Box Score (New York, NY) - As if the week was not emotional enough to begin with, the Westchester Community College Men's Soccer team did on Saturday what appeared to be impossible only one year ago, and naturally had to experience the most extreme of dramatic scenes to get there. 12 months after the Vikings dropped a 7-0 blowout to Borough of Manhattan Community College at home, seven days after an on-field situation led to most of the WCC starting line-up having to watch the Mid-Hudson Conference Championship Game from the stands, and three days after dominating Ulster CC 4-1 to earn the Championship without 10 regular players, including six starters, the Vikings are heading to the NJCAA Region XV Semifinals after downing BMCC in penalty kicks on Saturday during the Region XV Quarterfinals, played on BMCC's home field.

Westchester won the skill competition 4-3 to advance to Wednesday's Regional Final Four where they will travel to face top-seeded Nassau Community College at a time to be determined. The Vikings improve to 11-3-1 for the season under first-year Head Coach Alfio Carrabotta. 

And as usual for WCC, it took every ounce of emotional strength to get there. Two weeks after dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Cougars, Westchester could not have scripted the start to the Quarterfinal round any better than they did on Saturday. The Vikings got on the board during the opening minute when Luis Galeano (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck HS) found sophomore Miguel Perez (Montrose, NY/Hendrick Hudson HS) for a bang-bang goal that gave WCC a 1-0 lead.

From there, the teams traded chances throughout the game, but the stout Viking defense was able to bend without breaking time after time through the remainder of the first half, and much of the second half as well. It was not until just under 10 minutes remained in regulation when BMCC finally found the back of the net to the the score 1-1, and the game headed into overtime.

As has been the case all season, Westchester's defense held strong throughout the overtime periods. For the 13th time this year, the Vikings did not allow a second goal in a game. However, neither did BMCC, and the game headed into penalty kicks.

During penalty kicks, Franco Ladron De Guevarra (White Plains, NY/White Plains HS) nailed his shot. Leonardo Vargas (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle HS) scored. Jose Tovar (Yonkers, NY/Riverside HS) did not miss. And after a BMCC miss, Galeano's goal proved to be the winner for WCC, igniting a wild celebration on the field.

For the Vikings, freshman Guilherme Griza (Novo Hamburgo-RS (Brazil)/Colegio Marista Pio XII) made eight saves, including two huge overtime saves to allow the Vikings the chance to notch the victory. Overall, BMCC out-shot Westchester 23-14, and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.

Westchester and Nassau CC will meet for the second time this season. On Sept. 22, the two teams battled in one of the most entertaining games of the season when the Lions downed WCC 5-3. The game will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be played at Mitchell Field near the Nassau Community College campus.