Box Score

Purchase, NY (Oct. 1, 2011) – Fleet-footed forward Blaise Bourgeois made his 11th goal of the season stand tall Saturday at home.
 
The standout transfer from Monroe Community College netted a first-half header off a perfect assist from Robert Acosta (JR/Queens, NY). The early score was more than enough to sink visiting College of Mt. St. Vincent on an afternoon when new head coach James Quiroga squared off against his former club.
 
Quiroga, who skippered CMSV last fall, was extremely pleased with his new team's effort following a 3-0 victory.  
 
The Panthers (5-2-1, 3-1 Skyline Conference) added a pair of late scores as Acosta and Michael Beckett (SO/Yorktown Heights, NY) provided some security inside the final ten minutes on scoring their first goals of the season. Acosta scored from eight yards out on the left side, receiving a nice ball from standout rookie Stefan Gohler (FR/Brooklyn, NY). That score came with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

Not more than two minutes later, Beckett punched one in off a corner kick from Bourgeois that yielded the 3-0 final. Bourgeois and Acosta each totaled three points in the win. With Bourgeois (SO/Rochester, NY) providing the early, eventual game-winning score, Purchase's team defense and the continued stellar play of goalkeeper David Kurzweil (SR/Bedford, NY) may have taken a backseat in terms of headlines, but undoubtedly it's been the consistent “D” and the steady presence of Kurzweil in net that has the Panthers primed for victory from game-to-game.    
 
Saturday's battle was marred by fouls and some questionably dirty play. But the referees did a nice job containing the animosity on both ends. The first half featured 14 shots in total – seven from each team. The Dolphins also committed two first-half yellow cards.
 
Kurzweil made five saves in the opening period and would finish with that total. He remains a viable, early season candidate for Skyline Conference Most Valuable Player – an honor that could equally go to fellow first half stars Bourgeois, Gohler and the overshadowed Shomari Dias (SR/West Hempstead, NY). Dias, the team captain, is the unsung hero of the fall. The standout defender has anchored the Panther defense in the back.
 
CMSV (1-4, 1-2 Skyline) was charged with five yellow cards – a pair leading to one red card – on the day. The penalties certainly played a factor, with the Dolphins dishing out a handful of fouls and making some overly physically plays on the ball.
 
Nonetheless, the Panthers couldn't add to their goal total until around the 10 minute marker of the second half.
 
Instead, Purchase focused on its energy on its defensive effort. The Panthers went into full shutdown mode, playing keep away and challenging the Dolphins to beat them in their zone. The defense was so good that Kurzweil wasn't tested very much in the second half. Together, the two combined to pitch a shutout, holding the Dolphins scoreless for the duration.
 
The surging Panthers have won two straight and have now moved into third place in the league standings. Purchase will turn its attention to St. Joseph's College-BKLYN on Tuesday at home. That non-conference matchup starts at 8 p.m.