(Valhalla, NY) - The 2021-2022 academic year proved to be a success story for the Westchester Community College Athletic Department. After a year and a half of inactivity due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Westchester CC returned to action this year, and continued to be one of the most competitive athletic programs in Region 15, and the Mid-Hudson Conference. Throughout the summer of 2022, the Westchester CC Athletic Department will relive some of the major highlights from the previous academic year in a top-10 format. We will post these memories regularly, counting down to the #1 moment of the year, while also counting down to the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year, and start of our fall sports.

Up next is our #9 moment of the year as the Westchester Community College Men's Soccer team returned to the pitch after a 693-day absence on September 11, 2021. The Vikings scored three first half goals en route to a 5-0 win over Queensborough Community College, marking Westchester's first home win over Queensborough CC in at least 11 years.

(Valhalla, NY) - It was a win far more significant than the result of a single soccer match in an assortment of different ways: It was the first soccer match for Westchester Community College in 693 days, the first Vikings' win in 696 days, and the first time Westchester CC has defeated Queensborough Community College at home in at least 11 years. But perhaps the biggest significance of Westchester's 5-0 win over the visiting Tigers on Saturday was that the Vikings played about as complete and dominant of a game as anybody could have expected considering how close the games against Queensborough typically tend to be. Westchester flat-out controlled the game for 90 minutes - outshooting Queensborough 49-5 - and possessed the ball for nearly the entirety of the match. Precision ball movement and stout defense were the order of the day as the Vikings showed little rust after going nearly two full years without seeing the field. It was Westchester's day on Saturday, and if the effort is a sign of things to come, the Vikings have a lot to look forward to this season.

Freshman Eduardo Vazquez (White Plains, NY/White Plains HS) started his Viking career with a bang, scoring consecutive goals at 41:09 and 50:56 to break open a 2-0 lead to make it 4-0 Westchester Community College. The midfielder had five shots on goal, and also hit two posts, finishing his Westchester debut literally inches from a hat-trick. Vazquez was all over the field during a terrific effort, and he was not the only one.
 
Fellow freshman Chinweizu Nwaigwe (Yonkers, NY/Riverside HS) wasted little time putting himself on the Westchester score-sheet, opening the scoring at 13:03. The forward had a breakaway that was stopped by Queensborough goalkeeper Michael Medrano, but Nwaigwe buried the rebound to make it 1-0. 18 minutes later, sophomore Juan Torres (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle HS) blasted a beautiful through-ball over the top of the Queensborough defense, finding the foot of freshman Oscar Umanzor (Port Chester, NY/Port Chester HS), who found the net for his first career goal, to make it 2-0.

After Vasquez's heroics pushed the game to 4-0, sophomore Tobe Obealor (Hartsdale, NY/Woodlands HS) finished a spectacular crossing pass by Nwaigwe for the 5-0 final.

The win pushes Westchester Community College (1-0, 1-0 Region XV) to 4-4-1 against Queensborough CC (0-1, 0-1 Region XV) since the 2012 season, but the Vikings were 0-3-1 at home against the Tigers during that span ... until today.

Freshmen goalkeepers Brian Guaman (White Plains, NY/White Plains HS) and Christopher Zhagui (Port Chester, NY/Port Chester HS) combined for the shutout, facing five combined shots without making a save.