The Berkeley College New York men's soccer team earned a split in its two matches played in Syracuse this weekend, defeating the Might Oaks of SUNY-ESF in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest by a score of 4-0, before falling to the Bobcats of Bryant & Stratton by a score of 2-1 in overtime. With the 1-1 output, Berkeley is now 6-4-1 on the season (2-0 HVIAC). SUNY-ESF dipped to 2-3-2 on the 2019 campaign, and 1-1-2 in conference competition. The Bobcats stayed unbeaten on the year, improving to 5-0-1.
In the Knights victory over the Mighty Oaks, Berkeley registered eight shots in the opening 45 minutes of action, with three of them finding the back of the net. Standout Amadou Sy scored on a penalty kick 8:00 into the contest, and two minutes later, fellow veteran Marcos Leon notched a tally (at 10:00, from Sy) to make it 2-0. Sy would score again just before the half, netting a goal at 41:00 to catapult the Knights a 3-0 advantage.
Berkeley would add a late goal to put the match away when Carlos Veliz scored at 81:00 (from Sy) to make it 4-0 in favor of the Knights. That would be the final goal scored of the afternoon, as Berkeley advanced for the shutout victory.
Dario Cruz Sepulveda only needed to make two saves, as he recorded yet another shutout victory, his third of the season, behind a suffocating Knights defense that allowed the Mighty Oaks to register just eight shots (two on-goal) for the day.
With the win, the Knights extended their undefeated streak in regular season HVIAC matches to eight, as they haven't lost to a conference opponent since October 22, 2017 against SUNY-ESF.
In Berkeley's loss to the Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse, the Knights, which benefited from a Meshema Charles first half goal, held a 1-0 edge inside the final three minutes of regulation. The Bobcats, though, continued to push, eventually tying the match at 87:29 when Mark Parchment recorded a beautiful goal (assisted by Delano Hodge). That goal knotted things at one goal apiece, and the match eventually advanced in the extra session.
Hodge, who recorded the assist on the crucial tying goal, won it for the Bobcats 5:17 into the extra session, tapping a Jon Stublla pass into the net to give Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse an incredible come-from-behind victory.
Cruz-Sepulveda registered 12 saves despite allowing the two late goals.
The Knights will now have two days off before returning to action on Wednesday, October 2, as they'll play Vaughn College on the No. 85 field at Randall's Island. Start-time is tentatively scheduled for 5:00pm, but could be moved up to 4:30pm. Keep it posted to www.BerkeleyCollegeKnights.com for the latest regarding the start time of Wednesday's match.
