FIGHTING TIGER MEN’S SOCCER DOMINATES #15 TCCC IN 3-0 VICTORY

It was billed as a battle of nationally ranked conference powers as #18 SUNY Cobleskill of the Mountain Valley Conference hosted #15 Tompkins-Cortland Community College of the Mid-States Conference yesterday in Cobleskill, NY. But the Fighting Tigers took the drama out of the match early on taking a 2-0 halftime advantage on their way to a dominant 3-0 win over the visiting Panthers. The home team out shot their opposition by a 24-8 margin on the afternoon controlling possession for long stretches of the contest.  The victory pushes Cobleskill’s overall record to 8-1 on the season while the loss drops Tompkins-Cortland to 7-4 on the year.

“We played exceptionally well today given the fact that this was the second time that we were playing, and beating, a nationally ranked opponent in a forty-eight hour period of time,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Rob Szmarz. “You cannot say enough about the play of  our midfielders Rilwan Salawu, (freshman,, Brooklyn, NY, Franklin D. Roosevelt High School,  and Essaha Jallow, (freshman, Bronx, NY, Dewitt Clinton High School), who were dynamite today and really did whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it on the field. We are proving to ourselves as a team that we are contenders and that we are improving collectively every time we take the field.”

Freshman midfielder Greg Klopfer, Voorheesville, NY, Voorheesville High School, scored the eventual game winner with 27:05 left in the first half then added an assist on a goal by fellow freshman forward Aaron Aiken, Hartford, NY, Harford High School, with five minutes remaining in the stanza. Senior midfielder Gilbert Francillon, Brooklyn, NY, Midwood High School, scored the Fighting Tigers lone second half goal to close the door on the Panthers.  Midfielder Rilwan Salawu continued his superb play making with a pair of assists while senior forward Hugh Campbell, Bronx, NY, Dewitt Clinton High School, and freshman forward Austin Standhart, Schoharie, NY, Middleburgh High School, each notched an assist in the contest.

The Cobleskill defense notched its fifth shutout of the season behind freshman goalkeeper Abdou Seck, Bronx, NY, who made seven saves in the contest. The Panther offense was limited to only eight shots on goal in the contest by the Fighting Tiger defensive unit.

Fighting Tigers will continue their current homestand on Saturday September 30th when they play host to North Country Community College at the Cobleskill Soccer Complex on beginning at 1:00 PM.