Junior Michael McDougald scored the would-be game-winning goal at the 49:18 mark and Parker Hotchkiss put on the finishing touches 10:43 later, to help send the St. Lawrence men's soccer team to a 3-1 win over Buffalo State at Sandy MacAllaster Field on Saturday afternoon.

St. Lawrence improved to 1-0-0 on the season, while Buffalo State fell to 0-1-0.

"We were delighted with the win today against a very good team." said head coach Mike Toshack "Alot of our guys made their college debuts today and were fantastic. We defended well as a team, kept the ball in our possession, and managed the game well. Now we set our sights on a very good Geneseo team, which is very well coached by Mark Howlett."

The game got off to a shaky start in the first half, with both teams committing defensive gaffes leading to goals for both sides.

Buffalo State had a throw-in deep in their defensive end, the ball was them kicked back to the goaltender Max Shoemaker who was immediately pressured by Robert Reynolds. The ball was coughed up by Shoemaker and Reynolds proceeded to bury it in the open net for the 1-0 lead.

It was only 6:14 later that the Saints would give up a goal themselves. The ball was deep in St. Lawrence territory when a defender passed the ball back to an unsuspecting Ben Woelfinger. The ball would trickle past the goalkeeper for an own goal, tying up the game at 1-1.

The Saints outshot the Bengals 7-5 in the first half. Buffalo State had two corner kicks while St. Lawrence wasn't awarded any.

Early in the second half, the Scarlet and Brown were given a great opportunity on a free-kick following a Bengals foul just outside the box. McDougald ripped a shot past the outstretched Shoemaker to give the Saints the 2-1 advantage.

The game was sealed 10:43 later when Antonio Rogliano found Hotchkiss for St. Lawrence's third goal of the contest. Rogliano fed Hotchkiss a perfect pass through the heart of the defense, which he settled and fired past the goalkeeper to put the Saints up for good.

Saints' goalkeeper Woelfinger was a stalwart in net stopping seven shots, while Shoemaker made five saves for the Bengals.

The Scarlet and Brown outshot Buffalo State 16-13 but tied for shots on goal with eight apiece. The Saints took four corner kicks to the Bengal's three.

The Saints will be back at Sandy MacAllaster Field tomorrow to take on SUNY Geneseo in their second game of the North Country Classic at 3:30 p.m.