NEW PALTZ — Senior forward John Epley (Franklinville, NJ) scored in the 97th minutes to lift visiting Richard Stockton to a 2-1 overtime win over SUNY New Paltz.
The loss dropped the Hawks to 2-3 on the season but SUNY New Paltz head men’s soccer coach Stuart Robinson was proud of his team’s effort. “This is what collegiate athletics are all about,” said Robinson. “To battle and compete with the defending national champions the way we did says a lot about our team. Our guys have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Richard Stockton, who went 25-1-1 to claim last year’s Division III national crown, pressured SUNY New Paltz senior goalie Kevin Smith (Niskayuna, NY) who faced seven first half shots. Smith kept the Ospreys off the scoreboard with three saves in the first 15 minutes including a diving stop to his right off a penalty kick by Epley in the 13th minute.
Two minutes later Richard Stockton (3-2) capitalized when freshman Sean Cooney (Medford, NJ) fired one past Smith from 20 yards out for his first collegiate goal. The Ospreys made a bid to extend their lead in the 32nd minute when freshman Scott Adams (Myerstown, PA) hit the post on a two on one breakaway.
“Our defense definitely picked it up in the second half,” said Robinson. “We played more cohesively, worked harder and communicated better.”
As its defense began to slow down Richard Stockton, New Paltz, who managed just four shots on the day, broke into the scoring column in the 75th minute when junior forward Mario Lavacca (Port Washington, NY) beat two Ospreys to tie the score and force the extra session.
Smith made nine saves for the Hawks who will play Skidmore on Saturday (Sept. 14) at 2:00 p.m.
“We’ve already played two games against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago,” noted Robinson, whose team will open up its SUNYAC season at home on Sept. 20 against Potsdam. “I think we’ve set a tone for the league schedule and we expect to be in Oneonta in November (site of the SUNYAC Tournament) competing for an NCAA berth.”
