MASPETH, N.Y.  - On Monday, top-seeded Borough of Manhattan Community College captured its second-straight league title with a 5-2 victory against No. 2 seed Queensborough Community College in the 2017 CUNYAC/USS Community College Men's Soccer Championship at the Metropolitan Oval.

"It feels great (to repeat), especially when you play a team like Queensborough," said BMCC Head Coach Modou Seck. "It is a very deserved title and I am happy that we won it."

Seck added about his team's undefeated season: "I think it is an outstanding recognition for our hard work. We have been working very hard for the past two years. I think there is a lot more coming. Our goal isn't just to win a CUNYAC title, but to win a national championship."
Though the Tigers (7-4) broke through for the game's opening goal in the 20th minute, the No. 8 ranked Panthers (11-0) responded with three unanswered goals before the half to bring a 3-1 advantage into the break.

In the 32nd minute, freshman forward/midfielder Jahvaughnie Johnson, who was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, netted the equalizer, after rifling a shot from inside the 18-yard box past Queensborough sophomore keeper Georgios Gerontidis.

Less than seven minutes later, freshman midfielder Mohamed Diakhate put BMCC in front, tapping in a Brian Ampaw cross to make it a 2-1 game.

Then, in the last minute of the period, Johnson struck again. With 58 seconds left before halftime, Johnson collected a through ball from sophomore defender El Hadji Baji and beat Gerontidis on a breakaway to put the Panthers up 3-1 at the intermission.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game," Johnson stated. "I came in with the mindset to play hard, enjoy it and win."

In the second half, the Tigers came up short on a couple of golden opportunities to tie the game. Sophomore midfielder Algor Gervais fired a shot off the post, and added another that BMCC sophomore keeper Dhondup Tharchen made a diving save on to keep it out of the net.

From there, the Panthers used that momentum to put the game away for good. Baji and sophomore forward Aboubacar Keita scored just 5:10 apart in the final minutes, widening the reigning champions' lead to an insurmountable 5-1.

In net, Tharchen made a game-high five saves for BMCC, which held a 13-12 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks in the match. Gerontidis and freshman netminder Nestor Valle combined for two stops for Queensborough.
 

BMCC and Queensborough now await their seeding in the upcoming NJCAA Region XV Championship. For more information, please visit Region15Athletics.com.