The #5 Genesee Community College Men’s Soccer team defeated the number one team in NJCAA Division III soccer, Herkimer County Community College, 1-0 on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars knocked off the number one team in the country primarily due to their defensive play. Ryan Fredal (Bloomfield Hills, MI ) played a solid game anchoring the defensive unit that kept Herkimer off the board for Genesee’s 10th shutout of the season. “It was his best performance of the year,” said head coach Ken Gavin.
An evenly matched, fast paced contest saw the only goal happen in the 34th minute of the first half. Josh Gray (Norwich, England) sent a nice cross into the middle for Declan Brennan (Dublin, Ireland), who directed a header by the Generals goalkeeper.
Both teams played a scoreless second half and Genesee was able to hold on for the 1-0 win. Jack West (Notts, England) made 3 saves in net for the Cougars.
The win comes over an impressive Herkimer program that has won the national championship seven times since 1994, their most recent coming in 2008.
Genesee hands Herkimer their first loss of the season (12-1) and will wait to see where they move to in the next NJCAA Division III National poll. The Cougars improve to 12-0-2 overall and will finish their regular season on Thursday, October 20th at 7pm when they host Bryant and Stratton College.
