Men's Soccer Defeated by Albany Pharmacy

ALBANY, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team suffered a 5-1 setback in their Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) opener to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Saturday afternoon at ACPHS Field.

St. Joseph's (0-4, 0-1 HVIAC) remains winless on the season while Albany Pharmacy (6-3, 4-0 HVIAC) remains in first place in the conference and has won four matches in a row.

The Panthers overwhelmed the Bears right from the start as they got on the board with a goal by Steve Sullivan that came off a chip from Alex-Perry Ferrari in the 4th minute giving Albany Pharmacy a 1-0 lead.

St. Joseph's would hold the Panthers off the board until the 40th minute when Matt Burkett fired a shot past Bears junior goalkeeper Michael Miner (Schenevus, N.Y./Schenevus) for a 2-0 Albany Pharmacy advantage.

Despite the Panthers holding a 14-5 advantage in shots, the Bears held their own and headed into halftime trailing only 2-0 with the game still in reach. Miner helped keep Albany Pharmacy at bay with his four saves in the opening stanza.

The action in the second half would intensify as the teams combined for four yellow cards and a red card in the period. The Panthers increased their lead to 3-0 in the 51st minute off a penalty kick by Ebenezer Eshun. 

Albany Pharmacy tacked on two goals with one coming in the 72nd minute and the other in the 77th minute to give themselves a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Bears lone bright spot of the day came in the 88th minute when Miner scored his first collegiate goal on a penalty kick.

Miner made seven saves absorbing the loss while the Bears offense was led by freshman Giuseppe Porretto (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) who finished the day with a team-high four shots. Sophomore Matthew O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) recorded the Bears only other shot on goal in the 14th minute.

St. Joseph's returns to action on Monday, September 30th taking on Lehman College at 8 p.m.