(Valhalla, NY) - If you were not on-hand to witness the Westchester Community College Men's Soccer team's 5-0 win over Bronx Community College on Tuesday, you would have looked at the final score and thought the contest was a laugher of sorts as the Vikings cruised to their sixth win of the 2019 season ... and you would have been wrong. For as wide of a margin that encompassed the final score, for about 60% of the game, the Vikings were on their heels. That is, until the visiting Broncos finally shot the ball. It was at that point that the biggest difference between the two teams made his presence felt.

One year ago, goalkeeper Guilherme Griza (Novo Hamburgo-RS (Brazil)/Colegio Marista Pio XII) earned Second Team NJCAA All-America accolades after a brilliant freshman campaign. And while the 2019 season has not quite gone as planned for Griza, thanks to an assortment of injuries, when the Vikings needed a steady presence in net on Tuesday, Griza turned back the clock, kept Bronx off the scoreboard, and led Westchester to a win of huge importance as the Vikings are still in the hunt for a top-four finish in Region XV and a home playoff game. Griza stopped all eight shots he faced, including more than a few from the doorstep, and WCC scored five times during a 21-minute span as the second half progressed, and Westchester is now 6-2 overall, 5-2 in NJCAA Region XV play, and very much in the hunt to finish near the top of the Region XV standings.

But it was most certainly not easy.
 
A much improved Bronx team owned time of possession for much of the first half, and took the first seven shots of the game. A diving save by Griza late in the first half kept the game tied. Late in the first half controversy ensued as Westchester sophomore Jose Tovar (Yonkers, NY/Riverside HS) was pulled down from behind in the middle of the box while winding up to shoot, but no call was made. The controversy seemed to galvanize Westchester as the Vikings spent the final five minutes of the first half deep in Bronx territory, but were unable to convert any of their opportunities, and the game was tied 0-0 at halftime despite an 11-5 edge in shots by Bronx Community College (4-6, 3-4).

Minutes into the second half, a Bronx transition opportunity forced Griza to make his best save of the game, a diving stop to keep the score tied 0-0. From there, Westchester took over, owning time of possession and the Vikings took 14 of the final 15 shots of the game. Finally, at 66:23, Tovar was pulled down in the box yet again, drawing a penalty kick, which was converted by freshman Leo Olos Moura (Port Chester, NY/Port Chester HS) for his second goal of the season, and a 1-0 lead. Less than eight minutes later, freshman Juan Torres (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle HS) gobbled up a Jordan Bennett (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill HS) crossing pass, and fired a shot to the near left post for a 2-0 lead.

Three minutes later, a spectacular effort by Luis Madriz (Tuckahoe, NY/Tuckahoe HS) saw him race past the Bronx defense and fire a shot from a near-impossible angle for his third goal of the season, and a 3-0 lead.

At 81:56, freshman Juan Espinosa (White Plains, NY/White Plains HS) snuck behind the Bronx defense, and scored on a breakaway thanks to a nifty pass from Torres for a 4-0 lead. For Espinosa, it was his first career goal.

The scoring concluded at 87:07 when freshman Tuane Tapper (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon HS) netted his eight goal of the season, thanks to a fantastic pass by freshman Jason Almedia Da Cruz (Yonkers, NY /Escola Secundaria Olavo Moniz (Cape Verde) for the 5-0 final.

Westchester outshot Bronx CC 19-18 for the game.

The win sets up two consecutive showdowns that should all but determine the top-four seeds for the upcoming NJCAA Region XV Tournament. Up first, Westchester hosts Suffolk Community College - who is currently in second place in Region XV. The game will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 4:00 p.m. at Barrett Field.