Brockport, NY - There have been plenty of big wins in Gary LaPietra’s 15-year tenure as head men’s soccer coach at The College at Brockport, but Saturday afternoon’s victory has to be at the top of that list.

Facing rival Hobart College, the No. 1-ranked team in the weekly online D3Soccer.com poll, Brockport used a 10th-minute goal from senior defender Mike Breman (Merrick, NY/Bellmore-JFK) to take an early lead and once again, the Golden Eagles’ stout defense made the lead stand.

For the first time in LaPietra’s career at Brockport, the Golden Eagles (4-0-1) defeated a No-1 ranked squad, handing Hobart (3-1), a 1-0 setback at Brockport’s A. Huntley Parker Jr. Field.

“I’m very impressed with the way we collectively defended today. We beat them to the ball and we were hungry. We wanted to get a win today, and we did,” LaPietra said.

“I told the guys this is one of the biggest wins we’ve ever had, not just because we won, but because of how we won, how the guys came together as a team… It sends a message to the SUNYAC conference teams, too. We won the championship last year and they had us (in the preseason rankings) four … Our expectation is to win the SUNYAC’s and get back to the NCAA’s and that’s what we started today.”

Senior goalie Joe Marino (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) kept Hobart’s potent offense off the board and made three big saves while extending his active scoreless streak to 390 minutes.

The Statesmen, who handed defending Division III National Champion Messiah College a 2-1 overtime setback to start 2010, also entered play as the top-ranked team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s (NSCAA) Eastern Regional poll.

From the start, the Golden Eagles pushed the tempo. Jeff Palumbo (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) and Jeff Wild (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) each had solid shots on net in the game’s first eight minutes, but couldn’t convert and the game remained scoreless.

Until Breman lined up for a 30-yard free kick. Facing a two-man wall, Breman sent his low shot on goal, and the shot appeared destined to fall harmlessly into goalie Charlie Hale’s hands. But a strange thing happened en route to the net; the ball skipped and took a funny hop and trickled into the far portion of the goal, giving Breman his second goal of 2010 while sending both Brockport’s bench and its fans into a frenzy.

“We knew coming in that Hobart was No. 1, and that inspired us a lot. We wanted to send a message to the rest of the nation,” a smiling Breman said afterwards.

What message does Brockport’s win over Hobart send to the rest of Division III soccer?

“We’re looking for that NCAA championship. We’re looking to win SUNYAC’s and we’re ready to play,” said Breman, who almost made it 2-0 in the 21st minute, but his free kick sailed high over the crossbar.

Brockport’s defenders have played a pivotal role as the squad has started off the season unbeaten, and that trend continued versus the Statesmen. In the 25th minute, Hobart’s Will Abbott fired a shot on net that senior midfielder Christian Tychostup (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) blocked, one of several outstanding blocks from Brockport’s defenders.

Starting in the 30th minute, the Golden Eagles’ defense was peppered by a persistent Hobart attack. Caetano Sanchez’s 18-yard blast struck the crossbar and was eventually cleared out of the defensive end, then three minutes later, off a corner kick, Marino punched out the Statesmen’s shot to deny another scoring opportunity. Brockport outshot Hobart 7-3 in the first half.

The second half featured more physical soccer, as each team was fighting for every cross, through and head ball. Evan Grey’s 30-yard shot sailed high over goal in the 49th minute for Hobart, and Marino came out to make another save on Abbott one minute later. But each time Hobart threatened, Marino and the defense were up to the task.

The Golden Eagles hit the road for three straight games, starting with an 8:30 p.m. showdown with Medaille College. Brockport’s State University of New York Athletic Conference opener is against SUNY Plattsburgh, 4 p.m. Sept. 24, followed by a clash with SUNY Potsdam at 1 p.m. Sept. 25. The Golden Eagles return home to face SUNY New Paltz at 4 p.m. Oct. 1.