KINGS POINT, NY – The John Jay College men's soccer team erupted for four unanswered goals in the second half Wednesday evening, rallying past the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 4-1, for its second consecutive victory.
The Bloodhounds improved to 2-2-0 on the season after overcoming a 1-0 halftime deficit.
Josh Clemas scored twice, his third of the season, while
Kristian Hernandez netted his second goal of the year and
Sekou Sheriff each his first goal.
Merchant Marine (1-2-2) opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Robert Derwin found the back of the net for his third goal of the season. The Mariners controlled much of the opening-half possession, outshooting John Jay 11-1 and generating seven corner kicks. Davio Rossilevin made two first-half saves to keep the Bloodhounds within one.
John Jay flipped the match after halftime. Just over six minutes into the second period, Clemas brought the Bloodhounds level.
Blake Paves set up Clemas, who converted in the 52nd minute for his second goal of the season and a 1-1 tie. The match remained deadlocked until the Bloodhounds broke through in the 80th minute. Hernandez delivered the eventual game-winner at 79:27, scoring his first goal of the campaign to give John Jay its first lead of the night, 2-1.
From there, John Jay put the match away with two more goals in the final six minutes. Sheriff doubled the advantage at 84:06, registering his first goal of the season to make it 3-1. Clemas then capped the second-half outburst at 87:28, finishing a feed from Sheriff for his second goal of the match and team-leading third of the season.
Despite being outshot 21-5 and facing an 11-1 deficit in corner kicks, John Jay made the most of its opportunities, putting four of its five shots on target and converting all four shots on goal into goals.
Clemas led the attack with two goals on three shots, while Sheriff finished with three points on a goal and an assist. Hernandez added the game-winning tally, and Paves recorded an assist.
Rossilevin turned in another strong performance in goal, finishing with six saves while allowing just the lone first-half goal. He made four saves after halftime as the Bloodhounds kept Merchant Marine off the scoreboard over the final 72-plus minutes.
John Jay returns to action on Saturday, September 12, when the Bloodhounds travel to Centenary University (N.J.) for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
