Men's Soccer Earns First Win of 2013 Over HVIAC Foe King's (N.Y.)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Helped by an acrobatic goal from junior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) off a bicycle kick, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team defeated Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) foe The King's College (N.Y.), 3-0 for their first win of the season and first shutout in school history in their home opener at Brooklyn Technical High School Field on Saturday afternoon.

St. Joseph's (1-6, 1-2 HVIAC) snaps a six-game losing streak to begin the season and moves to within one game of the final spot for the season-ending conference tournament while King's (N.Y.) (1-9, 0-4 HVIAC) remains winless in HVIAC play and has lost four in a row.

Both teams had scoring chances throughout the game but the final outcome came down to the Bears capitalizing on their opportunities and the Lions unable to pounce on their own chances.

The action was at a slow pace for the opening minutes of the game as the two squads were feeling each other out with both teams recording a shot in the opening five minutes. However, St. Joseph's would break through in the 7th minute when freshman Giuseppe Porretto (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) was taken down in the box. Porretto connected on the ensuing penalty kick for his second goal of the season giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.

King's (N.Y.) responded with two shots immediately after the St. Joseph's goal but were unable to break through and the Bears took advantage when Urshela used a feed from sophomore Matthew O'Neill (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) to build a 2-0 lead in the 25th minute in the highlight of the game as he took a throw-in direct from O'Neill and fired a superb shot past the Lions goalkeeper, ending the play on his back.

The Lions had their best scoring opportunity come in the 34th minute when St. Joseph's committed a foul in the box but Bears junior goalkeeper Michael Miner (Schenevus, N.Y./Schenevus) stepped up big time denying Robert DeWitt on the ensuing penalty kick to preserve St. Joseph's two goal margin heading into the break.

St. Joseph's added onto their lead in the 55th minute when O'Neill scored his first goal of the season as the goalie mishandled the ball off O'Neill's throw-in with the ball finding its way into the net to give the Bears a 3-0 lead that proved too much for King's (N.Y.) to overcome.

The Bears defense stepped up their play today holding the Lions to only three shots on goal in helping lead the team to victory.

O'Neill finished with a team-high four shots on goal while Urshela tallied three of his own and now has a team-high three goals on the season. Miner made three saves in picking up his first career shutout.

The Lions were led by Noah Schiers who had a team-high six shots on the day.

St. Joseph's has a week off until they face Culinary in a HVIAC matchup next Saturday, October 12th at Brooklyn Technical High School Field. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m.