Brooklyn, New York - The BMCC men's soccer team entered Saturday afternoon's 2024 CUNY Community College Men's Soccer Championship with a chance to become the league's first three-peat champion in nine years. The NJCAA Division III No. 10 ranked Panthers imposed their will on the Tigers from the opening kickoff, burying four first-half goals, including three in the first 20 minutes, en route to a dominant 5-1 victory over Queensborough Community College in the 2024 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Title at Kingsborough Community College.
BMCC is the conference's first three-peat champion since Queensborough Community College captured the league crown in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The Panthers claimed their league-best 15th Conference Title and extended their unbeaten streak to five games to improve to 8-3-1, while the Tigers dropped to 7-5-1.
"I am happy to get this victory," said Head Coach Modou Seck. "Earlier in the year, when we played Queensborough, it didn't go our way, but I am proud of the boys today because they came ready, took care of business early, and got the job done."
BMCC Freshman forward Edwin Santos (Brooklyn, New York) was named 2024 CUNYAC Community College Men's Soccer Championship's Most Valuable Player, registering three points with the match's opening goal and an assist in the contest.
The Tigers had the first opportunity to open the scoring in the first minute. Jefferson Cubias had a point-blank opportunity just outside the goal box, but El Momar Coundoul (Bronx, New York) denied his left-footed blast to keep the match scoreless. The Panthers would cash in on their first scoring opportunity in the second minute when Sebastien George (Brooklyn, New York) started a rush down the left wing and fed Santos to the left of the goal box, who deked out the goalkeeper and buried a left-footed roller into the low right pocket to give BMCC a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers extended their lead to two goals in the 18th minute as Aboubacar Barry (Brooklyn, New York) worked through traffic off of a BMCC corner kick and fired a left-footed shot off a Queensborough defender into the low right pocket of the net, making it 2-0. BMCC would stretch the lead to three two minutes later in the 19th minute when Santos laid a beautiful ball on a free kick onto the noggin of Bangaly Soumahoro (New York, New York) that ricocheted into the right pocket of the net, giving the Panthers a 3-0 advantage. BMCC added one more marker in the 44th minute on a Penalty Kick courtesy of Salim Anas (Bronx, New York) to make it a 4-0 halftime lead.
The Panthers outshot the Tigers 11-7 in the first half.
BMCC kept their pedal to the metal in the second half and picked up their fifth goal on the afternoon in the 69th minute when Waseem Mohamed (Bronx, New York) finished off a beautiful cross from Soumahoro into the low left pocket of the net. Joseph Villamil Lopez finally got Queensborough on the board in the 86th minute with an unassisted goal before the Panthers ran out the clock, cruising to a 5-1 win.
The Panthers outshot the Tigers 18-10 overall in the match and dominated the corners 5-3.
Coundral picked up his eighth victory of the season, stopping five shots, while Anthony Bardales made a game-high six stops in the loss for the Tigers.
The Panthers will look to keep it on that dial when they host fifth-seeded Ulster County Community College in the 2024 Region 15 quarterfinals on Saturday, October 26, at 1 p.m. at Pier 40. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Soccer Schedule.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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 at 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).
