(Yonkers, NY) – Sophomore Zachary Stern (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Torah Academy) scored twice, including the game winner 3:54 into the second overtime period, and junior Daniel Rosenthal (Panama City, Panama/IAE) made a game-high 25 saves as the Yeshiva University Men's Soccer team finished the 2008 season with a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime win over Berkeley College on Sunday night at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers, New York. With the win, YU ends the season with a 2-12 overall record.
In front of a partisan Yeshiva crowd, YU and Berkeley College engaged in one of the most exciting games of the season as Yeshiva went to double-overtime for the second time this season, but for a while it did not seem like the game would be so close. A Berkeley tally at 11:30 gave the Knights a lead, and Berkeley kept up intense pressure throughout the opening half, but 14 Rosenthal saves kept things close. Yeshiva carred play during the final minutes of the first half, and the Maccabees finally broke through at 34:48 when junior Joseph Itkis (Newton, MA/Maimonides) found Stern with a beautiful crossing pass, and Stern buried his fifth goal of the season to tie the score 1-1. The score would remain deadlocked at halftime.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair as Berkeley outshot Yeshiva 14-10 during the stretch, but nine more saves for Rosenthal, including several point-blank stops kept the game in a tie, and regulation ended with a 1-1 tie. The first overtime saw much of the play take place at midfield and few scoring opportunities. The neutral play continued into the second overtime, and it appeared if a tie was imminent. However, just under four minutes into the second extra session, a misplay by the Berkeley goalie allowed Stern to gain a breakaway, and sophomore scored the winning goal to send the crowd, and team, into a frenzy.
Overall, Berkeley outshot Yeshiva 35-27, and Yeshiva had an 8-6 edge in corner kicks.
With the 2008 season now complete, Yeshiva looks forward to a 2009 campaign when more than 15 returnees are expected back to the YU line-up.
