The Berkeley College (NJ) men's soccer team snapped a two-game losing skid on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Owls of the University of Maine-Presque Isle by a score of 4-1. With the victory, the Knights improved their record of 2-5 on the 2014 campaign, while UMPI dropped to 1-4-1 on the season.
Standout Kevin Ortiz got the Knights on the board in the opening session, as he received a beautiful lead pass from Bryan Costa before burying a ball past Owls netminder Caleb Bragg-Grady at the 17:59 mark to give his team a 1-0 lead. Berkeley increased their edge to two goals when Juan Faciolince notched a tally just over 12 minutes later (30:53). Anthony Feola was credited with an assist on that goal. At the half, the Knights held a 2-0 lead.
The Knights' 2-0 lead held up until the 77th minute, when UMPI's Joshua Allen who score an unassisted goal to pull his team to within a goal at 2-1 (76:17). The contest was essentially later in the half when Kevin Ortiz and Carlos Guetierrez notch goals for Berkeley within a two minute span (Ortiz at 84:57 and Guetierrez at 86:44) to up the Knights' edge to 4-1. Berkeley wouldn't look back from there, as the Knights held on for a three-goal victory.
In addition to a solid all-around offensive performance by the Knights, Berkeley College netminder Jonathan Pena-Ortiz was terrific in net, as he stopped five shots while allowing just the one goal. The Knights' defense on the day was stingy, as Berkeley only allowed 10 UMPI shots all afternoon long.
The Knights out-shot the Owls 33-10 on the day, while also receiving three corner kicks to UMPI's one. The Owls were whistled for six fouls on the day, while Berkeley committed five.
Despite the loss for UMPI, goaltender Caleb Bragg-Grady made 13 saves.
Berkeley will look to put together its first winning streak of the 2014 campaign on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights will take to the road to battle Penn State York. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 3:30pm.