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Fall semester SUNY Brockport sports preview
FOOTBALL Head coach Rocco Salomone and his squad begin play in the new Atlantic Central Football Conference (ACFC) with long time rivals Buffalo State, Frostburg State (MD) and Wesley College. It is the first time in the school’s history they have been a part of a conference. The schedule is also dotted with perennial powers Rowan University, Cortland and Ithaca along with local rival St. John Fisher. The Golden Eagles have six home games this season out of the ten during the regular season. Five of the last six regular season games are at home. Brockport has depended on their defense for several seasons and it has rarely disappointed. They were ranked in the top 17 in the country in scoring defense and total defense last season. 2002 All-American Ryan Bierley returns after a season off to anchor the defensive line with Matt Gates and Drew Smith. John Walther and Joe Toombs return at linebacker with Walther the leading returning tackler from one year ago. The secondary is wide open as the team headed to camp with Troy Anderson the only returning starter. Quarterback Bob Darnley enters his senior season well within reach of many of the school’s all-time records including career-passing yards. He returns a full complement of players in the backfield in running backs Jon Brown and Brian Wise with fullbacks Adam Jones and Jake Haught. Last year’s #3 wide receiver, Mike Calderon, moves up leaving at least one spot up for grabs, but tight ends Mike Bond and John Panek return at tight end. Marc Menchetti is expected to both punt and kick this season, one season after being named to the ECAC Division III Northwest All-Star Team and Football Gazette All-Region. He averaged just under 40 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 12 times. “We are excited about this,” said Salomone. “The conference will be new to us, but we will still approach each week as we always have, one game at a time. I think you’ll see some strong teams on our schedule so I’m looking forward to it. Competing for a conference championship is a new opportunity for us. And our players have an opportunity for recognition that we didn’t get as an independent team like weekly all-conference honors.” “Our offensive line, our quarterback, the backfield and tight ends are veterans and all coming back as starters, so we feel pretty good about that. The addition of Ryan Bierley is so important for us. He had 79 tackles—13 for losses in his All-American year two seasons ago. The other young players—mostly sophomores—who played last season on defense gained a lot of experience that should pay off for us this year,” Salomone said. In the pre-season, Brockport is ranked 9th by Street & Smiths, the highest pre-season ranking in the college’s history, and Top 25 in three other polls. WOMEN’S SOCCER Sophomore midfielder Laura Sawyer returns after her 16-point freshman campaign with fellow sophomore Ashley Knox and junior Christie Wall. The backline was hit hard by graduation, but features Lindsay Boyer in her senior season and Katie DeFelice (Byron-Bergen). Sophomore Marisa Neri (Spencerport) is back after registering 10 shutouts playing every minute of her freshman season in goal. After playing six of the first seven games on the road, Brockport has five consecutive home games over a key two-week span starting in late-September with all games against conference opponents. MEN’S SOCCER Greg Finch and Greg Dini return after their nine point campaigns with Holley product Matt Nelson back for his second season. Jonathan MacKetchar will battle with Alfred State transfer Matt Campbell and freshman Shaun Ernwein for the starting nod in goal. At midfield, Mike Abgarian returns after a redshirt season and is joined by transfers Rory Charcholla and Colin LaReaux at midfield. Marc Gammiero transfers in from Oneonta to help the front line. Other key freshmen include Ken Koperda and Joe Tychostup with Kevin Hauk, who returns after a season at MCC. “We rebuilt the team to give us an opportunity to win the conference,” said head coach Gary LaPietra. “I’m excited to get this started.” The team is hosting the first-ever Brockport Tournament to benefit Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong Hospital to start the season Labor Day weekend. They will play five more home games before hitting the road for four straight. Five of the last six games are also on home turf. WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL Senior Lori Kreamer is the backstop of the defense after smashing the season record for digs in a season with 666—over 150 more than the previous record. Amy Sarubbi will be a senior and was second in assists last season and third in digs. Erin Denlea will also be looked upon to take on a starting role in her sophomore season along with contributions from Amanda Derby and Cara Voll. Key freshmen include Kayen Fessette, who has a chance to take over as the starting setter and Shae Gilmore—both from the Plattsburgh area. “We will be taller than last year but just as athletic,” said Tuttle. “We will be a bit inexperienced, but if we can grow up in a hurry, we can be pretty good.” As has become the norm, the team will play just two home matches along with hosting SUNYAC Pool Play in late-September. The Golden Eagles have won 20 or more matches in five consecutive seasons. CROSS COUNTRY Austin had consecutive first place finishes at the Brockport Invitational and Cortland Invitational last season and finished in the ten two other times. Davenport was in the top ten seven times including a third place finish at the Brockport meet and a sixth in Cortland. Dan Blew was in the top eleven twice. Ecklund was no worse than sixth in any meet and was 55th in the NCAA’s. Sophomore Lindsey Goldberg finished second and fourth among her best meets and Betheny Hawke (Brockport) had fifth and eighth place finishes to her credit. The Brockport Kickoff Classic is September 4 and the Brockport Alumni Invitational meet is October 9. The team will host the SUNYAC Championships in late-October. WOMEN’S TENNIS Sophomores Allison Vegh and Kayla Mizgala each won four matches in their freshmen seasons to lead the returnees. Hilton products Angela Bermudez and Jamie McDonald also return for their sophomore years. Head coach Ed Gonzales is back for his 13th season. Six home matches dot the schedule including four during an eleven match September. FIELD HOCKEY Leading scorer Kate Bennett returns for her senior season with fellow senior Na’Lisa Rowe and junior Kaitlin O’Keefe as the top three scorers last season. First team All-SUNYAC midfielder Erin Coyne is back for her junior season. Senior Sarah Sutherland will anchor the goalkeeper duties after registering a 1.89 goals against average and four shutouts in 15 games last year. All NYSWCAA Team member Brittany Miller and Tera Patenaude return on a defense that lost three seniors. Head coach Andrea Zurlo’s squad has a stretch of six home games and eight total over a three-week period starting September 18 against New Paltz and ending October 12 versus Elmira. |