Brockport women's soccer clinches No. 1 spot

As the final seconds ticked off the clock and it became clear they had won, screams of joy erupted from the members of the Brockport women’s soccer team. This wasn’t a typical postgame celebration though — this one was special. For the first time in program history, the Golden Eagles claimed the SUNYAC regular season championship.

It couldn’t have happened in a more fitting way. Not only did they get to do it in front of their home crowd, but it was Senior Day as well.

After the game, Head Coach Joan Schockow was elated for her team to finally be at the top of the SUNYAC at the end of the regular season.

“The SUNYAC is awesome from top to bottom,” said Schockow. “To get the regular season title is amazing.”

The Eagles earned the honor after they defeated the Plattsburgh Cardinals 2-1 Saturday, Oct. 20.  
The Eagles struck first when junior forward Katie Gildemeyer’s shot from the left side of the box found the goal at the 14:40 mark. She was assisted on the goal by senior midfielder Kaila Maguire.

Gildemeyer didn’t stop there, as she added her second goal of the game more than 20 minutes later, giving her seven for the season. The goal came off of a rebound after senior midfielder Sarah Lawson shot one that hit off of the crossbar.

Lawson was credited with the assist, the 27th of her career, which gave her the school record for most career assists.


The Cardinals made things interesting in the second half after junior Lauren Gonyea scored at the 58:23 mark to make it a 2-1 game.

The momentum clearly swung in the favor of the Cardinals for the rest of the half, as the Eagles were forced to be on defense for much of the remainder.

Fortunately, junior goalkeeper Hannah Conine and the Golden Eagles defense held off the offensive barrage, and the Eagles came away with the 2-1 victory, securing the team’s first ever SUNYAC regular season championship.

Conine, who took over the starting goalkeeper position late in the season, simply described the last stretch of the game as “crazy.”

Schockow said while being regular season champs is a great feeling, the team needs to stay focused on preparing for the SUNYAC tournament.

“We’ll enjoy this now through Monday,” said Schockow. “They should enjoy it, it’s a big deal, but Tuesday we’ll be back to work.”

The day before the game against Plattsburgh, the Eagles took on the Potsdam Bears.

The Bears, who are last in the conference, were clearly outplayed, and the Golden Eagles soared to a 4-0 victory.

Junior forward Vanessa Gillette had two goals and an assist in the game. The two goals give her 16 on the season, which is tops in the conference. She also leads the conference in total points, with 37.

Gillette’s great offensive season should garner some attention for conference Player of the Year. Schockow said she thinks the junior will “definitely be considered.”

Despite winning both their games last weekend, the Eagles needed a little help to claim first place. They got it from Fredonia, who defeated first place Oneonta on Friday, allowing Brockport to move into first.

Brockport finishes the regular season with a 14-1-2 overall record and a 7-1-1 conference record.

Now that they are in first place, the Eagles earn the much-coveted first-round bye in the SUNYAC tournament.

Gildemeyer talked about what the team needs to do during their extended break before the tournament.

“First we need to recover,” said Gildemeyer. “Then we need to work on some specifics, a couple [of] tweaks and we just gotta stay pumped up.”

The Eagles will open SUNYAC tournament at home against the winner of the Cortland and Buffalo State match.

They defeated both teams this season, beating Cortland 3-2 on the road on a last-minute goal and Buffalo State 3-1 at home.