Box Score

Purchase, NY (Sept. 3, 2014) – In its first showing at home to start the 2014 campaign, the Purchase College men's soccer team thrilled the "Panther Faithful" Wednesday night, capturing a 2-0 home-opening shutout win against a feisty non-conference opponent in Brooklyn College.

With the home fans chanting, "YOU GOT WHAT I NEED!" – a reference to Biz Markie's hit song, "Just a Friend" – Purchase was energized in the second half by its friends in the stands, sending the program's valued support system home in the win column.   

The first sign of better things to come offensively for the Panthers come off the foot of midfielder Tim Rera (JR/Cornwall, NY), who with some help from his partners in the midfield, slammed a line drive high over the goal with just under 30 minutes to play. The breakaway attempt by Purchase reinforced its stellar effort, which carried over from the first half in a tough early-season matchup.

Shortly later (63:09), the Panthers broke through for good. Eli Wilson-Berkowitz (SR/Northampton, MA), off a brilliant assist by Andres Romero (SR/Port Chester, NY), scored the game's long awaited first goal. The shot was dropped to the top of the six from the end line and sent the home crowd a blaze.

Not to be outdone, just about a minute later, Purchase kept the offense flowing. Like Wilson-Berkowitz, who scored his first goal of the season, captain Junior Sanguina (SR/White Plains, NY) earned his first strike of the fall on an assist from Myles Clohessy (JR/Cornwall, CT). The pass and score was crossed from outside of the 18 and created some separation between the two teams on a night when goals were hard to come by, especially early.

The quick, back-to-back scores caught Brooklyn off guard and paved the way for an exciting win by the Panthers in their home opener. In the process, Purchase bounced back from a shutout defeat to Utica last time out and improved to 2-1 to start the 2014 schedule. Brooklyn dropped to 0-2 following its season-opening 1-0 loss to NYU on Aug. 30.  

The first half was tightly contested between both teams, with defense starring on the pitch. Brooklyn opened with three shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, but keeper Uriel Milechberg (SO/Buenos Aires, Argentina) and the Panther defense turned away all three shots. The standout goalie would record the win in goal, finishing with five saves for the night.        

The defensive action intensified over the next 30 minutes, with fouls and corner kicks being traded throughout the opening period.  

Sanguina patrolled the midfield and helped the pacing and spacing for the Panthers, who were looking to break through against a tenacious Bulldogs defense.

With under 12 minutes to play in the first half, Purchase got its first real chance at the back net, courtesy of forward Romero, whose blast went wide right.  

Inside of four minutes left in the opening 45 minutes of play, Purchase nearly netted the game's first goal on another well-placed corner kick. The Panthers would hold the edge in that department for the first half, 5-1.  

New Panther defenders Enea Canaj (JR/Glendale, NY) and Anthony Iurillo (FR/Flushing, NY) performed well in the back, as did key returner Connor Leavens (SO/Whitestone, NY).

The first half ended in a scoreless stalemate.    

Brooklyn recorded six first-half shots offensively, backed by a strong opening-half performance by netminder Ilya Keygen, who stopped two shots. 

But Purchase kept the pressure on over the final 45 minutes, finally erupting behind Wilson-Berkowitz and Sanguina, a combination that was crucial to its success last season en route to an appearance by the club in the conference's final four.

Panther head coach James Bruno mixed and matched his roster over the final 20 minutes, utilizing fresh legs and his substitutes to finish off the victory. Newcomers Xavier Lloyd (SO/Somers, NY) and Conor Moore (FR/Lafayette Hill, PA) were among the key reserves in Wednesday night's win. 

The home crowd serenaded the Panthers with applause upon the final horn. 

Now, Purchase will look to make it two straight and three out of four when it travels to Staten Island Saturday for a 2 p.m. start.