The SUNY Brockport soccer team hosted SUNY Cortland Saturday afternoon in their final match before the SUNYAC Tournament. It was a close game during the first half, but the visiting Red Dragons pulled off in the second to come away with the 4-1 victory.
There was a short ceremony prior to the match honoring the senior class in celebration of the Golden Eagles’ senior day.
Cortland didn’t waste any time putting points on the board, scoring the first goal in just the 12th minute of the match to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead. The teams battled back and forth until senior Dylan Rippe earned a penalty kick opportunity by drawing a foul in the box. Rippe’s penalty kick would just get by the Red Dragon’s goalkeeper’s outstretched arms to tie the game up with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. However, Cortland scored again just before halftime, giving the Red Dragons a 2-1 lead going into the break.
The Golden Eagles struggled to find many scoring opportunities in the second half.
They only attempted six shots, while Cortland attempted 19. As time was running out, the Red Dragons scored again in the 75th minute to put the game out of reach. Shortly after, Cortland scored again, giving them the 4-1 victory. Junior Andrew Taylor recorded seven saves as goalkeeper for the Golden Eagles.
With Saturday’s victory, Cortland secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming SUNYAC Tournament and earned a first-round bye and home field advantage moving forward.
The SUNY Brockport soccer team ends their regular season with an 8-3-5 record and 6-2-1 record in conference play. The Golden Eagles will host Geneseo or Plattsburgh in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29.
