BROCKPORT, NY – The SUNY Brockport men's soccer team will open its season on the road Thursday, September 1^st at The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Kickoff will begin at 7 pm at Tiger Stadium.
 
2021 Recap: The Golden Eagles finished last season with a .500 record at 7-7-1 with wins over Mount Aloysius, St. John Fisher, Elmira, Houghton, Potsdam, and Plattsburgh along with a huge upset victory over then-ranked No. 10 nationally ranked SUNY Cortland. Home field advantage came in big for Brockport where they managed to claim a 5-3-1 record at Bob Boozer Field.
 
Meet LaPietra: Head coach Gary LaPietra has returned The College at Brockport to the national spotlight since being hired prior to the 1996 season. In 25 seasons leading the program, LaPietra has accumulated 252 wins, the most ever by a Brockport men's soccer coach. The Golden Eagles have become a fixture in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament since LaPietra took over the reins of the program. He has led the team to SUNYAC Titles in 2009 and 2018, along with six appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Most recently Brockport earned an automatic bid into the national tournament in 2018 after defeating then No. 6 nationally ranked SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC Championship.
 
He has been chosen as the State University of New York Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times (2002, 2009, 2018). Under his direction Brockport has had three All-Americans, two SUNYAC Players of the Year, two Rookies of the Year, two conference tournament Most Valuable Players, one SUNY Chancellor Award winner, and one Fred Holloway Academic Award winner. In addition, a total of 93 all-conference selections have come during LaPietra's tenure.
 
The Assistants: Returning to the Golden Eagles men's soccer programs are David LaPietra and Dan Lynd.  He returns this season as a volunteer assistant coach, like his co-coaches, Lapietra was a former player for the Golden Eagles. Lapietra prides himself on preaching the team's core values and instilling the culture of Brockport soccer in his players.
 
Dan Lynd was hired as an assistant coach for the Brockport men's soccer team in the Fall of 2018.  The Penfield, NY native played four years as a goalkeeper at Division I University of Pittsburgh from 2012-2016.  He spent three years in the ACC and one season in the Big East.  Lynd is the Pitt. school-record holder in minutes played, shut outs and saves per game among goalkeepers.  Following a fantastic collegiate career, he was invited to preseason with Sporting KC of the MLS.  Following his stint in the MLS, he signed with the Rochester Rhinos where he played for two seasons.  In his third year of professional soccer, he signed with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds where he set the club record for shutouts in a season, and he helped guide the team to their first playoff appearance in years.
   
He's Back: SUNY Brockport's 2021 leader in goals and points scored, Matthew Stefaniw returns to the program for his fifth season.  During the 2021 season, Stefaniw was the Golden Eagle's offensive heartbeat as he managed to record a team-high 12 goals with two assists for another team-high 26 points. Playing in a total of 1,048 minutes, Stefaniw's 12 goals and 29 shots on goal were able to earn him team leader in both categories. He finished the year ranked third in the SUNYAC with 12 goals.Stefaniw is tied for seventh on the program's all-time goals scored list with 32 and he also ranks seventh all-time at Brockport with 71 career points in 57 games over the course of three seasons. Stefaniw was named to the United Soccer Coaches 2021 NCAA Division III All-Region III Second Team and SUNYAC All-Conference First Team.  
Familiar Faces: The Golden Eagles return 21 student-athletes this season with a breakdown of two fifth-year seniors, four seniors, six juniors, and nine sophomores while welcoming in seven freshmen. Along with Stefaniw, coming back for his fifth season this year is Jacob Wlostowski who started in 14 games last season and led the team in minutes played by a non-goalkeeper with a time of 1,179 minutes on the pitch.
 
Senior Class: This year's seniors will consist of Kolbi Maddy, Josh Fitzpatrick, Seamus Parker, goalkeeper Ryan Gall and new to the program transferring from Nazareth College Dylan Rippe. Josh Fitzpatrick was last season's second-highest scorer when he tallied seven points with three goals and one assist. Maddy played the most minutes by any junior last season with a total of 1,049 minutes. During the 2021 season, Parker recorded the second most assists on the team with a total of three along with one goal which came against St. John Fisher. Over the course of his time at Nazareth, Rippe recorded a total of 10 points in three years which were made up of four goals and two assists.
 
Junior Breakdown: Goalkeeper Andrew Taylor will return for the Gold Eagles to protect the net along with the five other juniors on the team that consists of Julian Castellanos, Nick Van Wie, Brian Fornelos, Cody Sherlock and Jack Ryan. Andrew Taylor was last season's primary goalkeeper as he finished with a 7-6-1 record (.500). He led the whole team in minutes spending 1,263 out on the field and started in 14 games. He made a total of 59 saves while only allowing 21 goals for 1.54 goals against average while facing 139 total shots.
 
Sophomores: The team's largest class, the sophomores, return nine players from last year and are made up of goalkeeper Dylan Lopez, Alex Ramos, Andy Cespedes, Warren Banks, Malcolm Phillips, Giovanni Cardona, Marco Chousa, Brendan Hill, Kayden Servais and Finger Lakes Community College transfer Russ Domm.
 
First Year in the Green and Gold: Joining the nest this season are six new faces made up of Brady Reinagel, Max Voyer, Jayden Green, Josh Bird, Alex Rivara and Carlo Ricchiuti.  
Schedule Breakdown: This season will see SUNY Brockport play in a total of 16 games, nine away and seven at home. The Golden Eagles begin with three straight games on the road at RIT, Elmira, and St. John Fisher University, before hosting Nazareth and Houghton College. The Golden Eagles will end their non-conference schedule on the road by visiting Ithaca and then Medaille.
 
The Golden Eagles begin conference play at home on Wednesday, September 21^st at 4 pm against the Oswego State Lakers before hosting SUNY Potsdam that same weekend on Saturday, September 24^th at 1 pm. The Golden Eagles will then travel to Buffalo State and Plattsburgh before returning home against Fredonia State and Oneonta on homecoming weekend which will take place Saturday, October 8^th at 12 pm. Brockport will then travel to Geneseo and New Paltz before returning home against No. 10 SUNY Cortland on October 22^nd at 1 pm for the final game of the season.
 
Coaches Comments: When asked about this upcoming season, Head Coach Gary LaPietra commented, "I'm very excited about the talent that we have on the team this year. It's a well-rounded group with a mixture of seasoned veterans and young eager student-athletes ready to compete. They are a very hardworking team and compared to last year's roster, return with a lot more collegiate experience. Working off last season, we want to get back to our standards of a winning tradition and with the addition of transfer students Russ Domm and Dylan Rippe, we want to compete at a high level for a SUNYAC Championship and National Title. Looking at our first opponent RIT they are a tough team but having looked good against a team such as the University of Rochester in the preseason, they will be a good test for us early on."