Soccer falls short to CCNY in CUNY match

The Baruch men's soccer team suffered a devastating 4-0 loss to CCNY on Wednesday at Randall's Island. Despite the loss, the Bearcats are still in second place in the CUNY Athletic Conference but they are now five points behind Lehman College.

The game kicked off at 3:30 p.m. in what had turned out to be a perfect day for soccer. The skies were clear and the temperature reached the high 60's.

The game had a slow start; Baruch had the most possession but struggled to get good shots. CCNY had the game's first shot on goal in the fourth minute.

Baruch played with high pressure and the defense made a great effort to fall back whenever CCNY tried to capitalize on the counter-attacks.

Baruch's offense, however, was unable to produce any opportunities other then set pieces which the CCNY defense had little difficulty controlling.

In the 21st minute CCNY took the lead. The Bearcat defense was sprung wide open after some great passing combinations by CCNYwhich led to a goal that changed the momentum of the game.

Baruch saw themselves forced to move the entire team higher up the field.

The CCNY defense was just as impenetrable as before.

 In the 25th minute the Bearcats finally managed to penetrate the defense but Baruch midfielder Jonas Juozaitis was unable to get a shot off in time.

CCNY added to their lead in the 31st minute on a beautiful free kick and again in the 39th on a counter attack. The Bearcat seemed to have been worn down by CCNY.

 CCNY seemed content with their 3-0 lead and their strategy for the last minutes of the first half was to not take any risks that could give Baruch a lifeline.

 However, it was CCNY that was given a lifeline when a questionable call by the referee gave them a 4-0 lead. The Bearcats wanted an offside call but the referee waved "play on" and CCNY had no problem scoring their fourth goal of the day with no Bearcat defenders to challenge them.

The second half went by with no further goals as CCNY didn't seem too interested in attacking as Baruch had the same problems with efficiency in front of the goal as in the first half. Their best chance came in the 75th minute when defender Cesar Castillo attempted a volley but he was unable to hit the target.

CCNY was in complete control and their lead was never threatened. After the game head coach Ranford Champagnie said: "It was a disappointing loss. We failed to show up and you can't do that in the CUNYAC because you will lose like we did today."

Bearcat midfielder Andreas Hansson added: "When you concede four goals in the first half it's hard to come back."

Athletic director Ray Rankis expressed his surprise at the sudden Bearcat collapse after the strong start they've had to the season.