Men's Soccer Rallies to Win Second Men's Soccer Championship in Three Years

An exciting tournament on the men's side saw all three games decided by one goal. No. 2 seed ESF defeated No. 4 seed College of New Rochelle (CNR), 2-1, to capture the 2018 conference title.

The first semifinal saw New Rochelle stun regular-season champion and top seed Berkeley College, scoring an equalizer in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and netting the game-winner 11 seconds into the extra session to knock off the Knights, who were undefeated in league play this year. The second semifinal found No. 3 seed King's College unable to hold on to its 1-0 halftime lead with ESF scoring in the 52nd (junior Luke Day) and 77th (senior Nick Schiera) minutes to advance to its third straight title game.

CNR struck first in the final game with Xavier Cruzata finding the back of the net in the 20th minute. But the Blue Angels' bid to become the first No. 4 seed to win the league title would fall short as the Tournament MVP, senior Matt Hoppe, scored the equalizer with less than 15 minutes left to play. The Mighty Oaks placed another in the cage three minutes later off the foot of Day to seal their second title in the last three years.

With the victory, the men's and women's soccer teams claim the conference's automatic bid to the USCAA National Championship held Nov. 8-12 in Virginia Beach. The Mighty Oaks will learn their seeding for the six-team tournament when the field is announced Oct. 30.