Brockport men’s soccer rolls over rival

The Brockport men’s soccer team had a big win Saturday, Oct. 6 in a SUNYAC contest against the Geneseo Knights to improve its record to 6-6 overall and 4-1 in the SUNYAC.

The Eagles came off of a big win from an away game at Daemen College where sophomore forward Paul Altobelli scored the tying goal in regulation, and then junior midfielder Kevin Nichols scored the game-winning goal in overtime seven minutes and 47 seconds in. This win helped propel the Golden Eagles to another win against Geneseo.

Nine minutes and 13 seconds into the game, Altobelli scored a goal for the early advantage. Freshman forward Dom Kwiatkowski scored after 71 minutes and 36 seconds, scoring a header goal. Freshman goalkeeper Casey Sullivan played a solid 90 minute game and recorded a shutout against the Geneseo Knights with seven saves.

Altobelli scored his fourth goal of the season with a shot to the top right of the net in a cluster of players, off of an assist from sophomore defenseman Kevin Dorn in the ninth minute to give Brockport an early first-half lead.

With that assist, Dorn now leads the team with 11 points for the season.

Brockport had five shots in the first half compared to seven taken by Geneseo.

In the first few minutes of play after the half, Brockport had three quick shots on goal in a span of 10 seconds. The Eagles did not score on this opportunity, however kept pushing throughout the half.


Kwiatkowski scored his first goal of the season, on a header in the 71st minute of play off a deep throw-in from junior midfielder Bobby Ross.

“It took a load off because it was a really close game,” Kwiatkowski said. “It felt really special.”

Brockport and Geneseo both took nine shots on goal in the second half.

Kwiatkowski said the team will work on “pressing the ball more” before the game against Cortland, which currently leads the conference standings at 4-1-1.

Head Coach Gary LaPietra had high remarks for his team after the impressive win.

“Getting on the board early was big,” LaPietra said. “Altobelli and Kwiatkowski really stepped up. This team improving their record from 3-6 to 6-6 is a big step in the right direction.”

Brockport has defeated Geneseo in its last four matchups.

It defeated the Knights 3-1 in the 2010 and 2011 regular season and 2-0 in the 2011 SUNYAC tournament semifinals.

The Eagles are now tied for second place in the SUNYAC with Plattsburgh.

Brockport looks to continue its winning streak in a pair of conference games this weekend. Friday, Oct. 12 the Eagles host Cortland at 4 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 13 Brockport hosts Oswego at 1 p.m.