Herkimer College, Dallas College-Richland advance to NJCAA men’s soccer championship match
HERKIMER – Herkimer College and Richland College-Dallas have won 19 of 27 Division III championships since the NJCAA went to its current three-division men’s soccer format in 1994. One of those schools will earn No. 20 Sunday when they square off in the finals for the fifth time Sunday at Herkimer’s Wehrum Stadium.
Herkimer (12-1-0), seeded third, came from behind to defeated No. 7 Bunker Hill Community College 3-1 in Friday’s second semifinal at Wehrum Stadium and earned a spot opposite No. 1 Richland in the tournament finale. Richland (16-0-1) had beaten Camden College, the fifth seed from New Jersey, by the same 3-1 score earlier in the evening.
Bunker Hill (10-3-1) had upset No. 2 Genesee Community College in Thursday’s quarterfinals and took a 1-0 lead when Amaud Abdoun scored in the 16th minute of play.
The score was 1-0 at halftime but not for long after. General Ali Somow drew a foul 33 seconds into the second half and Herkimer tied the score five seconds after play resumed when Ikiel Collins-Brown headed home Yamato Fujishima’s free kick. Fujishima served the ball across the mouth of the goal from the left sideline beyond 25 yards out and Collins-Brown redirected the ball as it approached the far post.
The Generals headed a ball over the crossbar six minutes after Collins-Brown scored and the score remained tied until Somow played a ball ahead for Nichlas Kanfjord who buried a shot from a tight angle to the Bunker Hill goalie’s right late in the 78th minute.
Another Herkimer goal was waived off two minutes later but the Generals took a two-goal lead when Mitchell Bourdeau scored with another assist from Fujishima when the Generals got the ball behind Bunker Hill goalkeeper Kevin Coffey.
Coffey made three saves in the match. Manabu Takahashi had none for Herkimer.
Earlier in the day, Nassau and Genesee community colleges won consolation matches among the teams that had been eliminated in the quarterfinals. Nassau defeated Anne Arundel Community College 4-3 and Region III’s Genesee followed with a 2-1 win over Sussex County Community College.
Herkimer owns 10 national championships and Richland, the three-time defending champion, will be trying to match that record Sunday.
No school has won four consecutive Division III championships. Richland’s Thunderducks currently have three in a row for the second time, matching Herkimer’s two three-peats. The Generals won their most recent title in 2013 to complete their second trio of titles.
Herkimer is competing in the national tournament for the 25th time in 28 years. Richland is second with 16 appearances. Richland has won three of the teams’ previous four meetings in the finals, including the most recent in 2019.
Game time Sunday is 1 p.m.
More: Richland College men win ninth NJCAA soccer championship
Mohawk Valley women eliminated
The NJCAA’s Division III women’s tournament has come down to the same two teams for the third season in a row – Michigan’s Delta College and Dallas College-Brookhaven.
Delta College (18-0-0), a first-time national champion in the spring and an undefeated No. 1 seed for the fall heading to a fourth consecutive championship match Sunday, shut out New Jersey’s Brookdale Community College in Friday’s first semifinal match at Genesee Community College.
Second-seeded Brookhaven (17-1-0) defeated No. 3 Mohawk Valley Community College 3-1 in the nightcap.
Brookhaven and Delta will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. Brookhaven beat Delta 2-0 in the 2019 championship match at Tompkins Cortland Community College. Delta was a 4-1 winner in the COVID-19-delayed season in New Jersey in the spring.
Mohawk Valley (14-2-0), beaten 5-1 by Delta in the semifinals in the spring, was tied with Brookhaven at halftime Friday. Brookhaven scored first in the 17th minute of play and the Mohawk Valley’s Hawks pulled even 16 minutes later when Reilly Rich, the nation’s leading goal-scorer with 42, scored off a corner kick from former Central Valley Academy teammate Jazmyn Gillette.
The score remained 1-1 at halftime and through the first 14 minutes of the second half. Johana Rodriguez broke the tie with an unassisted goal at 59:32. Julie Castro added a goal less than nine minutes later.
Kayla Quiroz scored the first Brookhaven goal. Rodriguez, Italia Avila and Payton Taylor each contributed an assist.
Cierra Doolen made eight saves for the Hawks while Brookhaven goalie Cameron Watson had four.
In consolation play, Genesee shut out Massasoit Community College 3-0 and Suffolk County Community College defeated Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester 6-5 in a sudden death penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1-1 overtime tie.
Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer College, Dallas College-Richland advance to NJCAA soccer final
