Baruch Defeats Lehman (4-3) in Exciting Rematch of 2011 CUNYAC Final
Vincent Cruz scored the winning goal with under two minutes remaining to stun Lehman College, 4-3, in an exciting high-scoring CUNYAC contest played late on Wednesday evening in the Bronx.
The victory stretched the team's winning streak to six in a row as they take over sole possession of first place in the conference standings. In addition, through the last nine matches, the Bearcats have impressively notched seven wins and two draws.
The Bearcats took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break, but the Lightning erupted for three goals within the first 20 minutes of the second half to lead 3-2 into the final minutes. That is when the Bearcats scored two dramatic goals to end the contest.
John ChtChekinescored the first goal of the evening at 24:40 by kicking a long shot from 45 yards that the goalkeeper misplayed.
Cruz increased the advantage to 2-0 with one minute remaining in the first half. Oren Kozlowski assisted on the play by sending a cross into the box that found Cruz to kick the ball past the goalkeeper for the 2-0 score
Unfortunately, Lehman started the second half on fire and scored three times in the first 20 minutes to lead 3-2 until Kozlowski and Cruz took over late with their heroics.
Kozlowski tied the match with an unassisted strike in the 87:00 minute. Cruz quickly followed up 78 seconds later with a clever header during a scramble in the air with the defense to shock the Lightning as the team bench celebrated the positive turn of events.
Helder Correiaearned the victory in front of the goal with seven saves on a rough and windy evening in the Bronx.
Baruch will return to action on Monday, October 15, with a non-conference home match against New Jersey City University. Kick off at the Met Oval is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
