The men's soccer team defeated SUNY ESF 3-2 on Saturday behind three goals from Nathaniel Wojcik.
A back-and-forth contest at Alumni Field on Saturday resulted in a victory for Broome as a hat trick on offense and a variety of strong defensive contributions pushed the Hornets past the Mighty Oaks.
Wojcik started his scoring run at the 34:26 mark. After Yuri Brich beat an ESF defender and was subsequently taken down, Wojcik capitalized on the penalty kick to put one past the keeper and get Broome on the board, 1-0. Great defensive efforts by each team, despite multiple shots on goal in a physical first half, kept the score at 1-0 upon halftime. Just after the 50th minute of play, an offensive opportunity created by ESF led to Hornets goalkeeper Dean Patterson being removed from the game. Enoch Stephenson made a stellar save in his first action upon entering goal in relief of Patterson.
The Mighty Oaks would net a goal a few minutes later, tying the contest at 1-1. Wojcik, however, would answer for Broome with a goal in the 64th minute. In a skillful individual effort, Wojcik won a ball at midfield, beat the final defender, and then beat the goalkeeper to put the Hornets back in front. ESF quickly answered with a goal of their own to tie the match at 2-2. Broome would see another breakthrough shortly thereafter. At the 71:39 mark, Brich found space in the back of the ESF defense, played a well-placed pass through the middle of the goal, and Wojcik buried the ball into the back of the net. The third goal for Broome and the third goal for Wojcik capped off what was a bit of a scoring frenzy by both teams over a quick period of time.
The next 18 minutes would hold scoreless as the Hornets prevailed 3-2. Patterson added another shutout to his season tally prior to exiting the game, earning eight saves in his 50 minutes of play. Stephenson proved to be up to the task of holding down the goal the rest of the way, collecting 5 saves. Wojcik's three goals brought his season total in that category up to 12.
Broome improves to a 5-8-2 record with the win. The Hornets will be on the road against Herkimer College for a 4:30 p.m. match on Wednesday.
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