One hundred minutes was not enough to decide the Spencerport Rangers season opening boys’ soccer game with Brockport. Both teams had a handful of chances, especially in the second half, but the game finished in a 0-0 tie.
“This was our first game, so we’re still trying to get a feel for what we have,” Spencerport head coach Tom Etsler said. “Most of the game was even, but toward the end they had the better of it.”
Brockport senior midfielder Derek Bradshaw had the best scoring opportunity of the first half, but his header went wide in the 36th minute.
The early stages of the second half were dictated by Brockport’s ball possession. Junior Zachary Langelotti tried to feed an open Simeon Horton but Rangers goalkeeper Luke Dobles got a hand on the pass to knock it away in the 47th minute.
Later Spencerport defender Nick Turnquist stopped two scoring chances from close range with great footwork and reaction.
The Rangers threatened in the 61st minute as Quinn Carr found Darek Whitcomb on the left side of the box, but his redirect glanced off the near post.
That sparked a flurry of activity as first Andre Strezoski in the 64th minute and Justin Hockenberger one minute later had shots sail high for Spencerport.
Brockport countered on the next rush with Horton hitting the crossbar after dribbling through at least two defenders to find an opening.
Another chance came following a Brockport corner kick, but was knocked away on the goal-line by Rangers defender Ryan Lam with eight minutes remaining in regulation. Alex Reber was stopped with 6:45 left by Dobles in the Spencerport net.
The final scoring chance came in double overtime as Spencerport senior Justin Streicher headed the ball just wide after a corner kick set up by Jake Hutton and Strezoski.
“I thought we deserved to win,” Brockport head coach Chris Zorn said. “We only play on turf a few times a year, so we took a few minutes to start pressuring more and develop our confidence.
“We’re looking for our senior goalkeeper, Joe McNulty, to have a big year and (Alex) Reber has started off well. We plan to roll guys through and count on our depth this year.”
Brockport defeated Spencerport in overtime of the Class A semi-finals one year ago before falling to Greece Athena in the finals.
Spencerport lost quite a bit to graduation and will look for several first year varsity players to plug key positions including Dobles in goal and sophomores Ajan Rajamahan and Strezoski at midfield and forward respectively.
They will also depend on a senior back line of Matt Davis, Carr, Turnquist and Lam.
“We just need to find a way to score goals,” Etsler said. “But we knew that coming in.”
