With good feelings floating through the air following its recent 4-2 win over Baruch, Lehman College looked to continue its winning ways Saturday afternoon against Berkeley College.
Apparently someone forgot to tell Berkeley that plan as the visiting Knights walloped the Lightning 5-0 on a sunny afternoon in the Bronx.
Noticeably evident from the start was the lack of ball pressure that was a hallmark of the team in its win over Baruch on Wednesday, a possible byproduct of playing without Godwin Doe, Thaddeus Ikwuka and Paulin Haxhari. Instead, Berkeley was the aggressor from the outset, spending a majority of the first half attacking in the Lehman end of the field.
Berkeley's continuing aggressiveness paid off in the 33rd minute when Wagas Afgan took advantage of a Lehman hand ball and converted a penalty kick to put the Knights up 1-0.
Two minutes later Berkeley was at it again, this time with Dela Wornawovar getting credit for the tally after a bouncing ball off Lehman defenseman Rafael Abbondanza found the back of the net as he tried to corral a ball past keeper Marcos Coto-Batres.
Patrik Lundberg closed out the scoring in the first half when his free kick dribbled through the legs of Coto-Batres to push the score to 3-0 in favor of the Knights.
While Lehman was unable to mount any type of attack, Berkeley continued to apply the pressure. Sophomore forward Guillermo Moscosa nearly tallied a goal when he rocketed a shot off the crossbar in the 73rd minute. Manuel Guzman made up for Moscosa's miss with a goal of his own in the 76th minute, a laser into the upper left corner of the net.
Berkeley midfielder Christ Assou capped the day's scoring when he notched a goal in the 84th minute to put the Knights comfortably ahead 5-0.
“We're just going to have to keep working,” said a frustrated Coach Joe Andre.
Next up for the Lightning is an away tilt versus SUNY Maritime on Monday at 7 p.m.
