New York, New York - It was Deja Vu for the Panthers all over again.
After 110 minutes of play and the match deadlocked at two, the Panthers found themselves in a similar scenario to the one they faced earlier in the week after shocking Queensborough to capture the 2022 CUNYAC CC Men's Soccer Championship.
However, the script played out differently this time as the BMCC men's soccer team gave it their all, but after seven rounds of Penalty Kicks, fell short against Westchester Community College in the Region 15 quarterfinals in Valhalla, New York. The Panthers finish their season at 6-6-2 while the Vikings move on to the semifinals.
The matchup followed the same script the previous one did back in early October at Pier 40. This time though, it was the Vikings who opened the scoring in the first half when Michael Echeverria buried one off a feed from Eduardo Vasquez in the third minute on their only shot of the half to make it 1-0.
The Panthers would respond in the 27th minute as Mohamed Nasr (Brooklyn, New York) twinkled the twine for the second time this season against Westchester Community College for his fifth goal of the year to knot it up at one, and that result remained the same after the first 45 minutes of play. BMCC outshot Westchester Community College 5-1 in the first half.
Both teams opened it up in the second half, combining for 18 shots, and the Vikings would go back in front 2-1 when Exon Umanzor cashed in a pass from Romaine Swaby in the 62nd minute. However, BMCC would not go away and, like they did Monday night, came up with a late goal when they needed it, courtesy of Nasr's second unassisted in the 72nd minute to tie it at two and force extra time.
Both teams spent the extra time playing it safe with just one shot by Westchester Community College when Andrew Martinez fired it wide right in the 98th minute forcing penalty kicks to decide this one.
Both teams connected on their first four penalty kicks, with Eduardo Vasquez and Romaine Swaby notching them for Westchester, Carlos Auquilla (New York, New York), and 2022 CUNYAC Player of the Year, El Hadji Ady Gaye (Dakar, Senegal) for BMCC.
Andrew Martinez put the Vikings up 3-2, then Alassane Koroma (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) missed his attempt for the Panthers. Then, Abdul Mumin Seidu (Bronx, New York), an NJCAA Division III Goalkeeper of the Week and CUNYAC All-Star, came up with another big stop like he has all season, denying Jason Otinaino to give the Panthers a chance to tie it. Ibrahim Hussein (Bronx, New York) used a right foot blast right after to tie it at three.
In the sixth round, Alberto Morales gave the Vikings back the lead. After James Bae (Brooklyn, New York) missed for the Panthers, Alejandro Vega ended the match in the seventh round of PKs to send Westchester Community College to the next round.
Seidu made five stops for the Panthers, and Nicholas Nunez made four for the Vikings.
The Panther's 2022 season was one of pure determination and grit. BMCC faced numerous obstacles coming back from missing the past two seasons post-pandemic, and as always under Head Coach Modou Seck, they were playing their best soccer when it mattered. Seck has a talented bunch of freshmen returning next season in Ademola Opesanwo (Bronx, New York), Hussein, Nasr, and three crucial parts of his backline in CUNYAC All-Stars Michel Mendoza (Brooklyn, New York) and captain Bodrul Alam (Bronx, New York) with Seidu handling the frame for the Panthers.
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The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of eight varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).
