Men's Soccer Falls Short to Albany Pharmacy in First Playoff Appearance

ALBANY, N.Y.—Albany College of Pharmacy rode a six-goal performance from Mina Ishak to defeat the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team on Sunday afternoon. The second-seeded Panthers' 8-2 semifinal win propelled them into the HVIAC Tournament final against Berkeley College and eliminated the third-seeded Bears from their first postseason tournament.

Senior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) orchestrated an unassisted goal in the 6th minute, his ninth of the season, giving the Bears a crucial quick lead on the road in their first playoff game. It would be the final goal of his illustrious career, finishing with a program-best 33 goals and 70 points.

Albany's Mina Ishak would respond in a huge way leveling the game at 1-1 four minutes later, and singlehandedly running off six unanswered goals. Four of these came before the first intermission, giving the Panthers a 4-1 halftime advantage.

Ishak tacked on two more in the second-half, with his strike in the 58th minute giving the Panthers a 6-1 lead. The freshman needed little help in leading his team's offensive attack, with four of his six goals coming unassisted.

Freshman Thomas Homier (Middleton, Del./Middletown) netted an unassisted goal for St. Joseph's in the 83rd minute, which cut the deficit to its final 8-2 margin.

Despite the disappointing season-ending loss, the Bears (7-7-1, 3-2-1 HVIAC) have a lot to be proud of, concluding their first .500 season and winning season in league play. The Bears will set their sights on a new challenge next season as all 13 varsity teams will compete in the Skyline Conference in 2015-16.

The Panthers (7-6-1, 4-2 HVIAC) will look to defend their conference title advancing to play Berkeley College, in a rematch of last year's title game. The fourth-seeded Knights upset top-seeded Culinary in penalty kicks, 1-1 (3-1), in the other semifinal played on Sunday.