NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Behind a pair of goals and an assist from freshmen Jovanni Garcia (Garden Grove, CA) the College of New Rochelle opened up Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a dominating 4-1 victory over Albany Pharmacy. The Blue Angels now sit at 3-0 on the season while the Panthers fall to to 1-2 on the young season.
Freshmen Cesar Rodriguez (Santa Ana, CA) notched his first collegiate goal and sophomore Nicorey Warren (Brooklyn, NY) scored his 4th of the season to round out the scoring for CNR.
The first chance of the game was for CNR in the 11th minute. Garcia took a shot that was blocked by an ACPHS defender and ended up at the feet of Warren. He took a right-footed curve shot that hit off the far post, but Rodriguez could not connect on his rebound attempt. Warren would not be denied just two minutes later, when Garcia dribbled the ball around the ACPHS defense and got to the endline. He sent in a low driven cross connecting with Warren who tucked the ball just underneath the cross bar for his fourth goal in three games.
ACPHS put the pressure on following the 1-0 deficit, with junior Jack Hanlon putting a well-placed shot in the bottom-right corner, but New Rochelle keeper Cristian Perez Del Castillo (Harrison, NY) made a diving save with his fingertips to push the ball wide. The next chance was also Albany’s, when senior Connor Laughlin bent a corner with his right foot which almost found the back of the net. Luckily for the Blue Angels, freshmen midfielder Gabriel Lopez (Madrid, Spain) was there to clear the ball off the line.
CNR responded and would score twice more before the break. First in the 24th minute, Rodriguez got on the scoresheet when the ball fell to his feet following a tipped pass by Warren. He beat Panthers goalkeeper Matt Houlihan in the lower right corner, putting ACPHS down 2-0. New Rochelle’s third goal came off a poor pass, which was picked off by Garcia. Garcia dribbled up to Houlihan all on his own, and slotted home his fourth tally of the season for a 3-0 lead.
Following the break, Lopez appeared to get CNR on the board on a bending free kick. His shot hit the left side bar and literally rolled up the post and eventually out of bounds. Garcia netted again in the 69th minute from the penalty spot after he was taken down just before getting a shot off from six yards out. He went lower-right with the penalty, and although Houlihan guessed correctly, he was unable to get a hand to it, making it 4-0.
Albany would get on the board late when Zak Giorgi beat a defender and drew in the goalie before putting a perfect low cross in for sophomore Austin Morley-Sloan. Morley-Sloan placed the ball into an empty net for his first goal of the season.
Perez Del Castillo finished with three saves for CNR. The Blue Angels outshot Albany Pharmacy 26-6 on the game and held a 3-2 corner advantage
New Rochelle travels back home to take on Lehman College tomorrow, September 11th at 4pm.