The Maritime College men's soccer team returned home on Wednesday night following their trip to Maine for the Maritime Cup, but ended up falling to the Knights 2-1. The Privateers found themselves trailing by two goals late in the game and put together a comeback bid after a goal in the 76th minute, but ultimately came up short.

Maritime controlled the tempo for the majority of the first half as they totaled seven shots and four corner kicks compared to just two shots and no corner kicks from Berkeley. Unfortunately, the Privateers weren't able to convert on any of their opportunities and entered halftime knotted at 0-0.

In the second half, the Knights broke open the scoring in the 55th minute as they squeaked the ball past Michael Rodriguez (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) on a break-a-away. Ten minutes later, Berkeley tacked on another goal with a cross into the box that was drilled into the back of the net. 

With their backs against the wall, Maritime continued to pressure the Knights defense and was able to break through with less than fifteen minutes to play. Thomas Kropp (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) sent a free kick perfectly into the box, where Larry Castello (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge) was able to get his head on the ball and knock it past the goalie. 

The Privateers were within striking distance as time ran out, and with eight seconds on the clock a Berkeley foul just outside the box gave Maritime one final chance at tying the game. However, the free kick played inside the box didn't bounce the Privateers way and they ended up falling short of a comeback and dropping a 2-1 decision.

Maritime will return to Reinhart Field this Saturday, when they take on John Jay at 12 pm.