The Berkeley College New Jersey men's soccer team put an exclamation point on one of the most stellar regular seasons in program history, shutting out the Falcons of Fisher College by a score of 4-0. The match took place at Franklin D. Zaccaria Memorial Park in Woodland Park, NJ. With the win, the Knights improved to a mark of 13-4, setting a new school record for victories in a single campaign. Fisher fell to 8-5 with the defeat.
Following the match, the Berkeley College Department of Athletics honored seniors Salaimon Sarwari, Klae Nicholson, Erick Carabantes, Dylan Jurado, Matthew DaCosta, and Eugene Fleming. Each senior was presented with a commemorative plaque in a show of appreciation for their years of dedication and sacrifice for the New Jersey men's soccer program.
By finding the net four times today, the Knights, who are currently ranked No. 1 in the USCAA Division II Power Rankings and No. 2 in the USCAA Division II Coaches Poll, set a new program record for goals in a season with 56. Over the course of 17 regular season clashes, the Knights averaged 3.29 goals per match.
Berkeley's victory over Fisher was the Knights' sixth triumph this season by four goals or more, and fourth shutout win as well.
The Knights scored the lone goal in the opening session in the 13th minute (12:31) when Mohamed Abdelaal swung a gorgeous pass to a cutting Dylan Jurado, who would bury the ball into the net to give Berkeley a 1-0 edge. The Knights outshot the Falcons by a margin 16-2 in the opening 45 minutes.
In the second half, Berkeley peppered three additional goals past Fisher netminder Rafael Fabra. Just 2:18 into the second stanza, Eliseo Arevalo scored, capitalizing on a nice pass from Michael Mogollon to find paydirt. That made it 2-0 in favor of the Knights. Suad Lukovic (at 76:38 from Jurado and Arevalo) and Juan Josue Rodriguez (81:17, unassisted) accounted for the final two scores, as Berkeley advanced for the impressive 4-0 win over a very quality Falcons squad.
Berkeley dominated in shots this afternoon, registering a whopping 27 compared to just six for the opposition. The Knights held a 9-3 edge in corner kicks, as well.
Goalkeepers Klae Nicholson and Dawid Mroz combined to earn a shutout for Berkeley. Nicholson made two saves on the day, while Mroz didn't face a shot. Fisher's Rafael Fabra registered nine saves despite allowing the four goals.
The Knights will now patiently wait until Wednesday, November 3, when the USCAA will announce the pools for its Division II National men's soccer tournament. Berkeley, practically guaranteed to qualify for the dance, would begin pool play either on Friday, November 12, or Saturday, November 13.
