Men Lose Soccer Opener at OCC

The ESF men's 2015 soccer season got underway against cross-town rival Onondaga Community College in the annual King of the Hill Cup Aug. 31 at David W. Murphy Field.

The Lazers won last year's cup in a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the Mighty Oaks. This year's game provided more of the same excitement.

The first half was evenly matched as ESF's sophomore goalkeeper, Cameron Schiavone, thwarted two Lazer attacks in the first 20 minutes, including a shot that pegged off the cross bar.

The Mighty Oaks got their first goal at the 39-minute mark off a nice run by newcomer Jorge Guarin, who beat his defender and got a shot past the OCC goalie to give ESF a 1-0 lead.

OCC came out firing in the second half in an attempt to even the score, however strong goalkeeping and conservative play helped the Mighty Oaks maintain the lead.

With 20 minutes left in the second half, OCC scored its first goal, tying the game 1-1. In the final 20 minutes, both teams fought hard to claim the lead. OCC evenutally did it with a shot from outside the box, putting the Lazers up 2-1. The Mighty Oaks had an opportunity to tie the score with two minutes remaining, when the OCC goalie deflected an ESF header and an forward Nicholas Schiera tapped the deflected ball into the back of the net; however, the ruling on the field was that the ESF player was offsides so the goal did not count.

The men's soccer team takes the field again Sept. 5 against The Kings College at the Aviator's Sports Center in Brooklyn, New York, in its first conference game as a member of the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.