BOXSCORE

Freshman Paul Altobelli (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili) headed in the game-winning goal with 25 seconds left in overtime to vault The College at Brockport men's soccer team to a thrilling 3-2 win over Potsdam in Brockport on Friday afternoon.

With the win, the Golden Eagles (10-3-1, 7-1-0 SUNYAC) clinch one of the top-two seeds in the SUNYAC playoffs, meaning they will have a bye in the first round of postseason action. The Bears (7-7-2, 4-3-1 SUNYAC) fall to fifth in the conference playoffs, with one conference game still on their slate.

The first half was dominated by Brockport, as the Golden Eagles took 11 shots in the stanza, compared to only three for the Bears. Brockport led Potsdam in corner kick opportunities 14-1 entering halftime.

The Golden Eagles' persistence paid off when freshman Kevin Dorn (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hallow Hills East) tallied his third goal of the year in the 34th minute. Senior Brian Gildemeyer (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) executed a long throw into the box that was headed down by a defender. Dorn stole the ball in front of the goal and netted a shot across the goal for the 1-0 lead.

The score remained at 1-0 until the 65th minute, when Potsdam's Conor Engle collected a rebound near the goal, and knocked home his first goal of the season to tie the score at one apiece.

Brockport continued to dominate possession, but Potsdam goalie Joe Glackin made five of his 11 saves in the second period to keep the Bears close.

In the 77th minute, Glackin made two huge saves on shots by junior Marc Orlando (Cicero, NY/ Cicero-N. Syracuse) and senior Jeff Wild (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena). Orlando and Wild combined for 13 shots in the game, eight of which were on goal.

“Wild has been playing really great on the outside. He has the ability to beat a defender one-on-one and has good pace in his game,” head coach Gary LaPietra said.

After Wild's effort, a foul was called inside the box on Potsdam, resulting in a penalty kick opportunity for the Golden Eagles. Junior defender Brian Duffy (Hilton, NY/Hilton) stepped up and drilled the penalty kick to give Brockport a 2-1 lead.

Potsdam answered back in the 81st minute, as Victor Colasacco scored on a free kick from 30 yards out. The score remained knotted at two as regulation ended, sending the game into overtime.

The play in overtime went back-and-forth and the game looked destined for overtime, until senior Aubrey Brown (Marathon, NY/Marathon) played a beautiful ball from just past half field on the left side to the far post. Altobelli headed the ball home with 25 seconds left on the clock, his team-leading fifth goal of the season, giving Brockport the 3-2 victory.

“Potsdam played very hard today,” LaPietra said. “You never give up until the last whistle. Everybody on our team buys into that, and we found a way to finish the game off with 25 seconds left. The smallest guy on the team scored on a header.”

Sauln earned the win with one save in net. Glackin registered 11 saves in the contest, but in a losing effort.

The Golden Eagles host Plattsburgh on Saturday at 1 pm, as Brockport will be recognizing six seniors on Senior Day.