Men’s Soccer Rallies With Two Second-Half Goals to Collect Skyline Win Over Purchase

PURCHASE, N.Y. — After assisting on the equalizing goal in the 68th minute, junior Cesar Oviedo (South Ozone Park, N.Y./Christ the King) scored the game-winner nine minutes later to push the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team past Purchase College, 2-1, on Thursday evening. The victory moves the Bears back into a three-way tie for fifth place as SJC makes their final push to qualify for their first Skyline Conference Championships.

The Basics

• Final Score:  St. Joseph's 2, Purchase 1
• Records: St. Joseph's (6-8, 4-4 Skyline), Purchase (0-12-1, 0-7-1 Skyline)
• Location: Purchase, N.Y. – Purchase Soccer Field

How It Happened

• The Bears controlled much of the opening 45 and commanded a 12-5 edge in shots and 3-0 lead in corners. But it was Yianni Amvrosiatos's goal in the 22nd minute that gave the Panthers the early lead, which they carried into the lockers.
• SJC applied the pressure in the second half and after earning their sixth corner of the contest, Cesar Oviedo delivered a ball to Michael Ortiz and the junior equalized the contest at 67:39 with his first goal of the season. 
• Oviedo continued to threaten and fired off two shots in the next five minutes that were wide before Mateusz Georges and Oviedo worked a 2-on-1 that set up Oviedo for the game-winner at 76:23.
• The Bears defended well and limited the Purchase scoring opportunities to equalize back, but the hosts gained a great opportunity in the final minute forcing goalkeeper Julian Rodriguez to make a save and surrender a corner with less than 10 seconds to play.
• On the ensuing corner, Rodriguez made another save on the header attempt from Anthony Iurillo to preserve the victory.
• SJC finished with a 26-16 edge in shots and 8-3 advantage in corners.

For the Bears

• Michael Ortiz's was his first of the season and the fourth of his career, scoring for the first time since his freshman campaign.
• Cesar Oviedo netted his third goal of the season also notched his team-leading fifth assist and led all players with eight shots (five on goal)
• Freshman Mateusz Georges registered his first career assist and finished with four shots.
• Freshman Julian Rodriguez finished with three saves for the victory in net—two in the waning seconds of the contest.
• Beka Goduadze and Thomas Mastoras both fired five shots with two coming on goal.

The Bear Facts

• The win was the first for SJC after having trailed previously in the contest.
• The Bears victory was the first over the Panthers in three meetings. Purchase shut out SJC in both previous encounters in 2011 and 2015.
• Leveling their conference record at 4-4, the win is the fourth for the Bears in Skyline Conference play after going winless last season.
• SJC currently sits in a three-way tie for fifth place with 12 points with Mount Saint Vincent and SJC Long Island with the top six teams qualifying for the Skyline Conference Championships.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears have a day to recover before hosting Maritime College on Saturday, October 15^th in a Skyline Conference matchup played at The College of Staten Island starting at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.