The Bucks County Community College Men’s Soccer Team came away with a victory over the Manor Blue Jays in a match with double overtime to win the Eastern States Athletic Conference (ESAC) championship title 5-4.
Despite 2022 being their first year in the ESAC the Centurions, and following an early season of injuries and defeats, the team bounced back and progressed to become one of the strongest teams in the area. With their momentum, they realized they were a No. 1 contender in this new league and left everything out on the pitch this season.
Students, parents, fans and the community as a whole were already ecstatic about the Phillies in the World Series, Eagles 7-0, and Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup, but the local Centurion Men’s Soccer Team just put the cherry on top.
Centurion soccer fan Bryan Kaschak had been, “following the team through social media all season” and “couldn’t be happier to see the team get what they earned”.
When asked if he thought the season would end with such a big victory Kaschak said, “There is no way I would’ve seen this coming early on, but now, here we are.”
Fans that attended the match were in for a treat that sunny Saturday afternoon.
With most action coming early in the first half, Manor scored 2 goals in the opening 25 minutes, but midfielder Mohammed Abdul made up for it with 2 unassisted goals to tie 2-2.
Manor got one in the back of the net close to the end of the first half to go into half-time on top.
Perhaps it was the half-time locker room team talk from coaches Justin Burroughs, Jose Torres, or Kevin Fagan, but within the opening 9 minutes of the second half, freshman Ronaldo Montero scored an unassisted goal to tie the game 3-3.
The Bucks team continued fighting, and with under 10 minutes of normal time remaining, forward Jaden Haig, assisted by Nicholas Sieger, scored to put the Centurions on top 4-3. Shortly after the Blue Jays scored another to tie the game 4-4 and send it into overtime.
Throughout the first 10 minutes of overtime Manor threw away 3 shots on goal, sending it to the second overtime. To win it, 3 minutes into the second overtime, forward Patrick McHenry, assisted by Jaden Haig, sank the winning goal into the back of the net to give the Centurions their first ESAC title ever.
Soon after the emotional victory, the Centurions took to Facebook to announce their victory saying, “This JUST in…WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!! Our boys did it!!!… As I write through tears of joy, my love and pride for our guys is phenomenally over-whelming!!!”
Fans commented on follow-up posts, with Fernando Hernandez saying, “This is amazing!!!! Congratulations to the team!!! The wait is over!!!!”
This season was one for the books for the Centurions, without doubt. It’s looking like this young dream team should all be back next season.