MVCC women finish second at soccer nationals
HERKIMER - Meah Perez broke a tie with her goal in the 60th minute of play at Wehrum Stadium Sunday and top seed Dallas College-Brookhaven repeated as the NJCAA's Division III women's soccer champion with a 2-1 victory over Mohawk Valley Community College.
Previously unbeaten Mohawk Valley (15-1-1), the No. 3 seed, scored first but went to halftime tied at 1. Jazmyn Gillette, a sophomore who graduated from Central Valley Academy, scored the initial goal 6:14 into the contest with an assist from Mohawk Valley teammate Olivia Bochniak from Holland Patent.
Meleni Lorenzo netted the equalizer 22 minutes later for Brookhaven (16-0-1). Brookhaven had beaten Michigan's Delta College in championship matches last fall and in 2019 with a Delta title in between. Brookhaven has four titles in six seasons.
Mohawk Valley had a 15-11 edge in shots including a 7-3 advantage in the second half. Hannah Pcola, a freshman who graduated from high school at Mt. Markham in June, made seven saves for Mohawk Valley while Hayli Nichols made nine for Brookhaven, the last in the 87th minute of play.
Perez, a freshman who scored in each of the Brookhaven Bears' three matches in Herkimer, was named the tournament's most valuable player while teammate Whitni Newbill was the most valuable offensive player. Mohawk Valley freshman Ryan DePerno was the most valuable defensive player.
Gillette and Poland High School graduate Jordyn Squire were picked for the tournament all-star team.
More:Mohawk Valley women to play for NJCAA soccer title; Herkimer men upset
Richland men complete second Dallas College sweep
Dallas College-Richland extended its NJCAA Division III men's soccer championship streak to five in a row and broke a tie for most titles by shutting out Genesee Community College 2-0 in Sunday's final.
Richland had tied Herkimer College's record of 10 championships by beating Herkimer on its home field in last year's title match. The Thunderducks broke that record by beating Genesee on its home field with the tournament moving from Herkimer to Batavia this fall.
Richland's win also completed the Dallas College system sweep it had previously shared with Brookhaven's women in 2019 and 2021.
The teams went scoreless through the first half and into the 51st minute when Felipe Garcia notched the first of his two goals. Garcia, the tournament's most valuable player, scored again 20 minutes later with an assist from Juan Vargas.
Rodrigo Artiga earned the shutout with one save on the lone shot Genesee put on goal. Richland (16-0-1) outshot Genesee (14-4-3) 17-5 overall.
Herkimer Generals Ali Somow and Yamato Fujishima were picked for the tournament all-star team. The Generals (14-2-1), seeded second, were beaten 1-0 by Region III rival and No. 3 seed Genesee in Friday's semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Dallas College schools Richland, Brookhaven repeat as NJCAA's Division III soccer champions
