The Genesee Community College men’s soccer season came to an end on Sunday afternoon after the No.1 team in the country fell to No.2 Herkimer County Community College, 1-0 in double-overtime.
With the Region III Championship and a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament on the line, Genesee and Herkimer matched up for the second time in two weeks. The Cougars defeated the Generals at home on October 16th, but could not get much going throughout the match on Sunday, stalling in what would be their final game of the year.
A physical first half produced no scoring as both teams battled for possession in the opening period. GCC goalkeeper Jake O’Leary cut down a couple of Herkimer scoring chances, denying the Generals on corner kicks, keeping the game scoreless.
Genesee came within inches of taking the lead in the second half when Dom Francis sent a bid on net that beat the Herkimer goalkeeper and nearly crossed the goal line before it was turned aside by a Generals defender. The missed opportunity proved costly as the Cougars never saw a real scoring chance again.
Herkimer nearly ended the game on a free kick about five minutes into the first overtime, but O’Leary made a diving save to keep the Cougars alive.
After nearly 118 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Generals put an end to the GCC season after Alexandre Saliba found a streaking Charlie Anderson, who put a shot from just in front of the Cougars net under the crossbar and into the goal, ending Genesee’s hopes for a repeat national tournament appearance.
It marks the second time in two years that Herkimer has ended Genesee’s season. Last year, HCCC sent GCC home as national runners up after downing the Cougars 4-1 in the national championship game.
Declan Brennan, Nathan Rose and Liam Ross were named to the All-Tournament Team for Genesee, who finishes the season with a 17-2 overall record. Herkimer claims the Region III title and advances to the national tournament, which begins on Nov. 8th in Herkimer.
