BROCKPORT, N.Y.- In a matchup between two of the top men's teams in the SUNYAC this fall, SUNY Oneonta and The College at Brockport battled to an even 2-2 draw. The tie for the Red Dragons makes them 7-3-3 overall and 4-1-1 in conference play while the Golden Eagles are now 9-2-2 overall and 4-0-2 in the SUNYAC.
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"We feel we controlled the game for 75 minutes," stated Head Coach
Iain Byrne. "We can complain about the second penalty all we want, but the onus is on us to close out the game. It's a tough place to play and its positive that today feels like a loss. All credit to Brockport for fighting back."
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All of the scoring came in the second half of today's game after the two squads went scoreless in the opening 45 minutes.
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Early in the second half, Oneonta was awarded a penalty kick, which was taken by senior
Alejandro Ruiz (Brentwood/Brentwood). Ruiz stepped up and took the shot, which was saved by the Brockport keeper, but on the rebounding action, sophomore
Roberto Ventura (Brentwood/Brentwood) knocked it home for the 1-0 lead.
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Ruiz had an opportunity twelve minutes later on a free kick from outside the box. This time he left no doubt beating the keeper low to put Oneonta ahead by a pair of goals.
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Brockport continued to battle earning two penalty kicks, one in the 65
th minute and the other in the 85
th minute. Quintin Volpe converted the first kick and Matthew Stefaniw converted on the second kick to tie the game.
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In the overtime periods, both keepers came through keeping the game knotted at two apiece. Ruiz did have another free kick opportunity in the 98
th minute that hit the left post square. Senior
Nicholas Plate (Miller Place/Sachem North) had one last shot in the final seconds of the first overtime period that was stopped by the Brockport keeper.
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Senior
Nicholas Giordano (East Northport/Commack) made seven saves today for Oneonta running his season record to 4-2-3 overall.
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The Red Dragons will continue on the road next weekend with matches at Plattsburgh on Friday and Potsdam on Saturday.
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