Brooklyn Boro

Terriers eager to get into win column

Hope to end season-opening skid vs. Saint Peter's

September 8, 2021 John Torenli, Sports Editor
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Perhaps the St. Francis Brooklyn men’s soccer team is suffering a bit of a hangover following its historic run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past spring.

Or maybe the Terriers are still basking in the glory of taking eventual national championship runner-up Indiana to penalty kicks before seeing their dream season end.

Either way, last season’s surprising burst into the NCAA spotlight hasn’t done a thing for SFC thus far this year.

Following last Saturday’s 3-0 blanking at Monmouth University, the Terriers (0-2-1) are still looking for win No. 1, something they hope to achieve during this Saturday’s Sept. 11 contest at Brooklyn Bridge Park against Saint Peter’s.

“Tonight was a team win against a great St. Francis Brooklyn side,” Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt said after his squad cruised to a shutout win over the Terriers, who managed only four shots on goal.

“Coach (Tom) Giovatto does an amazing job. Full credit to our guys. We put in a full 90 minutes and got a deserved result,” McCourt added.

The Terriers haven’t managed to get closer to a win than a season-opening 1-1 draw vs. UMass-Lowell on Aug. 26 at BPP.

They’ve gone 0-2 while being outscored 4-0 since, but still have three non-conference contests remaining before they begin the true defense of their fifth Northeast Conference title in the past eight years on Sept. 26 at Howard.

Hoping to get off the schneid last weekend, the Terriers surrendered two tallies in a four-minute span of the first half before Monmouth finished off the rout on a goal by Ben Zakowski in the 75th minute.

It marked the first time the Terriers gave up three goals in regulation since a season-ending 3-0 loss to NEC and neighborhood rival Long Island University on Nov. 10, 2020.

It also put more pressure on SFC to get that winning feeling before diving into conference action later this month.

The Terriers got four saves in net from David Santiago and did manage to edge Monmouth in corner kicks, 3-2.

But Monmouth goalie Sean Murray picked up the shutout as the Hawks (1-0-1) got their first win of the year while denying the Terriers their first taste of victory during this fall campaign.

LIU battled to a scoreless draw with Fordham in the Bronx on Saturday, nearly ending the eventual 110-minute stalemate when sophomore Emil Jaaskelainen missed left while firing at an empty net in the 99th minute.

Demetri Skoumbakis came up with a big save for the Sharks (1-1-1), who were unable to solve former SFC netminder Callum James in the double shutout.

Assane Ben Fall and the LIU Sharks battled to a scoreless draw with Bronx rival Fordham last weekend. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

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On the women’s side, LIU appeared poised for an impressive win against Manhattan College in Brookville, N.Y., on Sunday before the Jaspers rallied late for a 2-1 win.

Kendra Oldroyd put the winless Sharks (0-3-1) on the board in the 68th minute, heading home a corner kick from Mackenzie Morano.

But the Jaspers (2-1) got the equalizer in the 81st minute from Olivia Maldonado and took the lead for good seven minutes later via a right-foot shot from Sydney Harwood.

Lydia Fraga-Cordoba made three saves for the Sharks, who will host SFC at LIU Soccer Park on Sept. 19 in the NEC opener for both schools.

The Terriers got an eye-popping 12 saves from junior goalie Klil Keshwar in last Thursday’s scoreless draw at New Hampshire.

Keshwar made eight stops in the second half as SFC (1-2-1) held on for the point despite managing only two shots on goal.

The Terriers will return to the pitch Thursday night at Fordham.

***

Prepping for their Sept. 11 home opener vs. Old Westbury, the Brooklyn College men’s soccer squad went 0-2 during the Tony Ochrimenko Classic at Kean University in Union, N.J., last weekend, including Sunday’s 1-0 loss to William Patterson.

The Bulldogs dropped a 3-0 decision to tournament host Kean on Saturday.

The BC ladies, who will begin their campaign this week in Brooklyn, have a new head coach in Jose ‘Tito’ Castillo, who comes to our borough after spending three seasons at fellow CUNYAC member York College.

“We are very happy to be able to bring a coach like Jose on board who has experience at number of levels and is very familiar with the CUNYAC,” Bulldogs athletic director Bruce Filosa said.

“He is a tireless worker when it comes to recruiting and we are excited about the future of the women’s soccer program with him at the helm.”

Castillo led York to a 3-11-1 mark last year, but his team went unbeaten in four of its last six contests to show marked improvement.

Jose “Tito” Castillo is the new head coach of the Brooklyn College women’s soccer club. Photo courtesy of York College Athletics

Now, the former New York Cosmos player-development coach is looking forward to giving BC his best.

“I am looking forward to getting on campus to work with the current group of Bulldogs and compete this upcoming season,” Castillo said.

“Brooklyn College is an institution with a great reputation and I can’t wait to get on the recruiting trail to find student-athletes to help the program get back to its CUNYAC championship winning ways. Go Bulldogs!”

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