Brockport Golden Eagles field hockey picked up their seventh straight win on Saturday as they defeated the Hartwick Hawks by a score of 1-0. This win keeps them firmly in a race with Geneseo for first place in the Empire 8.
“Their grit and their resilience have been key,” Brockport head coach Krista Archambeau said. “Every single day they come to work, they’re coachable, they push each other. We’ve learned from every single loss so far, and we implement that into our games to make sure that the same mistakes don’t happen again.”
The Golden Eagles were held shotless in the first quarter. Hartwick put two shots on goal of their own, both of which were saved by Brockport goalie Ella Buchanan.
Buchanan, who was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week last week, came into today leading all E8 goalies in goals against average and save percentage. Her fourth straight shutout and sixth of the season improved both of those stats.
“My team, they’re my rock,” Buchanan said. “They challenge me during practice, we practice how we play and it showed today. They keep pushing me to be better and that’s why I play the way I play.”
After being shutout for the first 25 minutes of this game, Brockport’s first shot on goal of the game found the back of the net. Samantha Choate picked up her fifth goal of the season. Gianna Salerno was credited with an assist.
“I just saw an opening,” Choate said. “Gianna sent me a beautiful pass and I just hit the ball in the net.”
Despite being outshot 13-2 by Hartwick, as well as allowing four more corners than they took in the half, the Golden Eagles ended the first 30 minutes of this game with a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 at the end of the third quarter. Hartwick generated two corners and three shots on goal in the quarter, but Buchanan once again held strong to keep Brockport in the lead.
“[Buchanan] is an absolute stud,” Archambeau said. “She works that hard every single day in practice, which allows her to perform that way on game day.”
Hartwick had three corner opportunities in the final quarter and put a shot on Buchanan. But as she and the Brockport defense had done the whole game, they kept the ball out of the net. As the final buzzer sounded, the final score remained 1-0.
In total, the Golden Eagles had just three shots and four corners in this game compared to Hartwick’s 19 and 10, respectively.
“It’s all about execution,” Archambeau said. “Doesn’t matter how many shots you have if you don’t finish.”
This winning streak has shot Brockport’s record to 10-3 on the season. They’re also 5-0 in conference play, putting them in second place in the Empire 8 behind Geneseo, who is 6-0. The Hawks move to 5-6 with the loss.
Brockport plays Geneseo for the one and only time in the regular season Oct. 23, but Archambeau isn’t paying attention to that game right now.
“We take it day-by-day,” Archambeau said. “We have Oneonta next, and that’s our focus point. My goal right now is to prepare us on Monday the best that we can. We truly take everything day-by-day.”
The Golden Eagles next game will be on Wednesday as they take on the Oneonta Red Dragons. Start time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
