MARCY, N.Y. – The dominance of the SUNYIT Men's Soccer Team's defense has been well-documented this season, with the Wildcats recording an incredible 11 shutouts in their 16 games this year. On Monday night, the team saw that dominance extend to the national level, as the Wildcats moved into first place across Division III in Team Save Percentage and Team Goals-Against Average.
Led, of course, by senior super-goalie Malick Faye (Bronx, N.Y. / MLK), the Wildcats are boasting a .919 team save percentage (which is actually a little lower than Faye's own percentage of .932, which puts Faye at 2nd nationally in the individual save percentage category).
In the Goals-Against-Average category, the Wildcats nipped fellow regional power St. Lawrence University by a tenth of a point, with the Wildcats allowing .37 goals per contest compared with St. Lawrence's .38.
Always a defensive power, the Wildcats' success this year is particularly impressive given the youth of their back line. While 2nd-year starter and senior Aaron Minnamon (Palmyra, N.Y. / Palmyra-Macedon) provides some much-needed experience, the rest of the team's defense is either young, new, or both, with freshmen Cameron Prime (Norwich, N.Y. / Norwich) and Bryan Kilpatrick (Endicott, N.Y. / Union-Endicott) playing starter's minutes along with junior-transfer Brett Gruener (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa).
The Wildcats will play their final regular-season game tomorrow as they host Elmira College for a 6:00 pm matchup on Wildcat Field. After that SUNYIT will turn its focus to the NEAC Championship Tournament, which SUNYIT will host on Nov. 9-10th as the league's Regular Season Champions.