(Valhalla, NY) - When you are the defending champions, four times over for that matter, and owner of a 22-match winning streak against conference competition, earning another crown is not always about playing better soccer when the whistle blows, but instead sometimes comes down to making the right play at the perfect moment. When all of the celebrating is finished, and Westchester Community College ties the bow on a fifth consecutive Mid-Hudson Conference Championship, they will not remember - in fact they might choose to forget - much of the first 80 minutes of play on Wednesday afternoon at Barrett Field, but instead will focus on a magical stretch to close out the game that saw a championship squad simply refuse to allow an upstart opponent to take what is now rightfully their's.

On a rain-soaked afternoon where the precipitation was as relentless as the effort undertaken by second-seeded Ulster Community College, the top-seeded Vikings bent, bent again, and bent yet again, but refused to break, and when big plays were needed, they came in a hurry. Three Westchester goals in a span of 5:32 late in the second half broke up a 1-1 tie, giving Westchester a 4-1 win over the visiting Senators to extend their Mid-Hudson Conference winning streak to 23, and their run of conference championships to five.

With the win, Westchester improves to 10-3 for the 2019 season.

The Vikings could not have started the game any better as 1:18 into play, freshman Jason Almedia Da Cruz (Yonkers, NY Escola Secundaria Olavo Moniz (Cape Verde) gobbled up a ball at midfield, and found freshman Tuane Tapper (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon HS), who fired a shot from the left alley to the right corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

However, from there, Ulster (7-5-2) not only carried play for most of the game, but they made a strong case to end the Vikings' championship run. The Senators not only owned time of possession and scoring opportunities, but they controlled the tempo, and completely silenced the Westchester attack for much of the game. The Sentators grabbed the equalizer when a loose ball scramble found the ball on the foot of sophomore Rylie Lake, who fired a shot to the back of the net at 23:35 to tie the score. From there, Ulster had countless scoring opportunities against three Viking goalkeepers. The shot from every angle. Enjoyed almost every break. And, the Senators all but put the game away as the second half wound down.

However, the one thing Ulster was unable to do was take the lead. And with 8:30 to play, the opportunistic Vikings were ready for their shot, and boy did they take advantage. Off an Ulster foul, a set play saw freshman Kelvin Espino (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry HS) tap the ball to freshman Leo Olos Moura (Port Chester, NY/Port Chester HS) just inside of the midfield line. Olos Moura delivered a picture perfect ball right to the foot of freshman Tyrone Malango (Tuckahoe, NY/Tuckahoe HS), who made a brilliant hustle play to break free behind the Ulster defense, and Malango placed an incredible shot to the lower back corner for a 2-1 lead.

37 seconds later, as Ulster tried to strike back quickly, a Viking counter-strike saw Almedia Da Cruz and Tapper race towards the Ulster goal on a two-on-one, Da Cruz fed Tapper beautifully, and Tapper found the net for his second of the game, and a 3-1 Westchester lead.

The Vikings were not finished there. With just under three minutes to play, Tapper rifled a low shot near the top of the box that hit several players and found its way into the net for his third of the game, and the 4-1 final.

Three Viking goalies combined for the win as Allen Hoti (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown HS) stopped four out of five shots during the first half. sophomore Saul Ypanaque (Ossining, NY/Ossining HS) made two saves over 31:59, and sophomore Guilherme Griza (Novo Hamburgo-RS (Brazil) Colegio Marista Pio XII) entered the game at just the right time, stopping his lone shot over 13:01 to earn the win.

Westchester also enjoyed a strong defensive effort from Olos Moura, who entered the game shortly after Ulster tied the game due to an injury, and played tremendously, making several big defensive stops, and earning the primary assist on the championship-winning goal.

Westchester Community College took the final eight shots of the game to earn a 21-20 edge in shots, and Ulster took nine corner kicks, compared to Westchester's four, but neither team converted a corner kick opportunity.

Westchester CC now enters the 2019 NJCAA Region XV Championship Tournament as the #4 seed. The Vikings will host #5 Monroe College - Bronx Campus on Saturday, Oct. 19 at a time to be determined. The start time of the game will be announced on GoWCCVikings.com and on all Westchester CC Athletics Social Media vehicles as soon as it is known. Monroe defeated Westchester in regular season play, 2-1 on Sept. 3.