FIGHTING TIGER MEN’S SOCCER STOPS HUDSON VALLEY 1-0 IN OVERTIME

The SUNY Cobleskill men’s soccer team put in some serious overtime in Troy, NY yesterday to wrestle a hard fought 1-0 overtime decision from the grasp of host Hudson Valley Community College in Mountain Valley Conference action. Playing their third match in six days the Fighting Tigers improved their overall record to 6-0 with a perfect 3-0 mark versus league competition with their third consecutive shutout and second straight road win. Cobleskill is currently ranked fourth overall in the latest NJCAA Division III National Poll.

“We have a big bulls-eye on us right now and we now know what the New York Yankees go through every night,” said Fighting Tiger Head Coach Rob Szmarz. “You have to give credit to Hudson Valley for playing an extremely organized defense that made it very hard for us to get behind them and for executing that game-plan throughout the entire match. In the end, our resilience paid off and I’m proud of our guys for overcoming adversity and for getting an important conference and regional victory.”   

After completing regulation in a scoreless 0-0 tie the Fighting Tigers and Vikings entered the extra stanza locked in a defensive struggle. Then with 1:10 left in the period, senior midfielder Essaha Jallow, Bronx, NY, Dewitt Clinton High School, let fly a corner kick that found the foot of freshman forward Kwame Sarpong, Bronx, NY, Beacon High School, who deposited it in the back of the Hudson Valley net to end the struggle.

The Fighting Tigers’ stingy defensive unit shut out the opposition for the third time in less than a week limiting the Vikings to 11 shots on goal during the contest spearheaded by freshman goalkeeper Corey Lewis, Plattsburgh, NY, Chazy High School, who made five saves on the afternoon to keep the home team from scoring.

Cobleskill will next be in action on Wednesday September 19th when they return to the friendly confines of the Cobleskill Soccer Complex to meet the Raider of Fulton-Montgomery Community College for a Mountain Valley Conference match with kick-off scheduled for 4:00 PM.