NEW YORK, N.Y. The Hunter College men's soccer team suffered its first City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) loss of the season Wednesday afternoon, falling to Baruch College, 5-1, at Randall's Island. The Hawks moved to 4-6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while the Bearcats move to 3-7-1 overall and 2-1-1 in league play.
Hunter looked to establish its attack early, with Georgios Tsiakas putting an attempt on goal in the fourth minute. Baruch opened the scoring shortly after and doubled its advantage in the 26th minute, putting the Hawks in an early 2-0 deficit.
The Purple and Gold responded in the 32nd minute when Cole Maguire found the back of the net off an assist from Filippos Lakiotis, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The goal gave Hunter momentum heading into the break as the Hawks continued to create opportunities, generating four corner kicks in the opening half.
Hunter looked to build on its first-half effort after the restart, with Jaerang Lee creating an early opportunity in the 50th minute. The Hawks continued to push forward, but Baruch extended its advantage with two goals in a 24-second span in the 62nd minute to take a 4-1 lead.
Despite the deficit, Hunter continued to search for scoring opportunities. Fernando Zuvela put an attempt on target in the 65th minute, while Tsiakas added another shot in the 69th. Baruch capped the scoring with a late goal in the 90th minute to secure the 5-1 final.
Hunter finished with six shots, placing three on goal, while generating four corner kicks. Tsiakas led the Hawks with two attempts, while Maguire converted his lone shot for Hunter's goal. Lakiotis recorded the assist, and Zuvela, Lee and Luciano Aguirre each contributed an attempt.
Matthew Fridburg played all 90 minutes in goal for the Hawks, while Hunter's defense limited Baruch to seven total shots.
The Hawks return to the pitch on Oct. 17 for a 12 p.m. match at CCNY.
