Mohawk Valley women to play for NJCAA soccer title; Herkimer men upset
HERKIMER - The Mohawk Valley Community College Hawks played from behind to earn a tie at Herkimer College's Wehrum Stadium Friday then won a penalty kick shootout to earn their place in the NJCAA's Division III championship match. The Hawks' win prevents a fourth straight final between defending champion Dallas College-Brookhaven and Michigan's Delta College.
Mohawk Valley (15-0-1), seeded third, meets No. 1 Brookhaven (15-0-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Herkimer. Brookhaven had beaten Delta in the 2019 and 2021 championship matches; Delta won the spring final during the 2020-21 academic year.
Meanwhile, in Batavia, No. 3 Genesee Community College, playing on its home pitch, upset No. 1 Herkimer to earn the spot opposite No. 1 seed and four-time defending champion Dallas College-Richland at the Division III men's tournament.
Both championship matches are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday.
More:Herkimer men, MV women advance, play again Friday in NJCAA soccer
Mohawk Valley, Brookhaven women advance in Herkimer
Mohawk Valley and Delta played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two 20-minute overtime periods. Delta scored 10 minutes into the first half, Mohawk Valley scored 10 minutes into the second, and the Hawks hit their first four penalty kicks to win a tie-breaking shootout 4-2.
Each team's first two kickers converted. Mohawk Valley hit two more while Delta came up empty against Hannah Pcola, a freshman from Mt. Markham High School. Pcola allowed Carley Bolen's goal at 9:32 and held the second-seeded Pioneers scoreless the rest of the way despite Delta outshooting Mohawk Valley 19-8 in regulation and 4-0 in the first overtime period.
Alyssa Shepherd, a freshman from Sauquoit Valley, tallied the tying goal for the Hawks with an assist from Amber Piersma, Pcola's Mt. Markham classmate, at 55:04.
Shepherd and Piersma also delivered the first two penalty kicks for Mohawk Valley. Central Valley Academy graduate Jazmyn Gillette gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead and Kendall Decker, a freshman from Remsen, added the clincher.
In the early match, Meah Perez and scored one goal and assisted on the other four minutes apart straddling overtime in Brookhaven's 2-0 win over Genesee. Kenya Nichols broke a scoreless tie with her goal assisted by Perez in the final minute before halftime, and Perez scored 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.
Hayli Nichols made four saves in the 14th shutout of the season for Brookhaven and 13th in a row.
Brookhaven beat Mohawk Valley 3-1 in last fall's semifinals. Delta had beaten the Hawks 5-1 in the spring semifinals.
Mohawk Valley was last a finalist in 2013, the year after winning its second and most recent national championship.
Genesee, Richland men advance in Batavia
The beat goes on for the Richland Thunderducks (16-0-1) after a 3-1 win over New Jersey's Camden County College put them in the final for the seventh consecutive season.
Richland tied Herkimer's record with its 10th Division III championship against Herkimer in Herkimer last fall; the Thunderducks will try to break that tie against Genesee, the team that beat them in the 2017 title match.
Genesee (15-3-3) earned its shot at the title by shutting out Herkimer (14-2-1), a Region III rival that had beaten the Cougars during the regular season.
Luis Felipe Karam scored Friday's only goal in the 78th minute of play. Antonio Pellegrino assisted.
Cathal Carney made four saves for the Generals who had a 16-11 shot advantage but Genesee goalie Oliver Alaviuhkola countered with nine stops. The Herkimer shot advantage was 10-3 in the scoreless first half.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Soccer: Mohawk Valley women to play for NJCAA title; Herkimer men upset
