Area alumni lead Eagles to national ranking

Byron-Bergen graduates Rory Charcholla and Josh Piscitelli, along with Brockport High alum Matt Nelson, are helping the Brockport Golden Eagles men's soccer team to a spot among the top programs in the country and improve their record to 9-0.

Charcholla set up Brockport's third goal when he put his corner kick on the foot of Greg Dini who scored in the Golden Eagles 5-1 victory over Oswego during the conclusion of a two-game sweep on Homecoming weekend. The last time the Golden Eagles were 9-0 to start a season was in 1968 when the team won its first 11 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

Piscitelli scored the fourth goal for the Golden Eagles with an assist from leading scorer Mike Abgarian. Brockport is now ranked 14th nationally and second in the Northeast Region behind only the University of Rochester in the latest NCAA poll released on September 27. With the win, head coach Gary LaPietra is just four victories away from his 100th since taking over the team in 1996.

"They put all 11 in the back in the first half, so we adjusted in the second half and we just started rolling after the first goal," said Charcholla. "All of us are on a bit of a mission in our last year trying to make this happen. Our goal right now is to be ranked in the top spot in the Northeast Region which would put us in the top eight in the nation."

"We've only allowed four goals in our first eight games, so I'm very happy with how we've handled our own end," said head coach Gary LaPietra. "This is an experienced team and a really special team that wants to make it happen."

On the same weekend, the soccer field was dedicated and named A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field and the 1955 National Championship team was inducted into the Golden Eagle Hall of Fame on the 50th anniversary of their accomplishment. Thirteen of the 17 living players attended the ceremony.

October 2, 2005