Men's Soccer Goes 1-1 in HVIAC matches

The men's soccer team had two important HVIAC matches this week and came out with a win and a loss. 

The Mighty Oaks faced the College of New Rochelle (CNR) Blue Angels Sept. 30. This is the first year for the Blue Angels men's soccer program and the team has already built an impressive 7-2 record. ESF came out of the gates firing, with senior Zack Rede getting two quick shots on goal against the Blue Angels' goalkeeper, Cristian Perez Del Castillo. The Blue Angels began to control possession and got on the board at the nine-minute mark when sophomore Nicorey Warren put in a rebound off Mighty Oaks goal keeper Mike Hoppe. Four minutes later CNR freshman Jovanni Garcia converted a penalty kick, putting the Blue Angels up 2-0. The Mighty Oaks responded with inspired play by its freshmen, Mickael Myagkota and Thys Reynolds. Reynolds scored for ESF at the 40th minute on a loose ball inside the six-yard box to send the teams into the half with a 2-1 score.

Possession in the second half was well-balanced. The Mighty Oaks had several opportunities to tie up the score but couldn't convert. CNR pulled ahead 3-1 at the 78th minute when freshman Cesar Rodriguez beat an ESF defender on the left side and buried a shot in the right lower net. CNR came away with a 3-1 victory over ESF.

The following day, the Mighty Oaks faced HVIAC rival Vaughn College. Freshman Joseph Kulikowski opened scoring for ESF at the sixteen-minute mark of the first half off an assist from sophomore Nicholas Van Bennekum. Reynolds followed with another goal at the 32nd minute, his fifth goal of the season, putting ESF up 2-0. The Warriors responded with a goal by freshman Mohammed Aladarous at the 38th minute mark to close out the half down 2-1 to ESF.

The Warriors started the second half with a tying goal by sophomore Denis Moshchenko to knot up the score 2-2. The Mighty Oaks didn't hit the panic button. Instead, they responded with a powerful header from 18 yards out by Kulikowski at the 59th minute to put ESF up 3-2. ESF then followed up with three straight goals, putting the game well out of reach for the Warriors and earning a 6-2 win for the Mighty Oaks.

"It was a tough loss against an excellent College of New Rochelle team but I am really proud of our guys for keeping their composure against Vaughn College in the come-back win. This is an important week for us as we face our rivals Onondaga Community College and defending conference champs Berkeley College. I know our guys are up to the challenge." said Head Coach Dan Ramin.

The men's soccer team is now 6-2 overall, 3-2 in conference play. The squad faces Onondaga Community College in the annual King of the Hill Cup Oct. 6. The Mighty Oaks have lost the last three matches against OCC and hope to bring the cup back to ESF this year.