HYDE PARK, N.Y.—Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences junior Alexander Perry-Ferrari (Rochester, N.Y.) scored an early second-half goal that would lead the Panthers to a 1-0 victory over Berkeley College in the 2014 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship at the Culinary Institute Soccer Field.
The rematch of last’s year’s championship would have a much different tone as the Panthers (8-6-1, 4-2 HVIAC) entered the tournament again as the No. 2 seed and the Knights (5-11-2, 3-2-1 HVIAC) entering as the No. 4 seed in a tightly-contested regular season that saw six teams vying for the four playoff berths until the final week of the season.
Unlike last year’s meeting, the defending champion Panthers came out as the aggressors and had the better of the few scoring opportunities of the scoreless first half.
But similar to last year's contest, the Panthers found the lone goal early in the second stanza. Just over a minute out of the break, Perry-Ferrari caught the Knights defense flat-footed, receiving a ball from Mina Ishak (Los Angeles, Calif.) on the left side of the box and was able to dribble the ball to the front face of the goal and fired it past the keeper for the game’s lone tally.
Albany Pharmacy would maintain their pressure for the remainder of the contest and the defense did well to keep Berkeley’s opportunities to equalize at a minimum. With the Knights pressing forward in the final minutes, Shonoray Ryan (Port of Spain, Trinidad) had a good look at net that was saved by Matt Houlihan (Levittown, N.Y.), who made two saves in earning the shutout, and the ensuing corner kick was cleared away by the defense to seal the win.
In addition to assisting on the game-winning goal, Ishak was named Tournament MVP after erupting for six goals in Albany Pharmacy’s 8-2 semifinal win over St. Joseph’s that earned the Panthers a spot in their seventh straight title game.
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2014 HVIAC Men's Soccer Championships
Semifinals - Sunday, October 26
#4 Berkeley tied #1 Culinary, 1-1, Berkeley advances 3-1 in
shootout (at Culinary) | Box
#2 Albany Pharmacy def. #3 St. Joseph's, 8-2 (at Albany Pharmacy)
| Box
Championship - Sunday, November 2
#2 Albany Pharmacy def. #4 Berkeley, 1-0 (at Culinary) | Box
Tournament MVP
Mina Ishak, Albany Pharmacy - Fr., Forward, Los Angeles, Calif.
Tournament Champions
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Tournament Runner-Up
Berkeley College
Regular Season Champions
Culinary Institute
