PURCHASE, NY - Winning a championship is never easy.  

Everything involved needs to come together at the perfect time — coaching, play on the field, preparation and sometimes just dumb luck are needed to secure the trophy. 

And yet, that is exactly what happened over a week stretch in November 2014 with the Purchase College men's soccer team during its run to the Skyline Conference Championship.

After starting off the season as the conference preseason No. 1 pick, the Panthers struggled throughout most of the year. In fact, Purchase closed out the regular season with a pair of losses and a 7-9-1 record, as the team backed its way into the Skyline Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed.

None of that mattered once the playoffs began though.

The Panthers knew they were playing with house money and decided to make the most of it. In their opening game of the playoffs, Purchase topped the No. 3 seed Maritime College by the score of 2-0. 

In the win, Junior Sanguina '15 scored both goals to carry the offense, while the Panther defense and its goalkeeper, Esteban Aguilar '16, limited Maritime to just three shots all game.

Following the victory, Purchase drew another tough road contest, this time with the No. 2 seed, Sage College Gators. After a spectacular defensive showing in the previous match, the Panthers' backline crumbled during the opening third of the Sage game, as the Panthers fell behind, 3-0, within the opening 32 minutes.

Despite the massive deficit, head coach James Bruno and his squad never gave up and continued to fight. That passion was rewarded with a late first-half goal to close the gap to 3-1 at the halftime break. The Panthers then found the back of the net just three minutes into the second half to make it a one-score game.

It was at that point that fate and Lady Luck seemed to really be favoring Purchase. However, the hosts had other ideas, as they managed a fourth goal in the 52nd minute to push the lead back to two goals. 

And yet, Purchase refused to give up.

Myles Clohessy '16 trimmed the Sage advantage once more with a strike in the 61st minute, before Eli Wilson-Berkowitz '15 finally managed to get Purchase level with Sage for the first time since the 12th minute with an unassisted strike in the 89th minute.

From there, the two teams went to overtime tied at 4-4. After a scoreless start, Clohessy managed to find Renato Martins for the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute to send Purchase to the Skyline Conference Championship Game for the first time in program history.

As I mentioned earlier, Lady Luck shined on the Panthers during the run, as she presented the team with a golden opportunity in the title game.

Instead of having to face the No. 1 seed Mount Saint Mary College Knights, the Panthers played the No. 5 seed Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's College-Long Island following their 4-2 upset of the Knights.

The good fortune continued for the Panthers as they actually hosted the title game, despite being the lower seed. This happened because the Skyline Conference used to hold the Fall Festival each year, during which a predetermined school would host all of the Skyline Championships that season despite the teams involved. 

Since Purchase was the selected college that year, they managed to host the Skyline Conference Championships for women's volleyball and soccer, as well as the men's soccer game.

With the home-field advantage, Purchase managed to finish off the impossible run by winning the championship over St. Joseph's-Long Island by the score of 2-1. In the game, Sanguina again played the role of the hero as he scored both times for the Panthers.

He scored the opening goal in the 51st minute, before the guests managed to tie things up just three minutes later. The contest then remained scoreless for the rest of regulation and the first 16 minutes of overtime, until Sanguina finally broke the deadlock with a strike in the 107th minute.

To see both of the goals from the title game win, click here. 

The title remains a monumental highlight in Purchase College history, as it marked just the seventh Skyline Conference team-championship in the school's history (men's basketball - 4 and women's swim - 2) and the most recent title for the Panthers.

Also, the three wins during the championship run represent the only postseason Skyline wins in the history of the men's soccer program. 

While more victories are likely to come in the future, very few will ever come close to the importance and spectacle that was — the 2014 Purchase College men's soccer championship run.