DELHI, N.Y. (October 16, 2019) – A rain-soaked afternoon did little to damper the SUNY Delhi men's soccer team's winning streak on Wednesday, defeating local-foe Hartwick with a 3-1 score in their non-conference home season finale. The 8-6 Broncos take a four-game winning streak on the road for their last two regular-season matches against conference foes, starting with Thomas on Saturday.
Team-leading goal scorer Juan Velez scored Delhi's first two goals, taking his first at 10:33 after a failed clear and a Brody Rettle pass freed Velez to score from the right side. It was then all him on his second at 21:33, running past a Hartwick defender and winning the one-on-one with the goalie for a 2-0 Broncos lead. The Hawks, however, got one back at 34:02 on an own goal when a pass in the box from the right side took a wrong bounce off a Delhi defender to make matters 2-1 going into halftime. But the Broncos remained focus in the second half, and responded by also scoring on an own goal at 61:53. Christian Quinde ran up along the goal line on the left side, putting a ball in front of the goal that found the back of the net on a clear attempt.
Goalkeeper Noah Blake accounted for nine saves on his day, getting his first win of the season to hold a 1-1 record. He and his defense took on a Hartwick squad that held an 18-15 lead in shots, including 10-9 in shots on goal, as well as having eight corner kick chances to the Broncos' three.
Velez's two scores puts him in the team lead with 10 goals. Rettle leads in overall scoring with 21 points on nine goals and three assists.
Head coach Brian Mitko's team completes their home regular season with a 6-3 record on their own field. Delhi has clinched a berth in the NAC Tournament, currently standing at second place in the NAC standings with a 5-1 conference record. They will now take the "NAC highway" from this point on. It all starts this Saturday when the Broncos take on first-place Thomas on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., followed by a matchup at Northern Vermont Lyndon on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m.
The NAC Tournament features the top six finishers in the conference. The top two seeds earn a bye, while the remaining four seeds compete in the quarterfinals the weekend of Nov. 2-3. The final four will be held the following weekend at the number-one seed.
