Plattsburgh Avenges '09 Championship Loss, Defeats Brockport in Penalty Kicks

The Plattsburgh Cardinals won the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship over Brockport Saturday, Nov. 6 in penalty kicks.

Senior defender Mike Breman (Merrick, NY/Bellmore-JFK), senior midfielder Christian Tychostup (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) and junior midfielder Brian Duffy (Hilton, NY/Hilton) made Brockport's first three penalty kicks while Plattsburgh made its first two of three. The Eagles couldn't make their next two and Plattsburgh got two more to defeat Brockport in penalty kicks, 4-3, and defeat them in the championship game.

Plattsburgh scored first with a break away shot in the 8th minute by junior forward Pat Shaughnessy. Senior forward Chris Auth (East Patchogue, NY/Bellport) tied the score for Brockport in the 54th minute. It was his second goal of the year. Neither team was able to score in the rest of regulation or in two 10-minute overtime periods.

Plattsburgh earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament. The Eagles could earn an at-large bid into the tournament; they'll find out at 2 p.m. Monday. Last year Brockport won the SUNYAC championship over Plattsburgh in penalty kicks, winning the automatic bid. The team lost in the second round to eventual champions Messiah College.

Tychostup and senior goalie Joe Marino (6 saves in championship game) were named to the All-Tournament team.

Double Overtime Win Pushes Eagles into Championship

A State University of New York Athletic Conference playoff birth was at stake and neither Fredonia's nor Brockport's defenses were going to let any goal in.

Brockport senior midfielder Christian Tychostup (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) eventually broke Fredonia's defense and scored the game-winning goal in the 107th minute. Six minutes into the game's second overtime, Brockport threw the ball in, but a Fredonia player headed it away from the goal. The ball came back to Tychostup, who shot it against the far post for his fourth goal of the season and the Eagles entry into the SUNYAC Championship match Saturday, Nov. 6.

Tychostup had the following to say to Sports Information about his goal:

"This goal is right up there with the best goals in my career at Brockport. To score in a double-overtime of the SUNYAC semifinals is huge. It was pure jubilation after my goal, I started running down the field, slid on my back and then the whole team jumped on top of me. You can't describe how good that feels."

Senior goalie Joe Marino (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) played his 11th shutout of the season, taking over Brockport's all-time single-season shutout title.

No. 3 Brockport (13-2-2 overall, 7-2 SUNYAC) defeated Cortland, 1-0, Saturday, Oct. 30 in the opening round of the tournament. The Eagles will defend their championship against No. 4 Plattsburgh (13-4-3, 6-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 in Oneonta.

Plattsburgh took out top-ranked Oneonta Friday afternoon. The 2-2 tie went into double overtime before the Cardinals bested Oneonta 5-3 in the penalty-kick shootout.

The Eagles won the championship game last year against Plattsburgh. Brockport defeated the Cardinals 11-10 in penalty kicks. The only other time the two teams have met in the title game was in 2005, when the Cardinals won.

Brockport is 3-3 all-time in SUNYAC Championship games. Its three losses were all in the 2000s.