With a convincing 41-17 victory over The College of New Jersey on Saturday, head coach Rocco Salomone earned his 100th career coaching victory. Salomone has led the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 start to open the 2012 season and currently ranked No. 17 in the latest D3football.com rankings.
With the victory, Salomone's career record now sits at 100-76-1 in 17 seasons at the helm of Brockport football. Brockport is off to its best start since the 2003 season when the Golden Eagles opened up the season with six straight wins. That team finished the season 9-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
“Although I am very proud of this accomplishment, the credit must be shared with all of the players and assistant coaches I have worked with over the years,” said Salomone. “I admire the dedication of all that have been involved with the program since I have been head coach and this is as much their accomplishment as it is mine.”
Salomone got his head coaching tenure started in 1995 after five seasons as an assistant for the Golden Eagles. His first career coaching victory came against New Jersey City with a 24-6 win. Salomone, a two-year starter for the Golden Eagles in 1986 and 1987 after transferring from East Stroudsburg, recorded his 50th career win at Wesley College in 2002 with a 17-6 victory. That year the Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history, one of four consecutive appearances in the tournament from 2000-2003.
A few key wins for Salomone include a triple-overtime victory over Montclair State in 1997 as the Golden Eagles won 33-27. Brockport defeated Springfield 16-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002, just two years after Springfield ousted Brockport from the first round of the tournament. Brockport went on to defeat Rowan 15-12 in the second round in 2002 before falling to John Carroll in the quarterfinals. In 2007, Salomone led Brockport to a thrilling 70-68 victory over Hartwick College in the ECAC Championship game.
Currently, the Golden Eagles rank as one of the top teams, both offensively and defensively, in the country. Brockport ranks 10th overall out of 230 teams in total offense with 523.67 yards per game, tops in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The Golden Eagle defense is allowing just 14.33 points per game, 33rd in the NCAA and tied for first in the NJAC.
Brockport travels to New Jersey this weekend to take on the Kean Cougars. The Golden Eagles upset then-no.8 Kean last season at home 28-20. The Cougars are currently 0-2 on the season.
