DELHI, N.Y. (October 13, 2019) – The battle for second place in the NAC standings took place on the grounds of SUNY Delhi Sunday afternoon, with the SUNY Dehli men's soccer team earning the coveted spot with a 2-1 conference win over Husson. The Broncos made a duo of first-half goals stand against a hungry Eagles squad, backed by a brilliant goalkeeping display from Corey O'Toole, as Delhi now stands at 7-6 overall and 5-1 in league play with two more conference games to be played. The Broncos have now won three straight contests.
Graduating student-athletes O'Toole, Noah Blake, John Cabrera, Emmanuel Gonzalez, Ryan O'Hare, Christian Quinde, and Michael Zerniak were all recognized prior to the game for their contributions to the men's soccer program. The Broncos' outgoing class sees the men earning degrees in Architecture, Automotive Technology, Criminal Justice, Nursing, Residential Construction.
Delhi got on the board at 19:39 when a foul in the box gave Brody Rettle the floor for a penalty-kick goal. The Broncos struck once again before halftime, when a cross by O'Hare was headed in by Daniel Prendergast for his first career goal to put the men up by two at the half. Husson ramped up its attack in the second half to get back in the game. While they broke through on a penalty-kick goal at 76:27 to cut the lead down to one, the Broncos' defense outlasted the Eagles' advances. In a highlight-worthy performance O'Toole finished with nine saves, as well as the back group tallying one team save. O'Toole's last save of the day was arguably his finest of the afternoon, when a good line to the upper right corner by Joao Passoni with a minute-and-a-half to play was deflected away by the fully-stretched Delhi keeper.
Both sides finished tied, 21-21, in shots, with the Eagles holding a slim 11-10 lead in shots on goal. Husson even had seven corner kicks to Delhi's two. Rettle's opening score puts his team-leading scoring numbers to 20 points on nine goals and two assists. O'Toole improved to 7-5 on the year in net.
Sunday's conference win gives the Broncos sole possession of second place in the NAC standings, trailing only undefeated Thomas. Head coach Brian Mitko's men have three more regular-season games. They close out their home regular season against Hartwick on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., then will head to face the Thomas Terriers on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., followed by league-foe Northern Vermont Lyndon on Saturday, Oct. 26.