It was business as usual for the Berkeley College men's soccer team on Saturday afternoon, as the Knights picked up another victory, this time over HVIAC foe SUNY-ESF, as Berkeley won the conference clash by a score of 4-1. The contest took place at Frank D. Zaccaria Memorial Park in Woodland Park, NJ. With the win, the Knights improved to 11-1 on the year (2-0 HVIAC), while the Mighty Oaks dipped to 2-5-3 overall, and 0-2 in HVIAC play.
Prior to the match, the Berkeley College Department of Athletics, and the men's soccer program took a few moments to honor three seniors who have given so much to the soccer program over the years, including Esteban Pedrueza, Matthew Flores, and Suad Lukovic. All three seniors were presented with commemorative trophies to honor their years of service on the team.
The Knights dominated for most of the afternoon, with Lucas Zuleta getting the scoring started in the 32nd minute, receiving a pass from Samuel Gomez before slashing the ball into the goal to make it 1-0 Berkeley. Three minutes later, an unassisted tally by Michael Paredes increase the host school's lead to 2-0. That would be the final goal scored in the opening session.
In the second half, the Knights used three goals in a nine minute span to put the match out of reach. Ian Pallardel scored in the 58th minute (from Lukovic), and Samuel Gomez and Eduar Izaguirre scored a minute apart, with Gomez scoring in the 65th (from Marco DaSilva), and Izaguirre notching a tally in the 66th (from Paredes).
SUNY-ESF was able to net a pair of garbage time tallies, with Liam Casey and Robert Bettencourt scored unassisted tallies in the 78th minute and 82nd minute, respectively.
Berkeley held a commanding 22-7 edge in the shots category, and each team earned five corner kick opportunities apiece.
Victor Batista logged another tremendous effort in net for the Knights, as he played 75 shutout minutes, making six saves in the process. His counterpart, Gabe Hunchro, played 90 minutes and allowing five goals while making four stops.
Berkeley will look to continue its winning ways on Wednesday, as the Knights will host Fisher College at Frank D. Zaccaria Park. Start-time is scheduled for 4:00pm.
