New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team started its SUNYAC conference schedule with a W, as it defeated The College at Brockport at home Friday in an electric, 2-1 victory.
With the win, SUNY New Paltz (6-2 overall, 1-0 SUNYAC) not only secures its fourth victory in five contests, but it wins its first contest against the Golden Eagles since 2012, and the first at home since 2007. The Hawks had lost seven of their last eight contests against their SUNYAC rivals, walking away with a tie in a 2018 matchup, before today.
The Hawks path to victory started out rough, with the Golden Eagles getting on the board first on a deflected kick that turned into a Matthew Stefaniw goal to the right of graduate student goalkeeper Marc DePasquale just two minutes and seven seconds into the game. Stefaniw nearly scored again for Brockport two minutes later with another close range shot, but it sailed way over the net.
Junior forward Brandon Davenport represented a chance for the Hawks to get an early goal as well, but the sixth minute attempt was collected by Brockport goalkeeper Andrew Taylor to keep the Hawks off the board.
Gallery: (9-24-2021) Men's Soccer vs. Brockport 9/24/21
From that point on, both teams played hard, physical defense for the remainder of the game. In fact, three consecutive fouls were called on the Golden Eagles in 35 seconds in the 15 minute, which SUNY New Paltz could not take advantage of. With 22 minutes left in the half, the Golden Eagles, crowding the sideline at their half as SUNY New Paltz attacked, were hit with a foul call that gave the Hawks a golden opportunity to equalize the game, but — like most of the half — the Golden Eagles defense prevented any good looks for the offense.
"We definitely created some good chances," said SUNY New Paltz coach Kyle Clancy. "It's sometimes the difference of an inch here or there. A bit more concentration or an adjustment of a run and it's a goal. We executed much better as the game went on and I was happy to see how we played in the second half."
The physicality began to take a toll when sophomore Owen McGarrity was charged with a yellow card on a hard foul in the 28th minute, while senior midfielder Ryan Hilliard received his in the 36th minute. Zach Langelotti of Brockport was also given a yellow card in the 37th minute.
"Officials have a very tough job, it's one I'd never want," said Clancy. "If there was inconsistency at times, I thought it was both ways, but I have seen much worse and thought they did a good job overall."
The Hawks finally tied the game with just a minute and a half left in the period when, after a yellow card was accessed to Andy Cespedes, senior forward Ryan Stevens took another hard foul in the penalty box from Kolbi Maddy. Freshman midfielder Joseph DiPreta then stepped up and proceeded to punch in a penalty kick past the diving Taylor for his first career collegiate goal, as the game went into the half tied at one.
"It was just good to get us back into the game, just sort of give us some momentum," he said. "We just needed to finish the half out strong."
The second half started out just as physical as the first, with another foul issued on Jonathan Tola. SUNY New Paltz spent a portion of the second half in Brockport territory, but the combination of great defense from the Golden Eagles and misplacements from the Hawks resulted in no scoring. In the 50th minute, sophomore Papis Kontae broke down the defense and got a great look in close range, but Jacob Wlostowski intercepted the hard grounder, kicking it out to keep the game tied.
After a foul was called on Giovanni Cardona 18 minutes into the second half, the resulting free kick, whipped in by DiPreta, found sophomore defender Tim Kane far post, who then assisted fellow sophomore McGarrity's header straight into the back of the net. It was McGarrity's second goal of the season, putting the Hawks in front.
"In the second half, we were stronger defensively and we played our game more," McGarrity said. "I think we knew our game plan throughout the whole game and we executed a lot better in the second half, and we got our chance and we scored."
The Golden Eagles offense stalled after the second goal due to fouls, good Hawks defense, and a yellow card called on Seamus Parker for the team's third and the game's fifth yellow card of the day. Its best chance at equalizing the game was with 13 minutes, 35 seconds left in the half, when DePasquale miraculously blocked Noah Mohamed's shot attempt in the bottom right corner with a diving save for his fourth of the game.
Its next two chances to score would both be desperation kicks with seven and four minutes remaining, respectively, that came nowhere close to the net. Konate's shot attempt to put the game away early with just three minutes left went wide left.
Wilson Wong's foul with 55 seconds left in the game effectively sealed the game for the Hawks, as the Golden Eagles last ditch effort to score an equalizer in the last 15 seconds was thwarted as the whistle blew.
"We try and pride ourselves on being relentless winning the ball back when we don't have it," DiPreta said. "We want to win the games, we want to get to every ball. So I think that's what's going to win us games, because when we work hard and get the ball under control, we get to play the way we want to."
"It wasn't an ideal start, but it's a good opportunity to learn what our mindset is, and they adjusted well and grew into the game," Clancy added. "It is never easy playing Brockport, a physical, athletic team with a great goal scorer up top, but I was really impressed with our mentality and ability to overcome the difficult start."
The Hawks and Golden Eagles were evenly matched throughout the game, with both teams having 10 shots, while SUNY New Paltz held the slight edge on corner kicks and shots on goal — 6-5 in each category, respectively.
"Our guys know what they have to do to get ready for tomorrow," Clancy said. "It's half physical, half mental, and a deep bench always helps. We plan to go deeper into the bench tomorrow and expect the level to stay high. That will be huge for our success versus Geneseo."
SUNY New Paltz will look to make it back-to-back SUNYAC victories — and three straight for the second time this season — when it plays the Knights Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on the South Turf Field.
Post-Game Interview with Joseph DiPreta & Owen McGarrity
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