ALFRED, N.Y. -- Fredonia freshman Matt Casey (Williamsville, N.Y. / Williamsville South) scored her first collegiate goal in the Blue Devils' 2-1 men's soccer loss Tuesday to Alfred University.

Casey scored unassisted in the 32nd minute to forge a 1-1 tie. Alfred's Richard Lander broke the tie in the 60th minute to drop the Blue Devils to 8-3-1.

Chris Gutierrez made two saves for Alfred while Fredonia's Ty Bentham (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) was credited with four stops.

Alfred (7-3-1) had a 15-6 advantage in shots. Kyle Craver opened the scoring for the Saxons in the fourth minute.

"We got off to our usual (slow) start tonight, but battled back," Fredonia coach P.J. Gondek said. "In the second half, we tried to press to get the tying goal. We had one cleared off the line and another off the side (of the net)."

Earlier Tuesday, the Blue Devils learned they had dented the National Soccer Coaches Association of America East Region rankings for the second time this season -- this time at No. 9. They were ranked No. 10 two weeks ago.

They will put that ranking to the test this weekend when they travel to East No. 4 Cortland on Friday and visit Oswego on Saturday in a pair of SUNYAC road tests.

The Blue Devils are 2-1 in the conference.