The Berkeley College New Jersey men's soccer team earned a pair of victories over the last four days to keep their undefeated season alive, as the Knights downed Central Penn on Friday afternoon by a score of 11-1, before defeating Penn State Hazleton in a thriller by a score of 1-0 Monday evening at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, NY. The Knights are now 7-0 on the 2017 campaign, while Central Penn fell to 2-2 with the loss, and the Nittany Lions dipped to 2-3.
The two aforementioned wins couldn't have been more different for Berkeley, as the Knights lit up the scoreboard on Friday afternoon, but scored just a lone goal on Monday night. In Berkeley College's 11-1 blowout triumph over Central Penn, the Knights got two goals apiece from James Ashun, Kevin Soares, and Hassane Camara, and one goal each from Greg Poposki, Wender Lima, Francesco Veloso, Jordan Bailey, and Edgar Jurado.
In the Knights' 1-0 victory over Penn State Hazleton, it was Shabthai Abellard serving as the hero for his team, as he broke a 0-0 tie in the 80th minute by receiving a gorgeous lead pass from Ichiaaka Doumbia before tapping the ball high over the goalkeepers head and into the net. That goal would be all the offense Berkeley College would need, as the Knights made the goal stand up the rest of the way.
Berkeley's victory over Penn State Hazleton featured a solid defensive effort, as the Knights allowed just eight shots on the evening – including only three on goal (all of which were collected by Robert Parker). For the 2017 season, the Knights have now outscored their opponents 46-6 over a seven game span. Following the two victories, Head Coach Bruno Ferreira spoke about where his team stands.
"In our win at Central Penn, everything clicked," Ferreira said. "We got so many players involved, and it was beautiful to see. On Monday night against Penn State Hazleton, I felt we could have done a much better job executing in the first half, and we put ourselves in a difficult position by not converting on some high-percentage shots in the opening stanza. But in the second half, we were able to hold off the Nittany Lions, as Abellard notched the late goal and our defense did the rest. We're undefeated, but we have to keep improving because the competition will only become fiercer."
The Knights will now have four days off before taking to the road this weekend to battle the University of Maine at Machias on Saturday at noon, and the University of Maine at Fort Kent on Sunday at noon.