Women's Soccer Concludes 2013 Campaign With Triumph Over NYU-Poly

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Helped by a goal in the 65th minute of action off the foot of sophomore Shannon Fahy (Breezy Point, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's soccer team concluded their 2013 campaign with a 3-2 win over NYU-Poly on Friday night at the Aviator Sports Complex.

St. Joseph's (5-11) finishes their second varsity season on a high note winning three of their last four games while NYU-Poly (4-13) concludes their 2013 season on a two-game losing streak.

The Fighting Blue Jays were the aggressors to begin the contest as they forced Lady Bears senior goalkeeper Nicole Farinella (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport HS) to make two saves within the first five minutes.

However, St. Joseph's would strike first in the 7th minute when NYU-Poly committed a foul and on the ensuing free kick sophomore Pamela Chernyakhovsky (Brooklyn, N.Y./Leon M. Goldstein)  fired a shot that made its way over the top of Fighting Blue Jays goalkeeper Molly Bartz to give the Lady Bears an early 1-0 lead in the game.

St. Joseph's looked to add on to their lead following the early goal but the Lady Bears were called for four offsides thwarting any possible scoring chances. NYU-Poly got on the board in the 23rd minute tying the score up at 1-1 after Aisha Abu Marzouq chipped a ball over Farinella's head.

The Fighting Blue Jays looked to capitalize off the momentum gained by their goal but Farinella had other plans as she stopped two shots in the ensuing two minutes. NYU-Poly had a chance in the 31st minute to take their first lead of the night but a Rebecca Eaker shot hit the post to keep the game tied.

Less than a minute before halftime the Lady Bears broke the 1-1 tie on another Chernyakhovsky free kick preceded by a Fighting Blue Jays yellow card that gave St. Joseph's a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime despite NYU-Poly holding a 9-5 shot advantage.

Neither team recorded a shot in the nine minutes of the second half but that would change in the 55th minute as the Fighting Blue Jays had another great opportunity, this time to tie the game up, but a Nicolette Nunez shot hit the post to keep the Lady Bears ahead.

NYU-Poly would not be denied as they broke through in the 63rd minute when Stephanie Arabagian scored to tie the match up at 2-2.

St. Joseph's didn't take long to respond as less than two minutes later Fahy added to her single-season record with her 14th goal after chipping a loose ball over the head of Bartz which gave the Lady Bears a 3-2 lead and proved to be the game-winner.

The backline for St. Joseph's stepped up their play in the second half holding the Fighting Blue Jays to only four shots in the second half with Farinella only having to make one save in the second stanza.

Chernyakhovsky paced the Lady Bears with her four shots and now has four goals on the year while Fahy and senior Cynthia Gambino (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) each recorded a shot on goal. Farinella made five saves in net earning her fifth win of the year.

Leading the NYU-Poly cause was Arabagian who had a game-high four shots on goal and also added an assist to the stat sheet.  Bartz stopped one shot in goal in a losing effort.