By Brandon Cruz
Leo Conte finished with two shots on goal in 90 minutes for the Panthers. (Photo by Elaine Tamboia)
The Panthers Men’s Soccer team (1-15) fell to the Bard College Raptors (6-9-1) 3-2 on Oct. 30 in the final game of the regular season.
The Panthers were led by Oliver Broun, a sophomore environmental science major and forward, who scored two goals for the team. The Raptors were left scoreless in the first half, but scored three unanswered goals in the second half, including a game-winning goal scored by Frankie Perera-Modica, a sophomore midfielder, in the final 20 seconds of the game.
Panthers Head Coach George Gjokaj praised his team’s performance from beginning to end.
“They were fantastic,” Gjokaj said. “The score didn’t go our way, but they gave everything they had, and represented themselves and this school in the right light.”
Broun shared some of the same sentiments as Gjokaj. Broun said, “It was a great game. We fought hard. Luck wasn’t on our side in the end, but I’m proud of my guys and it was nice to play with the seniors.”
Oliver Broun (number 11) finished with two goals in 90 minutes for the Panthers. (Photo by Elaine Tamboia)
Nicolas Nunez, a freshman goalkeeper for the Panthers, said, “We just wanted to have fun.”
Nunez came onto the Panthers squad later in the year, and transitioned between playing left back and goalkeeper.
“It was pretty hard to transfer,” he said. “But, they made it pretty welcoming.”
Raptors Head Coach TJ Kostecky didn’t like how his team started the game, but he commended their effort in the second half.
“Halftime was a really short speech,” he said. “I said that this is not what we’re about; as a team, as a program, as a family, where we compete and fight for each other. You saw that in the second half. It was a different level of determination.”
Perera-Modica spoke highly about the way the Panthers played throughout the game, even in the win.
“It was a really tough game,” Perera-Modica said. “Purchase played very hard the entire game and gave us a challenge, but it was just a good build-up play, and we were able to get one in the back of the net.”
The Raptors won their first five games of the season, but a tough stretch left them winless for two months. Kostecky shed light on the team’s camaraderie, even through their struggles.
“The team loves each other,” he said. “It’s the closest team that I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching. It’s not hard to motivate them to come and compete, because of how much they love each other and how much they care for each other.”
The Panthers had a tough season all year, only coming up with one win against Brooklyn College on Sept. 12. Gjokaj shared a positive view about the way the season went.
“The results haven’t gone our way,” he said. “From the outside perspective, this would look like a failure, but the way they competed; the friendships, the camaraderie, the spirit. To me, it’s not a loss, it was a winning season.”
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