Brockport finishes conference play with consecutive wins

By Ian MacMaster
SPORTS WRITER

Photo by Nick Seratta, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Amanda Pickard scored on a penalty stroke to lead Brockport to a win over Morrisville.

The SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles field hockey team ended its State University of New York Athletic Conference regular season play for the 2007 season with two wins, giving the team a 3-3 record in league play.

The Golden Eagles  defeated the SUNY Oswego Lakers (1-10, 1-4) by a score of 2-0 Thursday, Oct. 4.

Scoring first for Brockport was defender Jackie Reed, who recorded her first collegiate goal in the 38th minute of play.

“(Oswego) was very aggressive,” Reed said. “We had to be more aggressive than they were.”

The Eagles were aggressive and later in the game Allyson Granish scored in the 57th minute by deflecting a pass from Brockport freshman defender Kelly Henry into the goal.

The Golden Eagles took control throughout the game, holding Oswego to five shots and taking 13 of their own. Brockport out-shot the Lakers 8-3 in the second half alone. Both of Brockport’s goals came in the second half of the game.

Andrea Vitello had a good day against Oswego. Vitello froze the Lakers’ offense by stopping two shots and recorded her second shut out of the season.

“They had a few good shots,” Vitello said. “It felt good to get another shut out.”

The Golden Eagles won their final SUNYAC game of the year, as Amanda Pickard scored on a penalty stroke 30 seconds into overtime to push Brockport into a 2-1 win over the Morrisville State Mustangs (2-8, 0-4) Saturday, Oct. 6.

The senior day game started with Morrisville upstaging the Golden Eagles, as Molly Luzak scored in the 11th minute on a rebound goal.

The lead held into halftime even though the Golden Eagles were out-shooting the Mustangs by a 20-4 margin and had taken 20 penalty corners compared to only two for Morrisville.

The Golden Eagles evened the score in the 54th minute, as Kelly Henry knocked in a pass from Allie Basher past Morrisville goaltender Stephanie Smith. The game stayed knotted at one goal apiece after seventy minutes of play.

Pickard received an opportunity to win the game just thirty second into the game, when her shot has covered by a Morrisville player in front of the Mustang goal. As a result, Pickard got a penalty

 “I’m very proud of my girls,” Head Coach Andrea Zurlo said. “We’re going to continue on the success.”

Leading the team in scoring and points so far this year is junior Jenn Danker. Danker has five goals and 13 points this season.

The team leader in assists is junior Amanda Pickard. Pickard has four assists this season.

Senior goalie Andrea Vitello has had a strong presence this year in goal. She currently has a .679 save percentage through 11 games with six wins.

Field hockey is the SUNY Brockport team that isn’t playing during the mid-semester break. The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday, Oct. 21 against Utica College.