Devils advance to Semis by downing Brockport
BOXSCORE
FREDONIA, N.Y. --- Fredonia State defeated Brockport, 2-1, in the first round of the SUNYAC women's soccer playoffs Saturday at University Stadium.
Senior forward Reilly Condidorio had a goal and an assist for the Blue Devils (12-7-0), who’ll travel to New Paltz for a semifinal game Wednesday afternoon.
Geneseo defeated Oneonta, 1-0, in the other first-round game Saturday and will meet Cortland in the other semifinal. The championship game is next Saturday at the highest-remaining seed.
Playing in light rain throughout most of the first half, the teams were scoreless until the 40th minute. That’s when Condidorio sidestepped a defender and lofted a ball into the box from the right wing.
Sophomore midfielder Catie Hale headed the pass into the far right corner for her fourth goal of the season to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.
The assist was Condidorio’s 30th point of the season, a new school record. Prior to this season, Beth Mangino (1993) and Jennifer Robinson (2002) shared the mark with 29 points.
A minute or so later, Brockport had its best scoring chance of the first half. A ball played into the box was headed by Amanda White toward the upper right corner. Sophomore goalkeeper Meaghan Meszaros leaped across the goal mouth and batted the ball away.
The Golden Eagles (11-6-1) broke through midway through the second half. Following a corner kick into the box, Meszaros stopped a short shot by Sarah Lawson. With several players from both teams crowded around her, Meszaros was unable to stop the ball which rolled off Brockport’s Lauren Drago into the net .
It was Drago’s first goal of the year. It came at 61:02.
Brockport’s momentum was shortlived. A minute and a half later, Fredonia State sophomore forward Katie Kleine was taken down in the box. Head coach Chris Case sent out Condidorio to take the penalty kick.
With one swing of her right leg, Condidorio broke the 1-1 tie and set three more school records – career points (82), career goals (34), and most goals in a season (14).
Lauren Heilweil held the two career marks, with 80 points and 33 goals, set during a four-year span from 2002-2006. Mangino’s 13 goals in 1993 was the previous school record.
Brockport appeared to tie the game with 16:26 left, yet the officials waved off the shot and ruled that Meszaros possessed the ball before it was kicked into the net.
The Golden Eagles nearly tied the game a second time when Chelcie Gramza took an angled shot in the 88th minute. The ball slid through the box but missed the far left corner.
The Blue Devils outshot the Golden Eagles, 17-14, and took one more corner kick, 7-6. Meszaros finished with five saves while Brockport’s Erin Asquith had eight.
In addition to Condidorio’s individual records, the Blue Devils as a whole tied the school record for most wins in a season. The 1994 team also won 12 games.
