The ACPHS men's soccer team earned a hard-fought 3-0 victory over SUNY-Delhi on Thursday night in the 2nd Annual FONSMZ (Friends of Noah Sorensen and Mario Zeolla) Kickoff Game held at Union College.

The first half saw both teams struggle to put consistent pressure on the opposing defense until Anthony Changelo (Rouses Point, NY, Northeastern Clinton) scored the first goal of the 2011 season for the Panthers with just under 13 minutes remaining in the half. ACPHS took a slim 1-0 lead into halftime and held strong as the Broncos had a few good chances in the early minutes of the second half.

Clinging to the one-goal lead, defender Neil Kubik (Basom, NY, Pembroke) lofted a perfectly placed ball from about 35 yards out into the upper corner of the net. The SUNY-Delhi keeper stretched to grab the shot but stepped across the endline, earning a goal for Kubik and the Panthers. To complete the scoring for the night, Alessandro Macchiarelli (Broadalbin, NY, Broadalbin-Perth) slipped a perfect pass to Zach Hecox (New Hartford, NY, New Hartford) who beat his defender and was able to get his shot passed the keeper.

Adam Hoye-Simek (Broadalbin, NY, Broadalbin-Perth) made six saves in net for ACPHS as he earned a shutout. Hoye-Simek was helped out by a strong performance from the Panther defense including Mike Sautter (Clifton Park, NY, Shenendehowa), John Polnak (Guilderland, NY, Guilderland) and Ben Twait (Rochester, NY, Greece Odyssey). The Panthers return to action on Saturday at 3:30 PM as they host Southern Maine Community College in the opening round of the Panther Invitational, sponsored by New England Pharmacy Solutions.