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PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team didn't exactly come flying out of the gate with a 1-1-1 overall record to begin the 2009 season.

But, that has changed in a good way.

The nationally-ranked Cardinals won the State University of New York Athletic Conference regular season title and earned the right to host the conference tournament semifinals and finals this weekend at the Plattsburgh State Field House Soccer Complex.

At stake for the winner is a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In today's semifinals, third-seeded Geneseo opposes second-seeded Brockport at 1 p.m., followed by the top-seeded Cardinals taking on fourth-seeded Oneonta at 3:30 p.m.

Saturday's championship game is set for 1 p.m.

"There's no question any of the four teams can win it," said Plattsburgh State head coach Chris Waterbury.

"Oneonta is a very good team, very organized and well coached. They are a difficult team to play."

Since the 1-1-1 start, the Cardinals have gone 11-1-3.

"The turning point of the season goes back to the weekend on the road (Sept. 25-26) when we beat Brockport (4-1) and Geneseo (1-0 in overtime)," Waterbury said. "It was an incredibly difficult trip and we won two games. It was a big, pivotal weekend for us.

"The Skidmore game (3-2 non-conference win) was also a turning point. It told us a lot when we got down, 2-0, 15 minutes into the game and came back to win."

During the regular season, the Cardinals played the Red Dragons to a scoreless overtime tie in Oneonta.

"Either team could have won," Waterbury said. "I can't say we deserved to win and I can't say they deserved to win. It was a battle and a reasonably good result."

Plattsburgh State, like everyone else, has been hit by illness.

"We left 10 players behind when we played at St. Lawrence in our last regular season game," Waterbury said. "It was more about illness than injuries and we gave the players a weekend off to get better.

"But, this is the best we've been health-wise. We've had a decent week of practice and, hopefully, we'll have everyone back this weekend. We've had a little bit of a layoff between games. But, that has allowed us to get healthy, even though we may not have all our strength back."

The SUNYAC Tournament was held at the Oneonta Soccer Hall of Fame fields from 1999 to 2008. But, with Oneonta dropping down to a Division III team and SUNYAC member, it was moved this year to the site of the conference's regular season champion.

"No question, we're thrilled to be home," Waterbury said. "It goes back to our Potsdam game where the guys were talking about the excitement of being the host team.

"There, however, is no margin for error now. All we have guaranteed is 90 minutes left in our season. If we lose the game, we're done.

"You want to peak at the right time. We're definitely ready to play, but I'm not sure of where we are because of the sickness we've been through and the layoff."

Plattsburgh State
(12-2-4, 7-1-1)

The Cardinals are ranked No. 20 in the country. They are led in scoring by Chris Taylor with 22 points, including four goals and a SUNYAC-leading 14 assists.

Other scoring threats include Pat Shaughnessy (7-6-20), Anis Makaren (8-2-18) and Matt Hamilton (6-1-13). Bart Misiak, Mike Pinamonti, John LoGuirato and Gurtej Dhillon lead a defense that has allowed a SUNYAC-low 0.44 goals per game. Andy Heighington has a 12-1-3 record in net, with six shutouts.

Oneonta State
(12-4-2, 5-3-1)

The Red Dragons led all SUNYAC teams with 41 goals overall in their 18 games. Evan Jednak (11 goals, 28 points) and Eric Fortier (10 goals, 26 points) led the team in scoring. Oneonta, which has outscored its opponents by a 17-3 margin in the first half, has eight shutouts to its credit.

Oneonta and Cortland played to a scoreless overtime tie in a tournament play-in game before Oneona advanced in a penalty kick shootout.

Brockport State
(9-5-2, 7-2)

The Golden Eagles enter the playoffs having won seven of their last nine games. Steve Abgarian leads Brockport in goals (11), assists (4), points (26) and shots (51). The Golden Eagles have allowed just 14 goals in 16 games. Brockport had a bye in the opening round of the tournament.

Geneseo State
(9-6-2, 5-3-1)

The Knights won SUNYAC crowns in 2004 and 2006. Jason Tartick is the team's top scoring threat with five goals, 13 points and 41 shots, while Colin Begy has four assists among his 10 points.

Geneseo posted a 3-2 overtime win over Oswego in a tournament play-in game.