Posted: Nov 13, 2022
The Berkeley College New Jersey men's soccer team punched its ticket to its first USCAA Division II National Men's Soccer tournament title game this weekend, winning its pool by defeating the Cougars of Cincinnati-Clermont by a score of 4-0 on Saturday, before edging the Mustangs of Central Maine Community College 2-1 earlier today. Both games took place at the Princess Anne Sports Complex in Virginia Beach, VA. With the two wins, the Knights improved to 11-9-2 on the year, and will now play Johnson & Wales (North Carolina) tomorrow for the National crown.
"This is such a special group of student-athletes, and I am beyond proud of everything they've accomplished up to this point," Head Coach Bruno Ferriera said. "To be able to see their diligent efforts pay off with an appearance in the USCAA title game is extremely gratifying, and we're one victory away from realizing the ultimate dream. We'll enjoy this moment tonight, and we'll be ready to play tomorrow against a very talented Johnson & Wales (NC) team."
In Berkeley's win Saturday night against the Cougars, the Knights struck for a goal just 112 seconds in when Esteban Pedrueza scored a goal to make it 1-0. Samuel Morgado netted an unassisted tally less than 10 minutes later (at 11:35), slashing a ball past Cincinnati-Clermont's Kaiden Farrar to make it 2-0. That would be the final goal scored of the opening session, as Berkeley took that aforementioned two goal lead into the break.
Just as they did in the opening stanza, Berkeley peppered two goals into the net in the final 45 minutes. Suad Lukovic notched a tally at 51:28, and Jandry Jervis rounded out the scoring with a goal at 73:10.
The Knights' stellar defense allowed just five shots on goal for the evening. Dawid Mroz, who days earlier was named the USCAA Student-Athlete of the Year and a National First Team All-American, registered 82:04 of pitch time, making two saves. His backup, Yanick Diouf, played 7:56 and made two saves, as well.
Earlier today, Berkeley earned a trip to the National title game with a dramatic one goal victory over the Mustangs. Erson Gerbashi scored the Knights' first goal 9:05 into the contest, and that would be the only tally of the match until the 74th minute when CMCC's Isodoro Domingues who score an unassisted tally to tie the match 1-1. Later, in one the most dramatic moments in the history of the program, Pedrueza received a pass from Marcos Hidalgo before slicing the ball into the net to put Berkeley up 2-1, a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Despite allowing the one goal, Mroz came up huge in the second session against the Mustangs, making five saves.
The Knights' two victories sets up a storybook title match with the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales (North Carolina) tomorrow. The Wildcats, who are 10-5-5 this season and won their pool by tying Penn State Brandywine and beating Five Towns College, are making their third trip to the USCAA championship game since 2018. The Wildcats lost in 2018 and 2019, with the latter of those defeats coming against Berkeley College New York. What makes the game even more compelling is that Berkeley College New Jersey beat the Wildcats in 2019, but still lost its pool, and didn't advance to the title game. The Knights will have an opportunity to finally realize their goal and have their season culminate in a National title. Kickoff time for tomorrow's clash with the Wildcats is set for 4:30pm.
