Men’s Soccer Bested by Brooklyn in Season Opener

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| Despite early dominance, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to non-conference rival Brooklyn College at Danzi Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles, who started six newcomers, begin the season with an 0-1-0 record for the fifth-straight season. Brooklyn, who played to a scoreless draw with NYU on Friday, improve to 1-0-1.

SJC dominated the opening 15 minutes and didn't have to wait long to get on the board. In just the sixth minute, sophomore Rayneri Ruiz threaded a through ball to a streaking Alex Tarach, who played a chip over Brooklyn's charging keeper for his first-career goal.

The Golden Eagles continued to carry the play over the next 10 minutes, but a defensive lapse in the 18th minute saw Brooklyn's Jean-Luc Saint-Fleur pounce on a loose ball at the top of the box and beat rookie keeper Steven Deng.

Brooklyn carried an 8-6 shot advantage into the break and struck early in the second to pull ahead 2-1 when Azizjon Ziyaev caught Deng with an attempt from way outside the box in the 48th minute.

Tarach nearly tied the game in the 56th minute when he was sprung into a 1v1 situation with the Brooklyn keeper, but Utku Tanritanir parried and maintained his side's advantage.

And just one minute later, that advantage would become two goals when Ahmad Aly slotted home a Sertac Altun cross in the box.

In a match that saw his side register more shots (21-13), Deng made five saves in his collegiate debut, the best of which came in defense of a 44th minute penalty.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday, September 5 when they host Western Connecticut State in a non-conference contest at 7:00 pm. Live video and stats will be available here.