PLATTSBURGH — Chris Waterbury, in his 25 years as head coach of the Plattsburgh State men's soccer team, has had plenty of big wins.

There, however, have been some devastating losses — none more than Saturday's penalty kick shootout loss to Brockport in the State University of New York Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at the Plattsburgh State Field House Soccer Complex.

The two teams played scoreless soccer through regulation and the two 10-minute overtime stanzas before it took a combined 28 penalty kicks for the second-seeded Golden Eagles (10-5-3) to emerge with an 11-10 win.

"We had great leadership today and the guys were into it," said Waterbury. "I know they are hurting right now and tired. That's because they put so much into it.

"I can't focus on the negatives because I'm so proud of the guys for how hard they played."

Brockport, winning its 10th SUNYAC title but since 1978, went first in the shootout and it finally ended when Mike Breman scored for the Golden Eagles and Brockport netminder Joe Marino made a save on the final Cardinal shooter.

Prior to that, each team had scored on its previous seven shooters.

Brockport nearly won it at the end of the first five-shooter session when Marino made a save on Mike Pinamonti's shot, which would have given the Golden Eagles a 3-2 win. But, Marino was called for leaving his line too early and Pinamonti made no mistake on his second try.

"Every player was prepared mentally and physically," Waterbury said. "We had the right people at the right time. There was no second guessing and everyone worked hard.

"But, it was a cruel ending."

The game officially goes into the books as a tie, but that is little consolation to the Cardinals (13-2-5), who lost out on the automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament and now has only what seems to be a slim hope of making the tournament as an at-large team. They will learn of their fate tonight.

"We have a chance, but it is completely out of our hands," Waterbury said. "We have to hope all the top seeds win their tournaments and that will be the best thing to happen for us.

"It, however, will still be a long shot to get in. I'm really struggling right now — I feel bad for the guys and pray they get a second life. No question, it's a tough loss. It's a tie, but we didn't advance."

The top-seeded Cardinals, who came in ranked 20th in the nation, had the better of play and finished with a 19-6 shot advantage, including a 10-2 edge in the second half, and a 10-6 margin in corner kicks.

But, Plattsburgh State, despite several great scoring chances, couldn't find the back of the net as Brockport's defense, led by tournament Most Valuable Player Marino, held up. Marino ended up with nine saves in regulation and the two overtimes.

Andy Heighington stopped four shots in the Plattsburgh State nets and also played well.

The Cards' Pinamonti, John LoGuirato and David Hickman were chosen to the all-tournament team.

The Cardinals had advanced to the finals with Friday's 1-0 win over Oneonta, while Brockport was a 1-0 winner over Geneseo in the other semifinal.

—

Brockport 0, Plattsburgh 0, OT

(Brockport wins shootout 11-10)

Brockport 0 0 0 0 — 0

Plattsburgh 0 0 0 0 — 0

Shots: Plattsburgh 19, Brockport 6.

Saves: Marino, Brock, 9. Heighington, PSU, 4.