Throwback Thursday: 2005 Plattsburgh Men's Soccer Team
This week, the SUNYAC has decided to highlight the amazing season of the 2005 Plattsburgh men's soccer team for its Throwback Thursday story. The Cardinals had one of the most dominant seasons in any sport in the history of the conference. They went 17-1 during the regular season, including going 8-1 in the conference. They started out this incredible run with emphatic shutouts in their first three games, 5-0 vs Johnson State College and Norwhich University topping those two performances off with a 7-0 rout of Green Mountain College.
With conference play coming up and competition getting tougher, the games became closer and they eventually suffered their first loss in a close 2-1 game vs Brockport in mid-September. Even that couldn't slow down the Cards, finishing the regular season on a 12-game winning streak. Plattsburgh was the first seed and host for the SUNYAC men's soccer championship where they didn't allow a goal, defeating Geneseo 2-0 and getting a little revenge on Brockport for blemishing their perfect season, beating them 3-0 to win the conference.
In a first round matchup against Brockport in the NCAA Division III Tournament, Plattsburgh convincingly took their rubber match 5-2. The next two games were close ones that saw the Cardinals slide by Western New England University and Williams College 1-0. Entering their matchup with Messiah College with a school record, 17-game winning streak, Plattsburgh fell short in a 4-0 defeat bringing their magical season to an end.
Although the 2005 season ended with a loss, it was one that those players and program will never forget. They were the SUNYAC Champions, set a school record for a winning streak, and finished the season at 22-2. Their successful season didn't go unnnoticed as they were ranked fourth in the 2005 final NCAA Division III coaches' poll.
