The Berkeley College New Jersey men's soccer team snapped its four-match losing streak on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Falcons of Fisher College by a score of 5-1 at Medford High School in Medford, Massachusetts. With the win, the Knights are now 7-5 on the season, while the Falcons dipped to 5-6 on the year.
In what was a very physical contest, the Knights scored first, netting a goal in the 11th minute of play when Nathan Malka found the back of the net to give Berkeley College a 1-0 advantage. Fisher College's Tyler Gahara would tie the match later in the session with a goal in the 30th minute to even the match at a goal apiece.
The relentless Knights offense wasn't giving the Falcons a break, as Berkeley continued pushing forward into Falcons territory, eventually grabbing a 2-1 advantage with just over five minutes left in the opening half. Kevin Soares would score a goal at 39:40 off of a beautiful lead pass from Matthew Neto. The Knights would led 2-1 as the teams headed into the locker room at halftime.
Berkeley College put two more goals passed Falcon goalkeeper Eliseu DiPena in the second half (Kevin Soares and Mario Hernandez each scored notched tallies) before Fisher College Head Coach John Del Valle changed his goalkeeper. Luiz Martins scored in the 88th minute for the Knights to account for Berkeley College's fifth and final tally of the contest.
Robert Parker started the match for the Knights and picked up the victory in net, as he made five saves and allowed just the one goal in 64:26 of action. Eric DeLaEspriella played the final 25:34 and didn't allow a goal while making three stops.
Berkeley College held a 17-12 edge in the shots category, while also getting five corner kick opportunities compared to four for Fisher College. The Knights were whistled for 13 fouls while the Falcons committed nine.
Berkeley College will return on Monday afternoon, as they'll take on Ramapo College in a Columbus Day matchup in Mahwah, NJ. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 4:00pm.
