STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Berkeley College defeated Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at the College of Staten Island Soccer Complex to claim the 2012 Hudson Valley Men’s Athletic Conference Soccer Championship.
The league title is the second for the Knights who have reached the championship game in three of the past four years.
Berkeley and Albany Pharmacy played to a 2-2 draw in the regular season and finished tied atop the league standings with matching 5-0-1 records, the Panthers claiming the regular season title and top-seed by way of tiebreaker.
Berkeley edged out Culinary with a double-overtime, 2-1 victory in the semifinals, but jumped out to a quick lead in the championship, scoring in the 10th and 17th minutes on goals from Dare Aniyikaye and Hasan Sezer, both assisted by Ullises Bravo.
The Knights dominated control maintaining a 14-4 advantage in shots in the first half and went into the intermission up 3-0 after a goal from Ahmet Colak just before the break.
Sezer and Colak would find the back of the net again in the second half, putting the Knights up 5-0, and finished with two goals each, combining for 11 of the 20 Berkeley shots.
The Panthers got on the board in the 81st minute with an Anthony Changelo goal to cap the scoring.
In ceremonies after the game, Berkeley freshman midfielder Abdelwahab Mohamed was selected Tournament MVP. Culinary Institute head coach Michael Murphy was announced as Coach of the Year as selected by his peers.
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2012 HVMAC Soccer Championships
Semifinals
#1 Albany Pharmacy def. #4 Sarah Lawrence, 5-2
#2 Berkeley def. #3 Culinary, 2-1 (2OT)
Championships
#2 Berkeley def. #1 Albany Pharmacy, 5-1
Tournament MVP
Abdelwahab Mohamed, Berkeley - Fr. - Midfielder
Tournament Champions
Berkeley College
Regular Season Champions
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
2012 All-Conference Team
| Waqas Afgan | Berkeley | Jr. | D | Oslo, Norway |
| Dare Aniyikaye | Berkeley | So. | F | Nigeria |
| Anthony Changelo | Albany Pharmacy | Sr. | M | Rouses Point, NY |
| Anton Hakansson | Berkeley | Fr. | M | Helsingborg, Sweden |
| Zach Hecox * | Albany Pharmacy | Jr. | S | New Hartford, NY |
| Adam Hoye-Simek * | Albany Pharmacy | Jr. | GK | Broadalbin, NY |
| Harper Hunt * | Sarah Lawrence | Sr. | M | Paris, TX |
| Deleon Johnson | St. Joseph's | So. | D | Toronto, Canada |
| Moussa Kone | Vaughn | Sr. | M | Bronx, NY |
| Vin Loseto | Culinary | Fr. | D | Massapequa, NY |
| Pierre Mewissen | Culinary | Jr. | F | Franklin, WI |
| Joachim Moe | Berkeley | So. | D | Trondheif, Norway |
| Ilya Mouravieff | Webb | Fr. | D | |
| Pablo Noriega | Culinary | So. | F | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Alex Perry-Ferrari | Albany Pharmacy | Fr. | M | Rochester, NY |
| Ishaan Pujari | Sarah Lawrence | So. | F | Bangalore, India |
| Steve Sullivan * | Albany Pharmacy | Jr. | M | Broadalbin, NY |
| Raul Urshela | St. Joseph's | So. | F | Orlando, FL |
* Denotes 2011 All-Conference Team selections
2012 Coach of the Year
Michael Murphy, The Culinary Institute of America