CORTLAND, N.Y.- The College at Brockport men's soccer team upset the No.6 nationally-ranked Cortland Red Dragons in the SUNYAC championship Saturday afternoon, by a score of 2-0. With the win, the Golden Eagles have been crowned SUNYAC champions for the first time since 2009. The Golden Eagles finish the year with a final record of 15-4-2 and will compete in the NCAA tournament.
 
The two teams came out flying in this championship matchup, sharing offensive opportunities early on in the half. Quintin Volpe tallied a shot on net two minutes into the half but the Cortland goalie was there to make the save. The Golden Eagles grabbed the early lead when Jason Hayes crossed the ball from the right side of the box to Quinton Volpe, who headed the ball past the Red Dragons netminder, putting Brockport in the lead, 1-0. The Red Dragons outshot the Golden Eagles 7-2 in the first half but Brockport's goalkeeper Tautis Poniskaitis had all the answers.

The Green and Gold wasted no time in the second half, scoring their second goal of the night five minutes into the frame when Volpe sent a 50-yard ball from the left side of the field to a streaking Jeff Hibbard, who headed the ball into the back of the net, 2-0. The Red Dragons pressured the Golden Eagles the remainder of the frame but Poniskaitis would not be beaten.

Following the game Jeff Hibbard, Matthew Stefaniw and Quintin Volpe were selected as SUNYAC all-tournament team, while Brockport goalkeeper Tautis Poniskaitis was voted tournament MVP.

"Im so proud of the commitment and effort that went into building a championship team" said head coach Gary Lapietra "We were so committed to our defending today and our two goals today were outstanding, I could not be more proud of my players and my coaching staff."


The Green and Gold will await their fate having earned an automatic qualifying bid to the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championships. The team's placement in the tournament will be announced in a selection show on Monday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.

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