October 26, 2011
A 4-3 THRILLER
York survives Medgar Evers in OT

JAMAICA, N.Y. — A goal by Andre Adelson on a breakaway, following a pass from Rachidi Amadou, broke a tie in extratime, giving the York College men a thrilling 4-3 victory over Medgar Evers College in the quarterfinals of the City University of New York Athletic Conference/Applebee’s men’s soccer tournament Wednesday afternoon.

The win put York (7-11) in its sixth straight CUNYAC semifinals. The Cardinals will take on either Baruch College or City College in the semifinals at the College of Staten Island on Saturday at 1 p.m.

It was a wild and physical game throughout and the action took place right from the start. Three goals were scored in the first 13 minutes. York struck first at 9:51 when Amadou picked up a rebound off his own shot and put the ball in the net.

The lead was short-lived as Medgar Evers’ Stanley Ballantyne took a pass from Zeakiel Daley, who beat the Cardinal keeper for a quick equalizer. Only three minutes later, the Cougars (4-16) went on top when Lerone Mcintosh rifled a shot in the top-right corner of the net following a corner-kick from the left side to make it a 2-1 score.

In the 32nd minute, York evened up the score when Amadou struck again. Jordan Chin booted a ball from near midfield in the goalie’s direction. The ball tipped off the keeper's hand and Amadou was there to pick up the loose ball and put it in the net.

In the second half, neither team could break the tie in the first 30 minutes of play until York moved back on top in the 80th minute. Freshman Kevin Gonzalez, who had entered the game moments earlier, took a pass from Menard Millus and rifled a low-lying shot in the right corner to give York, what appeared to be a game-winning goal. However, Medgar Evers continued to fight and evened the score up again, just two minutes later, when Daley found the back of the net to make it 3-3.

In extratime, both teams had some early scoring opportunities but neither team converted. Medgar Evers had the best chance but York keeper Qudus Kassim made a game-saving stop a few moments before the golden goal by York.

Looking ahead to the semifinals, York was a 3-0 winner over Baruch during the regular season, while it lost 3-1 to City College of New York in an early-season contest. Should York advance, it will play in the finals at Randalls Island at 6 p.m. on Nov. 5.