NEW YORK MEN'S TEAM LOSES TO BROOKLYN

Berkeley's New York men's soccer team had every opportunity to pull out a win against Brooklyn College, but late goals in the first and second halfs by Brooklyn's Mack Diller made the difference in the 4 to 2 loss.

Brooklyn scored first on a goal by Fabian Olguin, but Berkeley responded to tie the game on a goal by Daisei Hiwaki. With less than five minutes to play in the first half, Mack Diller exploded for Brooklyn to give the Bridges a 2 to 1 halftime lead.

Brooklyn would extend the lead on a goal by Drilon Sahitaj before Berkeley again closed the gap to one on a goal by Jermaine Dacres.

Mack Diller would seal the game on a late goal to make the final score 4 to 2.

New York next plays on September 19 against NYU/Polytechnic University.

WOMEN LOSE TO BERGEN

Berkeley College's women's soccer team continued to see improvement from last year though they fell to Bergen Community College by a score of 7-1 to fall 0-2 on the season.

Bergen struck first with a goal in the first few minutes of the game, but Berkeley stormed right back with a goal of their own by Meghan Black to tie the score 1-1. While Bergen managed to pull away later in the first half, Berkeley managed to dominate most of the play for the final 18 minutes by keeping the ball in the offensive zone the entire time, but just couldn't manage to score despite multiple shots on net.

Berkeley next plays on Sunday, September 13, at 4 P.M. against Yeshiva University in a Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference matchup. Game will be played at SUNY Maritime in Throggs Neck, NY.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SOCCER LOSE SEASON OPENERS

Men

The Berkeley College New Jersey men's soccer team lost their season opener to Sussex County Community College on Saturday, August 28, by a score of 6 to 2.

Berkeley started off well in their first intercollegiate match in the program's history, holding Sussex scoreless in the first half. A change in weather early in the second half, however, would have dire consequences. With little more than 38 minutes remaining in the game, a Berkeley defender slipped and fell in the steady rain allowing a Sussex player to capitalize on a breakaway to score the first goal of the game. Sussex struck like lightning and scored another three goals in less than five minutes to take a commanding 4-0 lead.

Berkeley finally struck back with about 25 minutes remaining in the game as Guillermo Chavez scored the first intercollegiate goal in the program's history to make the score 4-1.

Sussex would score again before Jeff Rosenthal gave Berkeley their second goal of the game.

The men next compete in the Ramapo College Presidents Cup Tournament on Saturday, September 5 against FDU-Florham, and Sunday, September 6 against Ramapo.

Women

Meghan Collister made history on Tuesday, September 1, as she scored the first intercollegiate goal in Berkeley College history for the New Jersey women's soccer team against SUNY Maritime. Already down 8-0, Collister scored on an unassisted free kick to put the New Jersey squad on the board for the first time in its brief history.

Berkeley lost to SUNY Maritime by a score of 11-1 in their first varsity intercollegiate soccer game. The Lady Bulldogs next play at Bergen Community College on Thursday, September 3.

DR. SHAWN WILLIAMS NAMED CROSS COUNTRY COACH

Dr. Shawn Williams was announced as the first cross country coach in Berkeley College history today.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce the hiring of Dr. Shawn Williams as our first cross country coach for both men and women in New Jersey," said Brian Maher, Athletic Director for Berkeley College. "Dr. Williams not only has the athletic experience and background we were looking for to lead this program, but also has an extensive educational and medical background that will serve our student-athletes well."

Dr. Williams is currently an adjunct professor at Berkeley and a 2004 graduate of New York Chiropractic College. In addition, he is a PhD candidate at Seton Hall University.

His background in Cross Country and Track and Field is extensive. As a high school athlete, Dr. Williams competed at a national level and then went on to earn multiple NCAA Division III All-American awards in Cross Country. Following his collegiate career, he trained with clubs such as Adidas of New Jersey and the Westchester Puma Track Club. In 2003 he ran a personal best 4:13 mile at Princeton University and in 2008 recorded a 1:15 half marathon in New York City.

Dr. Williams' coaching career began in 1999 where his team placed third in the prestigious Championship of America event at Penn Relays. In the 2000-2001 season he led Monsignor High School in Staten Island to the Staten Island Triple Crown Championships in Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track. He has also served as a private coach for Urban Athletics in New York City for marathon training and speed and form training from 2005 to 2009.

Dr. Williams has also earned USA Track and Field Level Two coaching certification and has spoken at several conferences on performance enhancement and injury prevention, including at the USA Olympic Training Center. Dr. Williams also serves as a sports medicine advisor to the New York Road Runners Club and has earned subspecialty certifications in clinical biomechanics of posture, pediatric chiropractic, and sound assisted soft tissue mobilization.

BERKELEY COLLEGE INTRODUCES NEW MEN'S SOCCER COACH

Berkeley College announced the hiring of Stavros Zomopoulos as their new head coach for New York men's soccer today.

"We are very pleased to announce this addition to our coaching staff," said Brian Maher, athletic director at Berkeley College. "Coach Zomopoulos' extensive, playing, coaching, and professional experience will serve our student-athletes well both on and off the playing field. We are always looking for coaches who not only are experts in their sport, but also can serve as role models for our athletes and that is what coach Zomopoulos represents."

Mr. Zomopoulos had spent the last three years as the head coach for men's soccer at John Jay College during which time he led John Jay to the CUNYAC Conference Final in 2006. Prior to John Jay, Mr. Zomopoulos was the assistant coach for the Borough of Manhattan Community College men's team where he also assisted in the establishment of the women's program. During his time at BMCC, the men's team won Region XV and lost in the NJCAA Division III semi-finals.
Mr. Zomopoulos is a graduate of Columbia University where he played Division I soccer and won three Ivy League championships as well as reached the 1983 NCAA Division I Finals as a player.

Following his collegiate playing career, Mr. Zomopoulos entered the American Express Corporate Management program where he worked for American Express both in Manhattan and in Australia and has an extensive international business background.

MARK WHITE NAMED WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH

Mark White has been named the new head women's soccer coach for Berkeley College.

White is the former head coach of DePaul Catholic High School Varsity Girls where he was awarded the Northern Hills Conference Girls Soccer Coach of the Year in 2006.

He is currently the Academy Director and Girls Academy Manager at The Sports Factory, an elite soccer training facility located in Lincoln Park, N.J., where he oversees all girls teams from U9 through U23.

In addition to more than 15 years of head coaching experience, White is a member of the English Football Association Coaches Association (EFACA), the United States Soccer Coaches Association (USCA), and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). In addition, he is UEFA 'B' Licensed and has teaching diplomas from NSCAA in Director of Coaching, National Youth, Regional, and Special Topics.

"Coach White's extensive experience, especially in the field of women's soccer, was extremely attractive to us," said Brian Maher, Athletic Director for Berkeley College. "I was incredibly pleased that he was willing to accept this challenge of developing a varsity program for Berkeley College and we look forward to what the future has in store."

Coach White will lead the women's soccer program through their first year as members of the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVMAC).

ATHLETES DELIVER TOYS

Student-athletes recently visited St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, N.J. to deliver toys to more than 60 children in the Pediatrics Unit.

All in all, student-athletes collected more than 120 toys for the Child Life Department of St. Joseph's.

Pictured from left to right are: Roger Wan, Daniel Alvarez, Dominque Edwards, Genevieve Lang, Robert Wood, and Brian Maher.

RED BULLS VISIT BERKELEY

Managing Director Eric Stover, Director of Marketing Aaron Squire, and four members of the Red Bull New York professional soccer team visited the Newark Campus of Berkeley College on Tuesday to share their professional experience with Berkeley College students and high school students from the Newark area.

In attendance were members of Berkeley College's men's and women's soccer teams as well as President Dario Cortes.

"It was a wonderful opportunity for our student-athletes from both an athletic and a professional perspective as many of our student-athletes are considering a career in sports management," said Brian Maher, Director of Athletics for Berkeley College.

The Berkeley College women's soccer team is seen in this photograph with President Cortes and the members of the Red Bulls soccer team.

CHRISTIANSEN NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR

Berkeley College's Chris Christiansen was named Coach of the Year for the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) for the 2008-2009 men's basketball season by his peers.



Coach Christiansen ended the season just as he began it, with a championship. Having already led his Berkeley Knights to the HVMAC Preseason Tournament Championship, Coach Christiansen wrapped up the season with the HVMAC Postseason Tournament Championship. It marked the third time in the last four years that the Knights captured the HVMAC Postseason Championship, with all three wins coming against archrival St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn.

The Knights went 5-1 in the regular season in the conference with their only regular season loss coming against St. Joseph's in Brooklyn.

In addition, Coach Christiansen led the team to their first appearance in an NCAA Division III tournament this season at Mount Saint Mary's College in Newburgh, NY, and to their first appearance in a United States Collegiate Athletic Association tournament at New Hampshire Technical Insitute in New Hampshire.

KNIGHTS WIN SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE CUP

With more than 200 fans in attendance, the Berkeley College Knights won their seventh consecutive Berkeley Cup on Saturday at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

The Berkeley College Bulldogs led early 17 to 9 behind a suffocating full court press before the Knights responded behind seniors Moyram Espino and Willie Bowman III's aggressive attacks to the basket to go on an 11-0 run for a 20 to 17 lead. It was a lead the Knights would never relinquish.

The game was filled with runs but the teams closed out the first half with the Knights holding on to a 41 to 36 lead. The Knights, however, got the first run of the second half scoring eight consecutive points before the Bulldogs scored their first bucket of the second half after nearly four minutes had gone by. The Knights continued the pressure opening up as much as a 17 point lead in the second half, but the Bulldogs kept responding with runs of their own to close within eights points several times.

Final score was 96 to 87 Knights.