PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's soccer team was unable to hold on to a 1-0 halftime lead in its State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener on Friday afternoon at the Field House Complex, as the Cardinals fell, 2-1, to The College at Brockport.
Brockport received a pair of second-half goals from the same combination of student-athletes, as junior forward Jeff Hibbard scored both goals, while freshman forward Ayub Jeylani recorded both assists.
Both teams finished with 13 shots, while the Cardinals had six corner kicks to the Golden Eagles' five.
Plattsburgh State drops to 2-4-2 overall (0-1-0 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m. Brockport rises to 6-2-0 overall (1-0-0 SUNYAC) with the win and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow for a 1 p.m. contest.
Senior midfielder
Taka Fukushima (Noda, Japan/Municipal Kashiwa) put the Cardinals on the board in the 13th minute. Senior forward
Chris Robertson (Thiells, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional [N.J.]) chipped a ball to junior midfielder
Connor Nembach (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) from the right wing, and Nembach quickly played the ball forward to Fukushima from the top of the 18-yard box. Fukushima then beat a Brockport defender to the ball before depositing a left-footed strike inside the near post.
Brockport tied the game at 1-all at 49:00. Jeylani evaded a Cardinal defender in the left corner before sending a cross over to Hibbard. Hibbard one-touched the ball from around 15 yards out and scored far post to level the tally.
The eventual game-winner came from Hibbard in the 85th minute. Jeylani received the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and fired a shot shortly thereafter, but sophomore goalkeeper
Ryan Wilson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) came up with the diving save. The rebound went right to Hibbard, who then scored from point-blank range.
Wilson made three saves in the loss for the Cardinals, while junior goalkeeper Tautis Poniskaitis turned aside two shots in the win for the Golden Eagles.
