Box Score
The men’s soccer team scored a goal with five minutes remaining to defeat Cooper Union, 2-1, in a non-conference road match on Wednesday night at the Met Oval in Queens.
With the victory, the Bearcats stretch their current win streak to six in a row and seven wins and one tie in their last eight overall matches, dating back to September 20.
The current run of form has also enabled the Bearcats to enter the regional Metro Rankings Poll at #10, which is voted on by members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). LATEST POLL
The match against Cooper Union started with 45 minutes of each team attempting a series of shots, but both defenses held on to keep the scoreboard empty at halftime.
However, the first 30 seconds of the second half began in dramatic fashion with each team scoring a goal for a quick tie.
The Bearcats scored just seven seconds into the start of the half with Joel Sevilla firing a cross into that box that Daniel Wright headed past for the goalkeeper for the rapid 1-0 score.
Cooper Union immediately countered 20 seconds later with Billy Epstein (Katunak, NY) firing a shot that deflected off a defender to tie the match.
The Bearcats, which dominated the match with a 27-9 shot advantage, consistently attacked for more goals, but impressive Cooper Union goalkeeper Fabio Alvino-Roca (Moscow, Russia) came up big with 10 saves to keep the match competitive until the very end.
Senior Mario Dylgjeri prevented the match from going to overtime by taking a corner kick from senior Aykan Yurdacan and knocking in the winning goal with five minutes remaining to escape with the 2-1 victory.
Baruch freshman goalkeeper Michael Murphy started his second career match and finished with two saves, while freshman Daniel Ospina helped lead the attack all evening with seven shots. Junior Valiantsin Kirykovich and senior Daniel Wright combined for 11 shots up front.
In other exciting team news today, junior goalkeeper Nelson DiBastiano was named the CUNYAC Men’s Soccer Player of the Week.
DiBastiano, who had the night off against Cooper Union, recorded a perfect 3-0 record last week with two shutouts, a 0.33 goals against average and 19 total saves (.950 pct.) to help the Bearcats enter the regional rankings for the first time in two years.
He posted a 10-save clean sheet in non-conference action against Manhattanville (Oct. 6), and added a six-save shutout at Staten Island (Oct. 11).
DiBastiano also made three saves in a crucial 2-1 victory for Baruch over defending CUNYAC champion York College (Oct. 8).
The Bearcats will return to action this Saturday with another road match at the Met Oval against John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Kick off is scheduled for Noon.
