The Brockport Golden Eagles men’s soccer SUNYAC conference championship hopes came to a sudden halt as the Golden Eagles came up short against the Oneonta Red Dragon 1-0.  

The first half was a dogfight with both teams going tit for tat with one another. The Golden Eagles’ defense opened opportunities for the offense that could not be capitalized on. The Red Dragons drew fouls creating chances for themselves not just in the first half but throughout the game. 

Brockport men’s soccer head coach Gary LaPietra felt chances were missed in the first half that could have put the game to bed. 

“You got to put them away we had a chance in the first half,” LaPietra said. “We had two really good looks in the first half you got to jump on them early.” 

The second half saw the Red Dragons take the initiative creating more pressure on defense causing Brockport to turn the ball over. In the 51st minute, the Red Dragons Joe Holder broke the seal grabbing a 1-0 lead off of a corner kick. That would be the only goal of the night as the Golden Eagles were unable to cash in on some chances down the stretch. 

LaPietra felt his team did not play their brand of soccer. 

“We tried to force the ball along too much and we got it we got out of our rhythm,” LaPietra said. “We didn’t play the ball through the middle we didn’t get out wide and we just started dumping balls in and that’s not our intent we play.” 

This is the second year in a row that Brockport was eliminated by Oneonta losing last year in the SUNYAC conference championship. The No. 19 nationally ranked Golden Eagles will still have a chance to bid for the NCAA Tournament which begins next Saturday, Nov 11.