Tigermedia - CUNY Athletic Conference: Men's Community College Soccer Finals: Queensborough vs. BMCC (2014) (Highlights)

CUNY Athletic Conference: Men's Community College Soccer Finals: Queensborough vs. BMCC (2014) (Highlights)

Date: October 20th, 2014
Duration: 2m:15s

Summary provided by CUNY Athletics.
http://cunyathletics.com/news/2014/10/20/CCMSOC_1020145514.aspx?path=ccmsoccer

Queensborough came into the championship game as underdogs, hoping their cast of freshmen would be ready for the big stage. It turned out to be a second-year player who made the biggest difference.

Playing in honor of 2013 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Ricardo Marin, who tragically passed away in September, the Tigers successfully defended their title, defeating the Borough of Manhattan CC Panthers by a final score of 3-1 at the Metropolitan Oval. The victory marked the sixth time the Tigers have won the CUNYAC Championship.

"We had time to mourn, but we dedicated this season to him and his family," said Queensborough head coach Zef Kabashi on how Marin's passing influenced the Tigers this year. "Somehow we found togetherness and it made us stronger as a team."

Queensborough got the scoring started in the 13th minute when Sebastian Ramirez blasted a shot past BMCC goalkeeper Melvin Lopez.

Less than a minute later, Manuel Amaya scored again for Queensborough, but the play was ruled offsides and the goal was disallowed.

In the 27th minute, Ramirez struck again after he was awarded a penalty kick. The sophomore's shot faked out Lopez, beating him to his right as the goalkeeper dove left. The goal put the Tigers up 2-0. Ramirez's two goals in the first 27 minutes of the game matched his goal scoring output for the entire regular season.

BMCC responded in the 43rd minute to cut the deficit in half when Kimani Evans tallied an unassisted goal off of a rebound. Second year QCC goalkeeper Kevin Gordillo came out to play the ball, but it remained loose in front of the net. Evans pounced on the ball and potted the easy goal to make the score 2-1.

The game was a physical one; a total of 8 cards were given out. The physicality was expected by Queensborough, and they were prepared for it. They were also prepared to play one man down, which happened after Amaya received a red card.

"It hurt us a little bit and made us have to work harder, but we train for things like that and that's why we're champions," said Kabashi.

With 13:36 remaining in the game, Queensborough's John Rojas added an insurance goal that left the game all but decided. Daniel Gutierrez came streaking down the middle of the field and split two defenders, but his shot rang off the post. The ball deflected back into the middle of the crease. Rojas ran in and kicked it into the empty net to put Queensborough up 3-1, cementing their win.

For his efforts, Ramirez was named CUNYAC Championship Game MVP.

The regular season champion Panthers outshot the Tigers 19-16 in the game.

Website: http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/Sports/