BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The No. 4 St. Joseph's University, N.Y. – Brooklyn men's soccer team earned a 5-3 victory over the No. 5 University of Mount Saint Vincent in the first round of the Skyline Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Aviator Field.
With the result, the Bears advance to the tournament semifinal; where they'll take on top-seeded St. Joseph's (Long Island).
How it Happened
Just 36 seconds into the match, Arturo Franco (Brooklyn, N.Y.) passed the ball from his defensive end to Victor Naci (Bordeaux, France), who evaded two Dolphin defenders to open the scoring. This play kicked off a 12-minute stretch during which the Bears scored three goals. Naci finished the scoring spree with a one-on-one opportunity against the UMSV goalkeeper. Between his two goals, Lorenzo LaRosa (Astoria, N.Y.) found the net in the ninth minute, converting a deflected ball into an open goal.
Amos Bignotti got the Dolphins on the scoreboard with five minutes left in the first half, leaving them trailing 3-1 at the break.
In the 53rd minute, Naci completed his hat trick with a pass from Pablo Mejia (Elmhurst, N.Y.) in the box, restoring the Bears' three-goal lead.
With the navy and gray ahead 4-2 and the Dolphins down to ten players with six minutes remaining, Naci curled a free kick past the goalkeeper at the near post for his fourth goal of the day. Mount Saint Vincent added another goal with 33 seconds left, finalizing the score at 5-3 in favor of SJBK.
For the Bears
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Naci's four goals were one shy of matching the single-match program record.
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Franco, Mejia, Diego Volpe (Long Branch, N.J.) and Francsico Garcia (Brooklym, N.Y.) provided the assists on the afternoon.
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Volpe register four shots, three on target, while Mejia totaled a pair of shots.Â
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Alex Castro (Miami, Fla.) finished with five saves.
Up Next
The Bears draw the Golden Eagles in the Skyline Semifinal on Wednesday, November 6 at 6 pm from Danzi Stadium in Patchogue.
Live stats and video will be available on sjbkathletics.com. Ticketing information will be provided by the Skyline Conference in advance of the match.
