The SUNY Brockport men’s soccer team recorded their second win in a row Tuesday evening as they defeated the Houghton Highlanders 1-0 in a defensive showdown.
The Golden Eagles attempted 10 shots, with five of them being on goal. Scoring opportunities were even harder to come by for Houghton, only managing to attempt one shot.
Junior goalkeeper Andrew Taylor had another strong performance coming off his SUNYAC Defensive Athlete of the Week award. Despite playing all 90 minutes, Taylor notched his third shutout in a row where he didn’t have to record a single save.
“We’re really just staying organized,” Taylor said. “We’re talking out there and just keeping everything clean.”
Playing a clean game was crucial to Brockport’s success. The Golden Eagles had just seven fouls compared to the Highlanders’ 16. Additionally, the Golden Eagles were rewarded with 11 corner kicks, while Houghton only attempted one.
Brockport’s lone goal came off a corner kick 34 minutes into the game. Freshman Alex Rivera’s kick would set up sophomore Warren Banks for the header to score his first goal of the season and hand Brockport the victory.
After the game, coach Gary Lapietra spoke about what he liked about his team’s performance.
“I think we did an excellent job at keeping possession,” Lapietra said. “I thought we were patient, they sat back a lot, so it was hard to break them down and get behind them, but we did a great job of being patient. Our build up was excellent, we just didn’t finish the chances. We kept the game a lot closer than it should’ve been.”
After three straight ties to start the season, the Golden Eagles won their second game in a row to move to 2-0-3. Lapietra is excited to see his team picking up momentum.
“We’re bonding a little bit more,” Lapietra said. “Our team chemistry is getting better. We’re starting to trust more players, and our depth is getting a little better. They’re just trusting each other a little more, and I thought that they did a really good job tonight. I just feel that we have some things to keep working on and we’ll get better at it. It’s all about a progression, how you start a season and where you’re going.”
