Top 10 Moments: #2 – Women's Soccer Claims HVWAC Championship in Inaugural Season

The 2012 season was a season of firsts for the SJC women's soccer team as they picked up their first win in the first game in school history on their way to capturing the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Tournament title in their first varsity season.

September 6, 2012 will go down as a historic day for the Lady Bears as they opened their first season of varsity play with a 3-0 victory over Lehman College. It didn’t take long for St. Joseph’s to find the back of the net as freshman Pam Chernyakhovsky scored the first goal in school history off a set piece from a corner kick set up by sophomore Melissa Maloy in the 3rd minute of action which proved to be the game winner. Cynthia Gambino and Daniella Valencia would tack on additional insurance goals and Nicole Farinella made two saves en route to the first shutout win in school history.

The Lady Bears concluded the regular season 5-4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play and entered the HVWAC Tournament looking to pull off the improbable task of winning a conference championship in the program’s inaugural season of play. St. Joseph's bypassed Medgar Evers College in the semifinals setting up a rematch against Berkeley College, who they had defeated 3-1 earlier in the season.

The championship game was tightly contested with neither side having many scoring opportunities and shots hard to come by. The action went back-an-forth with neither team having a clear advantage until the 14th minute when Chernyakhovsky fired a  a shot from 35 yards out that found its way past the goalkeeper that gave the Lady Bears a 1-0 lead at the intermission.

Led by Tournament MVP junior Daniela Semilia, the St. Joseph's defense would surrender only five shots all game and helped Farinella post her seventh shutout of the season in net, making four saves in the process. The Lady Bears clung to their one goal lead throughout the second half, until the 85th minute Valencia sealed the Lady Bears first championship, taking a shot from the top of the box that found the back of the net. 

For their efforts throughout the successful inaugural campaign, the Lady Bears garnered numerous awards, highlighted by an Chernyakhovsky's Association of Division III (AD3I) Rookie of the Year and First Team All-AD3I selection and Farinella's AD3I Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-AD3I selection and joining them on the AD3I First Team was Shannon Rom. Leading goal scorer Gambino was honored by he United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) as a Second Team All-American.

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Our summer feature on www.SJCBears.com, we look back at the highlights from the 2012-2013 season in St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn Athletics. We will reveal a new moment on the list every Wednesday throughout the summer ending in August right before the start of the new season. 

#10 – Mangan Captures First Cross Country Win in Lady Bears History
#9 – Diamonds Sparkle on the Dance Floor and in the Classroom
#8 – Softball Rallies From Eight Down, Caps Season With HVWAC Crown
#7 – Former Bears and Lady Bears Shine in Professional Spotlight
#6 – Bears and Lady Bears Athletes Recognized for Outstanding Seasons
#5 – A Gym Still Grows in Brooklyn... Project Crosses 1-Year Mark
#4 – Women's Basketball Stuns USCAA Champs En Route to HVWAC Title
#3 – Men's Basketball Shocks Patchogue in Double OT; Caps Campaign With USCAA Berth
#2 – Women's Soccer Claims HVWAC Championship in Inaugural Season
#1 – Check back on August 21st!