Brockport’s Peter Tinaj was named the Empire 8 men’s soccer Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his brace against Keuka College on Sept. 21. His first goal came in the 27th minute of the game, and he netted his second goal in the 79th minute. Tinaj earned four points from the game for his goal contributions.
“The opposition definitely gave us a different defensive shape,” said Tinaj. “They set a lot further back than most teams did. And I think we were just a lot more patient in our build up. I got to the first pass, it was a beautiful pass by Alex [Rivara], so I just had to take one touch and finish. The second goal same thing, had a good ball over the top and just a simple finish.”
Tinaj had six shots on target in the match and played a key role in Brockport’s 3-1 win.
“Peter always plays with a lot of energy, and he definitely has the skill level, and the technical ability to play,” said Brockport men’s soccer head coach Gary LaPietra. “He has a lot of energy and a lot of fun in practice, but he actually brought that to the game on Saturday. He had multiple chances, and he made some great runs. He got in behind the defenders. He had three or four golden opportunities, and he buried two of them.”
Tinaj now has two goals in seven games making him the second highest goal-scorer on the team this season behind senior forward Russ Domm who has three. Tinaj has a shot percentage of 0.167 and a shot on goal percentage of 0.750.
“I’m very pleased with myself,” said Tinaj. “It was nice to get the two goals and most importantly get us the two goals that ended up bringing us to victory. It’s nice to get started in the Empire 8 right, and now hopefully we can just get in the rhythm and keep going.”
As the season progresses Tinaj’s performance will be important for the Golden Eagle’s offense.
“We want to make sure that he’s got his pace and his speed to get behind the defenders,” said LaPietra. “He can cut guys up. He’s very technical. He could play 1v1, we want his creativity around the box.”
Tinaj spoke about his target going into the remaining games of the season.
“I would love to get on the score sheet a little bit more,” Tinaj said. “Definitely get some assists, and just do whatever I can to contribute to the team and just keep winning games.”
Brockport sit at a 2-4-1 record after their victory. Tinaj and the rest of the Golden Eagles are looking to keep the momentum going next Saturday, when they take on Hartwick in their third conference matchup.
