Release courtesy of Albany Pharmacy Athletics
Albany, NY – The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Men's Soccer Team hosted the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Semifinal Match on Sunday, October 26 at 1:00 p.m. at the ACPHS Track & Field. The contest featured the #2 seeded Panthers vs. the #3 seeded Bears of St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn, NY).
ACPHS and St. Joseph's both came out of the gates with a fast pace. The Bear's struck first, when Raul Urshela snuck one past ACPHS goal keeper, Matt Houlihan, at 38:37. The Bear's lead was short lived as the Panthers, Mina Ishak, tied the match at 34:46. ACPHS continued the attack and were able to penetrate the Bear's defensive line at 23:12 when Zak Giorgi placed a perfect pass to Mina Ishak who once again found the back of the net. At 14:25, Mina Ishak scored again, giving him a hat trick on the day. With 10:03 remaining, Ishak was fouled and awarded a penalty kick. He was able to connect on the "PK" and scored for the fourth time on the afternoon. At the end of the opening half, ACPHS led St. Joseph's 4-1.
The Panthers and Mina Ishak continued to build upon their lead during the second half of play. In a complete team effort, ACPHS had solid ball movement that lead to four more goals. Mina Ishak scored two more goals, giving him six on the day at 39:45 and 31:51. At 24:31 Jack Hanlon connected on a pass from Alexander Perry-Ferrari. ACPHS netted one more at 15:17 remaining when Ryan Mack put a gorgeous kick past the Bear's goal keeper. As the sun began to set the final horn blew and ACPHS had punched their ticket to the HVIAC Championship with a 8-2 victory over St. Joseph's. The Panthers will next play at the Culinary Institute for the HVIAC Finals on Sunday, November 2.
# # #
Release courtesy of St. Joseph's College Athletics
ALBANY, N.Y.—Albany College of Pharmacy rode a six-goal performance from Mina Ishak to defeat the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team on Sunday afternoon. The second-seeded Panthers' 8-2 semifinal win propelled them into the HVIAC Tournament final against Berkeley College and eliminated the third-seeded Bears from their first postseason tournament.
Senior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) orchestrated an unassisted goal in the 6th minute, his ninth of the season, giving the Bears a crucial quick lead on the road in their first playoff game. It would be the final goal of his illustrious career, finishing with a program-best 33 goals and 70 points.
Albany's Mina Ishak would respond in a huge way leveling the game at 1-1 four minutes later, and singlehandedly running off six unanswered goals. Four of these came before the first intermission, giving the Panthers a 4-1 halftime advantage.
Ishak tacked on two more in the second-half, with his strike in the 58th minute giving the Panthers a 6-1 lead. The freshman needed little help in leading his team's offensive attack, with four of his six goals coming unassisted.
Freshman Thomas Homier (Middleton, Del./Middletown) netted an unassisted goal for St. Joseph's in the 83rd minute, which cut the deficit to its final 8-2 margin.
Despite the disappointing season-ending loss, the Bears (7-7-1, 3-2-1 HVIAC) have a lot to be proud of, concluding their first .500 season and winning season in league play. The Bears will set their sights on a new challenge next season as all 13 varsity teams will compete in the Skyline Conference in 2015-16.
The Panthers (7-6-1, 4-2 HVIAC) will look to defend their conference title advancing to play Berkeley College, in a rematch of last year's title game. The fourth-seeded Knights upset top-seeded Culinary in penalty kicks, 1-1 (3-1), in the other semifinal played on Sunday.
