Billy Daniels punt back 55-yards to the Kean 5-yard line where the Red Dragons looked poised to put the game away for good after the special team boost.

The Cortland offense failed to capitalize on the goal line opportunity, ending on a fumble by senior running back Dom Sair on a 4^th and goal chance from the Kean 1-yard line.

Junior defensive end James Boyd recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback where the Cougars set up shop at the Red Dragons 20-yard line looking to take their first lead of the game on the recurring possession.

“Basically when we got out on the field, we knew it was up to us, we needed to make a stop on this drive or the game could have gotten out of hand. What we kept saying every time we broke the huddle is this is our time, this is our time!” an emphatic Joe Lopez chronicling the mind of the defense going into that drive.

Six plays later Lopez showed why he’s aspiring to become not only the NJAC’s best corner, but an All-American this season by intercepting junior quarterback Tom D’Ambrisi pass at the Kean 44-yard line and returning the ball to Kean 37-yard line.

Five plays later Autera capped off a 5 play, 37-yard drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown to give the Red Dragons a 24-12 lead with 5:19 remaining in the contest.

The next drive saw the Cougars start off at their own 43-yard line. Three plays later D’Ambrisi was picked off again by Lopez at the Cortland 15-yard line where he returned the ball back to the Cortland 36.

“Our defensive line got the pressure on, our linebackers sifted in the middle, all of our defensive back’s we just took care of it. When I saw him (D’Ambrisi), his eyes lit up, he knew he wanted to go deep, I just went chasing after it, I realized right then and there that was the way to end the game.”

Kean would acquire the ball one last time with 2:53 remaining in the game, but D’Ambrisi had this final pass of the day picked off by junior linebacker/fullback Bill Smith on the first play of the drive.

The efforts by Lopez (2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass deflection) and Smith (1 interception) helped anchor a stifling Cortland defense that induced four turnovers on the Kean offense in the second half.

In his first regular season game since suffering a season ending Achilles tendon tear in week two of last season, graduate student Dan Pitcher completed 11-of-20 throws for 179 yards and a touchdown. Pitcher telling Bobby Comstock of Cortland Internet radio at halftime of the contest that “I moved on from last year. My body feels different, but my confidence has only grown.”

The efforts of Sair and Autera combined for 124 yards passing.

The Red Dragons special team’s unit proved to be a difference maker. Senior Matt Kaufmann blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt at the closing bell of the first half.  Junior kicker Marc Corrado booted a 33-ard field goal and was 3-for-3 in extra point attempts.

With the loss Kean dropped to 0-1 and will face Morrisville State on Saturday, September 18^th at noon. The victory put Cortland at 1-0 on the season, as the Red Dragons will host Buffalo State in their home opener on Saturday, September 18^th, at 1 p.m.

Cortland Gridiron Report Adjustment

The Cortland Gridiron Report will be returning in a different facet this season. There will be some game stories, interviews with Coach MacNeill as well as player profile stories. The Red Dragons take on the Kean Cougars this afternoon. The game story to follow shortly.

(Photo courtesy of Dan Padavona @ cortlandfootball.com)