Men's Soccer: Vaughn 2, Albany Pharmacy 1

Men's Soccer: Vaughn 2, Albany Pharmacy 1

Release courtesy Vaughn College Athletic Communications

The Vaughn College men's soccer team played their first game of the season on the road against Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) opponent Albany Pharmacy on Thursday, September 26. The Warriors were supposed to have matches prior to the Albany Pharmacy game but unforeseen circumstances would not allow them to. Their last game of the 2018-19 season ended in an 8-0 defeat to the Albany Pharmacy Panthers. The Warriors regrouped over the summer and looked forward to getting back on the field for a chance of redemption for how their season ended last year.

As expected, the Warriors started off the game excited but played extremely undisciplined on both sides of the ball. They conceded a goal to the Panthers in the first 10 minutes of the opening half. They would respond on a beautiful goal by junior captain Azzeddine Sekkat (Astoria, NY). Sekkat found the back of the net in the 11th minute off of an assist from Djusalem Merise (Brooklyn, NY), the junior midfield transfer. 

The game would remain knotted at 1-1 for most of the match. In the 82nd minute Sekkat crossed the ball to right back Kevin Moreira (Brooklyn, NY) who scored the winning goal for the Warriors redeeming the men's soccer team from a catastrophic loss to the Panthers in their final game of last season. The 2-1 victory over the Panthers was extremely emotional and rewarding for the Warriors. 


Release courtesy Albany Pharmacy Athletic Communications

Men's Soccer fell to conference foe Vaughn College last night by a score of 2-1. The Panthers are now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the HVIAC, while the VC Warriors are 2-0 and 1-0 in the league.

ACPHS weathered a bit of a storm in the opening ten minutes, as the Warriors forced Panther goalie Ryan Hobson to make his first save just two minutes into the contest. Albany controlled the game from there on, opening the scoring in the 11th minute through sophomore Chuck Middleton. Freshman Gavin Carvey picked up the ball and back-heeled a pass that released Middleton behind the VC defense. The Cicero native drove in on Vaughn goalie Christopher Weiss and finished far post for his first goal of the season. The assist was Carvey's team-leading third of the year.

The Panther lead didn't last long, as Vaughn struck back just over a minute later. Forward Azzeddine Sekkat received the ball from Djusalem Merise and unleashed a rocket that flew in off the post past Hobson to tie the score at one.

Albany fashioned the better of the chances to close out the half, as senior Noah Keith constantly put dangerous balls into the box that seemed to barely miss a teammate every time. The best example of this came in the 22nd minute, when Keith found the head of Carvey following a corner kick. The freshman rose above everyone to win the ball, but his shot went straight at the Vaughn keeper, leaving the score at 1-1 after the first 45 minutes.

The teams were evenly matched for most of the second half, but is was Vaughn who would eventually grab the winning goal. Both Middleton and Carvey had one-on-one opportunities with the Warrior goalie that they failed to convert before VC forward Kevin Moreira secured victory for his team in the 83rd minute. The goal came from a counterattack after ACPHS had thrown men forward for a corner. Sekkat skipped past a few Panther defenders before finding Moreira who beat Hobson near post.