Bears Succumb to Medgar Evers in Battle of Brooklyn Squads

BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team fell short in their quest for the first win in program history, dropping an 8-2 non-conference decision at home to Medgar Evers College on Thursday afternoon at Brooklyn Technical High School field.

Both Brooklyn squads entered the game looking to post a number in the win column and it was Medgar Evers who would strike first and never look back. In the 14th minute, Zekiel Daley made the Bears pay for a turnover in the defensive zone putting away a shot from the top of the penalty box. Daley would strike again five minutes later off another Bears defensive miscue and ended up finishing the game with five goals.

St. Joseph's committed many crucial errors in the defensive end forced by the Cougars' speed, which led to 36 shots, 22 coming on net. Freshman Michael Miner (Schenevus, NY/Schenevus) recorded 14 saves and despite being left stranded on several occasions, single-handedly stopped multiple Medgar Evers' breakaway chances.

The Bears ended the Medgar Evers shutout in the 65th minute when Omar Al-Dulimi (Brooklyn, NY/Manhatttan International) tallied his first career goal putting away a ball just inside the near post off a corner from second half substitute Gabriel Gonzalez (Guayaquil, Ecuador/25 de Agosto) to make the score 7-1.

After the Cougars tacked on another goal on an odd-man opportunity, the Bears scored again in the 83rd minute when Gonzalez sent a lead pass from mid-field to the breaking Derrick Akwei (Bronx, NY/Port Angeles HS) who deked the sliding goalie at the top of the box and put the ball into the empty net for his first career varsity goal.

The game was called due to darkness after the Bears' goal with rain and lightning delaying the start by 45 minutes.

Medgar Evers (1-10) also saw a pair of goals from James Maynard and a tally from Miguel Rodriguez.

St. Joseph's (0-3) closes out a three-game home stand hosting Webb Institute in a Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference tilt on Saturday, October 1st at Brooklyn Technical High School field starting at 4 p.m. The game will be the last home game for the Bears this season and both teams seek their first wins of the season.