2001 CUNYAC Community College Soccer
BMCC Panthers Defend Soccer Title
Bronx, NY- For the second consecutive year, Borough of Manhattan Community College won
the CUNY Athletic Conference Men's Soccer crown after defeating Queensborough, 5-2.
Played on the campus of Bronx Community College, the Panthers emerged in the second
half with three unanswered goals to break open a 2-2 tie at the half.
"We came to win," said BMCC's Duane Ball, who was named the Tournament's Most
Valuable Player, after scoring two goals. "We've had an up and down season this
year, but we were confident of what we could do," added Ball. But Ball admitted
that the Tigers were not easy to defeat. "They played hard and that is something
that we just have to accept, the game was not easy."
The Tigers took control of the game early, scoring their two goals in the first
9:30 of the game. The first goal came in the second minute of the game by sophomore
Juan Mena (Corona, NY). The second goal was netted by a freshman from Flushing, NY,
Gabriel Rodriguez, eight minutes later.
BMCC (4-3) struck right back, on freshman midfielder Raul Caceres (New York, NY)
tally, and the Panthers, tied the game on a goal by freshman Abraham Galvan seven
minutes before the break.
Queensborough (1-4-1) goalkeeper Diego Pacheco, who stopped nine spectacular shots,
misplayed a ball from one of the Tiger defenders, allowing sophomore Jacek Lawniczak
to sneak on for the winning goal for BMCC in the 64th minute.
Ball, a speedy sophomore, scored the last two goals, the first one on an assist
from freshman Dalton Green to put the icing on the cake.
"I feel relieved, the team has been under a lot of stress," said the Panthers'
new coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi. "We have overcome many problems after September
11th, and I am just happy that we won."
Coach Yatsuhashi hopes that the Panthers keep up the momentum, as they hope to
head into the Region XV in a couple of weeks.
--CUNYAC--
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