New York, New York - The BMCC men's soccer team put together their most complete effort of the season, easily taming the LaGuardia Community College Red Hawks, 9-0, on Thursday afternoon. As a result, The victory improves the Panther's record to 1-2 (1-1 CUNYAC) while the Red Hawks fall to 0-3 (0-1 CUNYAC).
BMCC had their foot on the accelerator from the opening kick controlling the possession throughout the match holding Laguardia Community College to one shot total, including none in the second half, for a 36-1 advantage for the entire match.
Freshman Ademola Opesanwo (Bronx, New York) put up the first hat trick of his career and the first for the Panther's program since October 15, 2019, when Seydou Diallo found the back of the net three times in the CUNYAC Championship. Opesanwo got the Panther offense rolling early in the fifth minute, taking a loose ball outside of the goal area and ripping it into the low left pocket to give BMCC the lead 1-0.
The Panthers would have two glorious opportunities to add to their lead in the 12th and 13th as Mohammed Alghanimi (Brooklyn, New York) ran one off the crossbar, and Opesanwo was denied his second goal of the game ringing off the top pipe. BMCC kept the pedal to the metal, and after Mouhamed Nasr (Brooklyn, New York) was taken down in the penalty box, Bodrul Alam (Bronx, New York) converted a penalty to extend the Panther lead to 2-0.
Freshman Abdul-Muskit Alotey would bury a Nasr feed from inside the 18 to move the Panther advantage to 3-0 at the halftime break. BMCC dominated the shots in the first half, 20-1.
BMCC poured it on, netting six goals in the second half for the first time since September 21, 2019, against Rockland Community College. Sophomore Elhadji Ady Gaye (Dakar, Senegal) notched his first tally of the season on a left-footed blast in the 46th minute, and Alotey bent it like Beckham for his second of the game in the 54th minute to increase the Panther advantage to 5-0.
Freshman Ibrahim Hussein used some masterful ball handling through two defenders and uncorked his first of the season to make it 6-0, then Alassane Koroma (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) followed six minutes later for his first marker of the year to make it 7-0. Opesanwo notched his second of the match in the 72nd minute off an excellent forward pass from Nasr, burying it into the low left pocket of the net. Opesanwo completed the hat trick in the 79th minute, floating a shot towards the goal that bounced off LaGuardia goalkeeper David Garcia's hand and went into the back of the net to make it 9-0.
Freshman Abdul Mumin Seidu (Bronx, New York) picked up his first victory and shutout of the season, playing 76 minutes, while Oumar Kante came in to relieve him for the final 13 minutes of the match. Garcia made 19 saves in the game and took the loss.
The Panthers will look to keep it on that dial, embarking on a four-game road trip beginning next Tuesday, September 20, against 2022 CUNYAC CC Champion Queensborough Community College at 4 p.m. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Soccer Schedule.
