Courtesy of GoBrockport.com
PITTSFORD, N.Y.—The College at Brockport men’s soccer team capped off the Doug May Classic with a hard-fought victory against Nazareth College on Saturday, 2-1. Justin Mercer scored the game winning goal in the 84th minute to claim the Golden Eagles’ second win of 2017.
The Golden Eagles improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Golden Flyers fall to 0-2 on the year.
The Brockport offense was clicking on all cylinders as they were able to put together seven shots, four of which were on goal. However, they were unable to capitalize as the game remained scoreless until the 28th minute, when Nazareth would net their first goal of the season. The Green and Gold continued to attack using a combination of set pieces and great passing, but the score would remain 1-0 going into halftime.
It only took four minutes into the second half for Brockport to tie the game up at 1-1 when Quintin Volpe was fouled inside the box, setting up a penalty kick. Volpe set it up and sank the shot to the right side of the net for his second goal of the season.
The Golden Eagles continued to attack the net with a relentless offense as they outshot Nazareth 10-0 in the second half, but were unable to get a ball into the net as the score remained 1-1, until Mercer’s late goal.
“We played a bit sluggish in the first half and it cost us with giving up a poor goal,” noted Brockport head coach Gary LaPietra. “We played a high-paced second half and dominated play, creating several excellent scoring opportunities. Mercer and Volpe played exceptionally, each scoring a goal. Jeff Hibbard was a difference maker in the second half as well, and we were very pleased with Jason Hayes and his dominance in the midfield. Our defense held strong all game, and played very smart at the end of the match.”
The Green and Gold out-shot Nazareth 17-6 on the day. The Brockport defense shut down the opposition and did not allow a quality attack. Joseph Romano helped that defense in goal, with three saves in all 90 minutes of action.
Brockport will play their home opener on Tuesday Sept. 5 when they welcome Medaille College for a 5 p.m. contest.
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