#5 Men’s Soccer Travels to #4 Farmingdale in Skyline 1st Rd. Action on Sat.
Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)
Farmingdale, NY| For the second-straight season, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's soccer team will face Farmingdale State College in the Skyline Conference playoffs. Last season, the two sides played to a 2-2 draw before the Rams advanced to the Skyline championships 4-1 on penalty kicks, but this season the two meet in the first round.
The Golden Eagles enter the postseason as the #5 seed with a 7-10 overall record and a 6-5 mark in conference play. The Rams wrapped the regular season with a 9-7 record and clinched the #4 seed in the conference championship with an 8-3 Skyline record.
Seeding was determined on the final day of the regular season on Wednesday when the two sides played on the campus of Farmingdale. SJC entered the match with a 6-4 conference record and FSC with a 7-3 mark ensuring the winner would host the loser in first-round action.
After freshman Rayneri Ruiz tallied the game's first goal in the 10th minute to give St. Joseph's an early 1-0 lead the Rams found the back of the net three times before the end of the first half to take a 3-1 lead into the break. Early in the second half senior Justin Heredia' team-leading fifth goal of the season cut the SJC deficit to one goal, but Farmingdale responded with a pair of goals to earn the 5-2 win and clinch the #4 seed.
Heredia and fellow senior Brian O'Sullivan both enter the postseason with a team-best 13 points and will be leaned on heavily to facilitate the offense. On the defensive side of the ball Robert Gomez and Cody Kull will need to turn in strong efforts playing directly in front of four-year keeper Avery Gomez.
Neither side has a player among the top-10 leaders in points in the conference but Farmingdale's Jovanni Parkinson, who scored FSC's fifth goal on Wednesday, leads all players with six goals on the year.
Also of note is that Farmingdale has averaged 1.63 goals against this season compared to St. Joseph's 2.47, which further stresses the need for a strong defensive performance from the Golden Eagles.
The winner of the match will hit the road to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy—who finished first in the Skyline standings and earned a first-round bye—in the conference semifinals on Wednesday at 4:00 PM. SJC is the only team in the conference to have beaten 10-1 USMMA this season. O'Sullivan scored the game-winner in a 1-0 home victory for the Golden Eagles back on October 1.