Queens, NY – The No. 1 seeded City College of New York women's soccer team took down No. 2 seeded John Jay College on Saturday in the 2023 CUNY Athletic Championship, 4-2. The program ends an 11-year title drought, capturing their first conference championship since 2012.
Junior Mackenzie Moreno was named the Championship Game Most Valuable Player, leading the Beavers in the victory with a two-goal performance.
The CUNYAC Championship is CCNY's first under seventh-year head coach
Louis Manoussos, who led the Beavers to a 10-5 record this season and the program's first-ever regular-season title.
The Beavers got off to an incredibly quick start in Saturday's matchup. In the fifth minute of the contest, junior Mackenzie Moreno connected on a corner kick from junior
Samantha Pinto to knock in the first score of the match.
In the 34th minute, freshman
Lennon Leithauser sent a perfect cross inside the box, finding junior
Charlotte Foberg, who finished her fifth goal of the season.
John Jay got on the scoreboard 13 seconds before halftime when Nora O'Connor scored off a rebound for her 20th goal of the season.
In the second half, Moreno found the back of the net again in the 55th minute, burying a shot from the top of the box over the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper and into the net. Foberg was credited with the assist.
The Beavers added an insurance goal in the 79th minute as sophomore
Karen Pineda scored on the breakaway off a touch pass from junior
Laura Villatoro, elevating CCNY's lead to 4-1.
The Bloodhounds tallied a late goal in the 80th minute from O'Connor, 4-2.
In goal,
Amelia Cataldo made timely stops when it mattered most. The keeper finished with five saves in the win, including four in the second half, highlighted by a critical stop in the 86th and 87th minutes of play.
