#5 Herkimer shuts out #9 Hudson Valley on the road
TROY, NY – Facing their second ranked opponent this season on the road Saturday (10/12), the #5 Herkimer Generals men’s soccer team netted goals in each half to defeat #9 Hudson Valley 2-0 in regulation, increasing their current win streak to seven games.
Herkimer (10-2-0) got on the board early when Thomas Callister (Castletown, Isle of Man) scored his first goal of the season in the first minute. The sophomore took a Femi Kaffo (London, England) pass for the 1-0 eventual game winner. Kaffo now has six assists in his last six games, ranked 13th in the nation with nine.
The Generals didn’t make it a 2-0 lead until the 86th after Kaffo connected with Kevin Van der Slik (Zoetermeer, Holland) on the team’s 16th shot of the game. It was Kaffo’s third multi-assist performance this season - allowing Van der Slik to score his team leading 12th goal - netting seven goals in his last five games to give Hudson Valley their first loss in since their season opener when Brookdale defeated them 2-1. The Vikings had gone 11-0-1 until the loss against Herkimer. It was also the first time all season they had been shut out, only managing three shots on goal and three corners in 90 minutes.
Benefitting from the defenses solid play was General goalie Morrice Baker (Bridgeport, CT). The sophomore collected his ninth shutout, saving two shots in total. Baker ranks third nationally in goals allowed (6), second in goals against average (0.53) and second in wins (10).
Herkimer’s next game is against Jefferson Community College on Wednesday (10/14). The Cannoneers are 6-6 and 4-2 in their last six games. Both losses were against Mohawk Valley and Hudson Valley in close games, 2-1 and 4-3. Game time on Wednesday at Wehrum Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Score:
#5 Herkimer Generals 2, #9 Hudson Valley Vikings 0
Halftime:
Herkimer 1-0
GENERALS (10-2-0) Thomas Callister 1-0, Kevin Van der Slik 1-0, Femi Kaffo 0-2. Morrice Baker 2 saves
VIKINGS (11-2-1) Joshua Rasmussen 7 saves
Next Game: 10/14 vs. Jefferson 7 p.m.
-Giorgio Varlaro