GENESEO, NY – Teh Brockport Golden Eagles men’s soccer team saw its notable season end in heartbreak Saturday, falling 2-1 to SUNY Geneseo in overtime of the Empire 8 Championship. the defeat concludes Brockport’s 2023 campaign with an 11-5-3 overall record, finishing as conference runner-up.
The loss marks the end of an undefeated run for the Golden Eagles and denies them an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. It was their deepest playoff run since 2018, a season where they also achieved 16 wins, and caps a year of notable progress under Head Coach Gary LaPietra.
A scoreless first half saw both teams battle to a stalemate, with Geneseo holding a slight 8-4 advantage in shots and both goalkeepers recording two saves apiece. Brockport successfully defended four corner kicks during the period.
Brockport broke the deadlock just over 18 minutes into the second half when Finn Sullivan scored his first career goal, assisted by Jaidyn Caccomo. However, Geneseo responded with less than 15 minutes remaining, as Dylan Thody netted his 14th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
The Knights secured the championship victory just 30 seconds into overtime with a golden goal from Thody. Geneseo finished with a 16-8 edge in total shots, and a 5-5 tie in shots on goal.
Golden Eagles goalkeeper AJ Nelson (10-1-2) made three saves in the contest. Ryan Mathis led brockport with three shots,two of which were on target. Nelson finished the season allowing just 0.58 goals per game with 31 total saves.
