The Warriors have had a difficult start to the 2018-19 season dropping their first two games. On Sunday, September 23, the Warriors looked to get their first win of the season against non-conference opponent Cooper Union. The last time these two teams met in 2016, the Warriors were shut out by Cooper Union, 3-0.
The men's soccer team played with a different level of focus and executed the game plan extremely well on both offense and defense. The Warriors scored four goals in the first half which allowed them to take complete control over the game. Starting goalkeeper Hussein Saleh (Maspeth, NY) had six saves in the game and didn't concede any goals to Cooper Union. This was Saleh's fourth shutout performance of his career. Saleh's younger brother, Ali Saleh (Maspeth, NY) scored his first goal of the season off an assist by Azzeddine Sekkat (Astoria, NY).
Senior striker Denis Moshchenko (Brooklyn, NY) recorded his second hat-trick of his career at Vaughn College. Moshchenko scored scored two goals in the first half off of assists from teammates Adolf Yeboah (Bronx, NY) and Kevin Moreira (Brooklyn, NY). He scored his final goal in the second half off of penalty kick. Moreira also found the back of the net one time in the win over Cooper Union. He has now scored three goals in the last two games.
The Warriors defeated Cooper Union by a final score of 5-1 to avenge their loss from two season's ago. Cooper Union's lone goal came late in the second half when the Warriors had their second unit in the game.
The win improves the men's record to 1-2 on the year. The Warriors will look to stay in the win column when they play Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) opponent King's College on Sunday, September 30.