The Berkeley College New York men's soccer team fell short in their efforts to win the 2014 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship on Sunday, falling to the Panthers of Albany College of Pharmacy by a score of 1-0 on the campus of Culinary Institute. The Panthers - who improved their record to 8-6-1 on the season - earned their fifth HVIAC championship as a program. Berkeley College fell to a record of 5-10-2 on the 2014 campaign, and the team will play its final game its season on Tuesday evening at Yeshiva University.
There weren't many quality scoring chances for either team in the opening 45 minutes of play, as the Knights only registered two shots in the opening session, while the Panthers recorded three. As the first period came to a close, the championship game was scoreless.
In the second stanza, Albany College of Pharmacy broke through for the game's first and only goal when Alex Perry-Ferrari received a pass from Mine Ishak and buried the ball into the net to put the Panthers ahead 1-0. Albany College of Pharmacy's stingy defense would take over from there, as the Panthers allowed the Knights only three shots (two on net - both stopped by goalkeeper Spencer Keable) in the second half. The Panthers held on for a one-goal victory, but Berkeley College Head Coach Stavros Zomopoulous was still proud of his team's recent evolution.
"Our young team has done a lot of growing up over the past two weeks, and it's very gratifying to see them mature," Zomopoulous said. "They did a great job outlasting the No. 1 seeded Steels of Culinary Institute last week, and they followed that up by battling as men for the conference title today. I am proud of the effort they put forth, and it's great to see them become a true example of what a team should be. I feel the experience that we have gained this year will make us a much more resilient group in 2015. We have one more game left in this season, and then we'll regroup and take another shot at the HVIAC title and ensuing USCAA championship next season."
The final shot count was 9-5 in favor of the Panthers. Berkeley College held a 7-4 edge in corner kicks, and Albany College of Pharmacy was whistled for 23 fouls compared to 13 for the Knights. Each team's goalkeeper made two saves apiece, with Keable stopping a duce and Berkeley's Renzo Loaiza stopping a pair.
The Knights wrap-up their season on Tuesday evening as Berkeley College will take to the road to battle Yeshiva University in Teaneck, NJ. Start-time is scheduled for 8:30pm.
