It was a hot day in Brockport as the Golden Eagles women’s soccer team hosted the Buffalo State Bengals in a non-conference matchup. Megan Gerber netted a goal early in a physical, defensive battle as Brockport pulled out a 2-0 victory.
“I thought it was a real physical kind of game,” Brockport head coach Mike Idland said. “Obviously, we were long term conference opponents and this is the first time we’re seeing each other out of conference, but it had the vibe of a SUNYAC game. So, I just talked to the team, I didn’t feel like we were at our best by any means, but it’s important to be able to find a way to win games when you’re not quite at your best. And I thought we did just enough of the hard, dirty, ugly work that needs to be done to make sure, by hook or crook, to keep the ball out of our net and chip away, chip away, chip away.”
With the game still scoreless 16 minutes in, Brockport got their first scoring chance. The Golden Eagles pushed the ball up and sent a shot towards the net, but it was initially saved by Bengals goalkeeper Addy Williams. Gerber was in the right place at the right time; got control of the ball off the ricochet and sent a rocket into the goal to give Brockport a 1-0 lead.
“I just saw it on the outside,” Gerber said. “From there, I knew I had to get into position and be ready for anything. Then I happened to be there and capitalized.”
Besides Gerber’s goal in the first half, it was quiet offensively. With both defenses holding strong, Brockport’s goalkeeper Madeline McCrosson led the defensive effort, finishing with four saves.
“We knew they were a hard-hitting team,” McCrosson said. “Our defensive game plan was to kind of just hit back, be ready for it, and to play clean on the ball.”
In the second half, it was much of the same. The Golden Eagles did a good job of maintaining possession for most of the game and Buffalo State could not find an offensive rhythm.
With ten minutes left in the game, the Brockport offense came back to life. This time it was McKenna Slate scoring an easy goal off a feed from Jaylah Cossin. The Bengals had a couple chances at the end of the game to possibly tie it up, but McCrosson and the defense shut down the opportunities to certify the shutout.
“I think when we watch the offense put in as much work as they do, it makes it really easy for us to do our job,” McCrosson said. “You get to stay ready back there and you’re not too tired when it comes to you. So, I think we just stay motivated by watching them work so hard out there.”
Brockport had 18 total shots, 12 of them on goal. With conference play starting this weekend, the Golden Eagles know they can clean things up offensively and create more chances to score.
“I thought we turned the ball over a bit much, especially earlier on in the game in some dangerous spots,” Idland said. “That’s probably the main area for me. So, because we turned it over in some bad spots, we didn’t get any kind of great rhythm on the ball in the attack the way we would have liked to, and it leads to a game that feels a little out of control. So, if we clean that up a little bit going into Sage we’ll have a better chance, but if we don’t, we will probably be in trouble.”
The Golden Eagles improve to 3-0-1 on the season and turn their attention to this Saturday, when they go on the road to take on the Russell Sage Gators. This game will be the first game of Empire 8 conference play for Brockport. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
