New York, New York – The defending 2022 CUNYAC Community College Champion BMCC Men's Soccer team opened their 2023 season with a bang on Tuesday afternoon at Pier 40, burying three first-half tallies en route to a 5-0 romp of Rockland Community College in Region XV action. The Panthers move to 1-0-0 (1-0 Region XV) while the Hawks fall to 0-2-0 (0-1 Region XV).
 
The Panthers got out of the gate quickly as sophomore Ademola Opesanwo (Lagos, Nigeria) sent BMCC's second corner of the half right into the low left pocket in the fifth minute to open the scoring. Opesanwo played a major role in the Panther's next goal in the 22nd minute, sending a right-footed shot on the foot of freshman Mamadou Diallo (Conakry, Guinea), who was denied on a flying left-footed shot but cleaned up the rebound and stuck it into the low left pocket of the cage to give BMCC a 2-0 lead. 
 
Diallo struck again nine minutes later in the 31st minute to stretch the advantage to 3-0. Freshman As Mouhamadou Ndiaye (Brooklyn, New York) sent a gorgeous ball to classmate Niklas Filippi (New York, New York), who raced into the box on a breakaway and was denied by a sliding Ignacio Escamilla on a right-footed shot but Diallo picked up the rebound and rolled one off the right post and into the back of the net. The Panthers dominated the first half, outshooting the Hawks 18-1 to lead 3-0 at the halftime break.
 
Opesanwo notched his second of the match in the 57th minute, taking a Diallo thorough ball and blasting one into the low right pocket of the net to extend the Panther advantage to 4-0. The 2022 CUNYAC Community College All-Star and All-Region 15 First Team selection continued to affect the Panthers offense all afternoon, blasting a corner kick into the box in the 73rd minute. Freshman Idrissa Sanogo (Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast) would head home a rebound off a Ndaiye shot for the final BMCC goal to make it 5-0.
 
The Panthers outshot the Hawks 30-3 on the afternoon and dominated the corners 6-0. 
 
Freshman Yahir Ramirez (Brooklyn, New York) and sophomore Abdul Mumin Seidu (Bronx, New York) played 45 minutes apiece, with Ramirez picking up the victory and both making a save apiece. Escamilla took the loss, stopping a game-high 14 shots.
 
The Panthers will look to get off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2017 when they take on Region 15 foe Monroe-Bronx on Thursday afternoon, September 7th, at 12:30 p.m. at Pier 40. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Soccer Schedule.  
 
 
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The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of 13 varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us a https://bmccathletics.com - the official site of BMCC Athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).