Men's Soccer | 8/30/2013 7:01:00 PM
Box Score
PITTSFORD, NY – Bobby Ross scored two second half goals for Brockport, as the RIT men's soccer team fell by a score of 2-0 to the Golden Eagles in the 2013 season opener at the 10th annual Doug May Memorial Soccer Classic held at Nazareth College on a warm, humid Friday afternoon.
After a scoreless opening half, Brockport got on the board in the 49th minute moments after a corner kick, as Ben Grimsley fed a perfect ball to Ross in tight, who connected on a header past RIT goalkeeper Mark Reeves (Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon) into the right corner to make it 1-0.
The Golden Eagles had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 a minute later, as Peter DiLorenzo snuck behind the RIT defense and had a 1-on-1 with Reeves. DiLorenzo looked to have Reeves beat, but the ball slid off his foot awkwardly and went just wide of the right post.
In the 86th minute, Ross made a great run past an RIT defender to come in on Reeves. Reeves dove for the ball, but tripped Ross, and was called for a foul in the box. Ross would calmly convert on the penalty kick with a low shot just inside the left post for the insurance goal.
RIT out-shot Brockport 8-6 overall, but the Golden Eagles held a 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Reeves made one save for the Tigers, while Casey Sullivan made two saves for the Brockport shutout.
The Tigers controlled play throughout the opening half, out-shooting Brockport 4-1, but were unable to break through.
RIT had an anxious moment defensively in the opening moments, as an errant clearing attempt almost sent a Brockport player in alone, but Andy Fleckenstein (Farmington, NY/Victor) made a textbook slide tackle to knock the ball away.
Geno Rocco (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) had RIT's best chance of the half with just over 15 minutes left, as he cut towards the goal, took a perfect pass in stride and fired a hard low shot that Sullivan juggled and barely kept out of the goal.
John Kaddo (Troy, NY/Averill Park) had three good chances over the first 45 minutes. He fired a shot from the left side early on that was stopped and moments later, he made a nice run before putting a shot wide. Later in the half, he wound up to fire a shot from 25-yards out that he fired over the cage.
Reeves made a nice save on Brockport's lone shot of the half, calmly smothering David LaPietra's low shot from the left flank with just under four minutes remaining.
RIT is now 1-3-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles. Last season, Brockport defeated RIT in the season opener by a score 3-2. All five goals were scored in the first half, including the game winner by Nick Tata with three seconds left.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, wrapping up the Doug May Memorial Classic with a contest against SUNY Canton at 2:30 p.m. RIT defeated Canton in overtime by a score of 1-0 last season.
May was the most successful men's soccer coach in the history of RIT athletics, coaching the Tigers from 1980-95. He led RIT to 11 NCAA appearances and an outstanding 195-56-24 record. May moved on to Nazareth in 1996, coaching the Golden Flyers until he passed away in 2004 at the age of 54 after a brief illness.
