Men’s Soccer Team Faces Off in the CUNYAC
By Yuki Elkotby
The men’s soccer team has had back-to-back battles as they take on other CUNY colleges in the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). The Bulldogs are midway through the conference, having had a share of wins and ties.
The men’s bulldog soccer team ended their second match against Hunter College on Oct. 5 with a victory of 2-1. In the first half, Hawks’ own defender #17, Christian Rodriguez, mishandled the ball, which ended up in the Hawks’ own goal, setting the scoreboard to 1-0 to the Bulldogs.
The Hawks created an opportunity to redeem themselves from such a mistake by their forward #9, Saleel Eldin, tying the score to 1-1 at the end of the first half. Coming in the second half, the Bulldogs utilized their advantage to score another goal via #17, George Koufos, who scored during a penalty kick making the game 2-1.
The Bulldogs achieved their positive results with a total of 11 attempts, three saves, and three fouls in the first half, and seven attempts, two saves with three fouls in the second half. Bulldogs goalkeeper #1, Hady Bakry, achieved four saves in the game, the highest of the game. Such a victory led the men’s soccer team to rank first in the first week of the CUNYAC.
The Bulldogs next faced Lehman College on Oct. 9, which proved to be more of a challenge.
In the first half, Lehman scored the first goal in the match through midfielder #8, Brandon Dennis, with the assistance of forward #23, Mohamed Ali Sogoba. Bulldog’s midfielder #9 Bradlej Cupi scored a goal with an assist from forward/midfielder #7 Seif Mokhtar.
The Bulldogs finished the match against Lehman in a 1-1 tie with five attempts, two saves with five fouls in the first half, and four attempts, one save, and three fouls in the second half. The saves were split between Bulldogs’ goalkeepers #1 Hady Bakry with two saves and #31, Brian Perea, with one save. With a 1-1 tie, the Bulldogs were in second place standing in the CUNYAC.
Next, the Bulldogs faced off against Baruch College on Oct. 12. In the first half, the Bearcats had one attempt, two saves, and four fouls. The Bulldogs had seven attempts, one save, and seven fouls. Regardless of the efforts of both teams in the first half, it ended in a tie of 0-0.
The Bearcats came back into the second half with Bearcats’ Forward #9, Arman Celebi, scoring a goal with the assist from Bearcats’ defender and captain #18, Ammar Ahmedshaker, making the score 1-0.
The Bulldogs did not give up as they made seven attempts, one save, and six fouls. The Bulldogs’ goalkeeper #31 Brian Perea stepped up and protected the Bulldogs’ goal and ended up with two saves.
After their match with Baruch, the Bulldogs now rank fifth in the CUNYAC. The Bulldogs have #14 Adam Moharam and #17 George Koufos captains to continue to lead, alongside head coach Luis Flores, assistant coaches Lopez & Obeissant, and the rest of the 26 players.
The men’s soccer team next plays the City College of New York (CCNY) on Oct. 16. It remains to be seen if they can stand their ground and move up higher in the CUNYAC to make it to the championships.
Women’s Teams Continue to Go for Gold
By Manuel Polanco
Coming off of a mini break, the Brooklyn College women’s sports teams have been on a roll and had a week of plentiful success.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team played against York College on Oct. 8 and won by a score of 8-0. BC was in control from the start as freshman midfielder Zasu Alvarez scored a goal eight minutes into the game.
Goalie April Hartje had three saves this game, earning her a second shutout win as a goalie for the season.
Gianna DiPronio had two goals this game and an assist, Imani Dickens had a goal in the second half, and Sage Berstein would also score a goal for the team.
The Bulldogs next faced off against Lehman College on Saturday, Oct. 12 as part of their first game in the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). They lost the game 1-0, but freshman goalie April Hartje saved five potential goals from entering the net in the full 90 minutes.
The team hopes to rebound against City College on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at home.
Women’s Volleyball
The women’s volleyball team continued their dominance during conference play against City College and swept them during their match on Oct. 8. In a 3-0 sweep, the Bulldogs improved their record to a 8-8 and 2-1 in the conference.
Aleah Rafat had 15 kills in this game, adding to an already great record. BC won each quarter by 25-17, 25-14, and 25-10. Olivia Fan had three kills and two blocks, Sydney Gdnaski had three kills and three aces, and Danielle Fuxman had five kills and one block.
With this win, the Bulldogs next faced off against New Jersey City University on Thursday, Oct. 10.
Their fourth straight win was led by Rafat as BC beat New Jersey City University with a final score of 3-1. Rafat had a season high of 22 kills as well as two aces. BC won the first round 25-22, the second round 25-21, but lost the last round 18-25. This did not deter the Bulldogs from ultimately winning the game.
Kela Duncan had two kills and two blocks, Fan had two kills and two blocks as well, and Fuxman had seven kills and one block in this game. Amara Mulic had 11 assists and 13 digs.
BC improved their season record to 9-8 and will look for their fifth straight win on Tuesday, Oct. 15.