Queens, NY - Trailing for a majority of the both halves, the John Jay men's soccer team closed out the 2022 regular season by drawing even with the Hunter College Hawks on Wednesday evening, finishing the year with a 2-2 tie.
Before the start of the contest, the John Jay men's soccer team recognized their 13 seniors.
The Bloodhounds finish the regular season with a 4-9-2 overall record and 3-1-2 in CUNYAC while the Hawks conclude the season at 7-7-1 and 4-2-1 in league contests.
The visiting Hawks got on the board first in quick fashion, as Ahmed Abukar netted the first goal of the contest four minutes into the frame to give Hunter the early 1-0 advantage.
"I'm very proud of the team's ability to stay composed through the adversity of going behind twice," commented head coach Zade Haobsh. " We showed that we're just hitting our stride at the right time in the season."
The Bloodhounds nearly tied the scored in the 13' as
Kevin Luciano sent a shot on target but Hunter's Matthew Heimowitz was there to make the save.
Despite allowing the opening salvo to get past him, John Jay's netminder,
Tyler Solis, was up to the task, as he was able to thwart Abukar's chance for a second score in the 16th minute.
In the 31,' the Bloodhounds continued on their relentless offensive attack, as
Brayan Alvarez sent a shot that was blocked by a Hunter defender, but, was able to alertly spot the loose ball and put one past Heimowitz to even the score at 1-1.
For Alvarez, it marked his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Hunter wasted little time in getting the go-ahead strike, as Sammy Ahmed was able dial one up from nearly midfield after stealing the ball away that gave the visitors a 2-1 edge in the 53.'
With 14 minutes remaining in the contest, John Jay was able to secure the tying score as
Nicolas DiBetta netted his second goal of the season off the feed from fellow senior,
Abbas Elsayed.
In the final moments of the contest, Micahel Fernandez had two corners but John Jay couldn't find the right connection to record a shot before the final horn sounded.
The visitors held a slim 14-12 edge in shot attempts while Solis was able to make five saves on the evening to his counterparts two stops.
John Jay will their eye on the CUNYAC postseason, which is slated to begin on Wednesday, October 26.
