Spartans End Herkimer's Reign
The Cayuga CC men's soccer team ended the Herkimer Generals 28-year run of NJCAA Region III titles with a 3-1 victory this morning at the District B championship at Tompkins-Cortland Community College. The last time the Generals didn't win the Regional…George H.W. Bush (the older one) was President. The win also avenged a 2-1 overtime loss at Herkimer during the regular season. The Spartans got on the scoreboard first on an awesome shot by sophomore Mauricio Kosegarten's (Puebla, Mexico) direct kick into the upper left hand corner of the net. Freshmen keeper Daniel Burdaspar (Pamplona, Spain) kept the Generals from scoring in the first half….allowing Cayuga the 1-0 halftime advantage.
Herkimer evened the score about 10 minutes into the second half on a great header off a corner kick that tied up the game at 1-1. The Spartans answered back quickly when Lorenz Behrendt (Berlin, Germany) followed up a Santiago Ortega (Madrid, Spain) run at the goal…following up the Herkimer's goalkeeper's deflection and finding the back of the net…with the assist going to Spencer Urquiza (Pflugerville, TX). Cayuga was not done…as freshman winger Kent Meier (Brighton, England) scored the Spartans final goal when he placed a left-footed blast into the right upper corner on a fantastic run. First-year head coach Chris Davison said it was a complete team effort!
The Spartans held the Generals scoreless the rest of the way for the final 3-1 margin. Kosegarten, Behrendt and freshman Ryan Higgins (Newcastle, England) were named to the Tournament All-Region Team. The Spartans now head to the NJCAA National Tournament…and are one of eight teams who await their seeding…which begins Thursday, November 8th and is being hosted by Herkimer College. Go Spartans…we ain't done yet!