Brockport Advances to Men's Soccer SUNYAC Championship
BOXSCORE
An early first half penalty shot by Brian Duffy (Hilton, NY/Hilton) proved to be the game winner for The College at Brockport Men's Soccer team in a semifinal match of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament against Geneseo Wednesday. The Golden Eagles used the penalty shot and a second half goal by freshman Dan Turchan (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) for the 2-0 win over the Knights in Brockport.
The win advanced the Golden Eagles (12-3-1) to their fourth consecutive SUNYAC Championship at 1 pm Saturday, November 5 against Oneonta at Oneonta. The Red Dragons came from behind to score four second half goals in the other semifinal matchup to defeat Plattsburgh 4-2 Wednesday.
Brockport wasted no time controlling their offensive end of the field, collecting multiple corner kicks in the first five minutes of the match. With just under seven minutes into the first half, Brian Gildemeyer (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) performed his acrobatic somersaulting throw in deep into the Geneseo penalty box. After a scramble for possession, the ball was cleared out of bounds in favor of the Golden Eagles, only to see Gildemeyer entertain the crowd with his thrown in once again.
The ball was directed straight at Geneseo keeper, Sam Murphy who couldn’t control the ball. Paul Altobelli (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili) headed the loose ball to the top of the crossbar where Geneseo defender Matt Solimano deflected the ball with his hand, resulting in an automatic red card and an ejection. The play also resulted in a penalty kick for Brockport.
Duffy stepped out and fired a shot towards the middle of the net, beating a diving Murphy to put Brockport ahead 1-0 at the 7:07 mark of the first half.
The Blue Knights, playing with only 10 men, were forced on their heels for much of the first half. While shots were kept to a minimum in the first stanza, the Golden Eagles firing three attempts to Geneseo’s one, Brockport collected nine corner kicks while Geneseo only received two entering halftime.
The Golden Eagles continued their theme of offensive pressure in the second half. Brockport goalie Kyle Sauln (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) had little action throughout the match as he was tested very rarely. Sauln finished the contest with two saves.
Turchan added an insurance goal at the 66:39 mark, his first of the season. Sauln took a direct kick from the midfield line, firing a long shot on the Geneseo goal. After a scramble for the loose ball, Turchan collected the loose ball and took a shot towards the goal that was deflected back out. Turchan persisted and finessed a shot in the lower corner of the net, putting the Golden Eagles ahead 2-0.
Brockport defeated Plattsburgh in 2009 for its first SUNYAC Championship since 1978 in a long shootout, then fell to the Cardinals in the 2010 championship. The winner of the SUNYAC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
