Sage Men’s Soccer names Griffin Goodemote ‘Gator of the Year’

By Ann King

ALBANY, NY » The Sage Colleges’ department of athletics recently announced the recipients of the department’s annual awards. Junior Griffin Goodemote (Broadalbin, NY/ Broadalbin Perth) was honored as the 20192020 men’s soccer Gator of the Year.

Head Men’s Soccer Coach Matt Esposito remarked, “Griffin was a big time player for us this season.” He added, “A major influence for our improved season was his ability to play in many different roles. His neverquit attitude carried us over the finish line several times, including scoring the goal in our last game to bring us back to the playoffs. Griffin showed leadership and I’m excited to see what he does in the coming year.”

Sage earned the program’s second Empire 8 Tournament selection this season and finished the regularseason second in the league. With the No. 2 seed, Sage hosted their first E8 tournament match as well as they hosted Alfred University and capped the campaign under rookie head coach Esposito with a 9-9 mark.

A midfielder, he was honored for his outstanding play in 2019 with a selection to the Empire 8 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Team, earning a slot on the Honorable Mention Team.

A starter in 17 of 18 matches played this past season, he was the team’s second leading scorer with 10 points on four goals with two assists. He had a pair of gamewinning goals helping Sage defeat SUNYCobleskill and Houghton to help Sage to a berth in the 2019 Empire 8 Tournament. He has played in 45 career matches at Sage now with 17 career points on seven goals with three assists.