Hulea nets game-winner to advance to NJCAA DIII championship
HERKIMER, NY – Needing only one goal to advance in the NJCAA DIII National Semifinal, the Suffolk Sharks did just that, netting the game-winner in the first half against defending champion Herkimer for the 1-0 win.
The Sharks (20-4, 9-1) played hard throughout the contest, which resulted in a couple opportunities behind the Generals defense. In the 11th minute it paid off, getting Romario Hulea (Holmstad, Sweden) one-on-one with Herkimer’s goalie Austin Santor (Chazy, NY), collecting his initial shot which caromed off Santor to Hulea’s feet, then settling the ball and nailing a shot past defender Connor Shearer (Oneonta, NY) for the game winner.
From there the Sharks defense stiffened up, only allowing Herkimer one empty net opportunity in the 69th when freshman Femi Kaffo had his shot inside the goalie box rejected by a Suffolk defender with goalie Jon Zapata out of the box trying to just for a cross.
The final 20 minutes of play saw the Sharks’ defense defer many offensive opportunities by the Generals, never allowing a good shot on goal, thus paying the team back for beating them in the 2013 DIII National Championship game.
Suffolk will play the winner of Richland and Cayuga on Sunday (11/16) at Wehrum Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Score:
SCCC (20-4, 9-1) 1
HERK (17-1-1, 7-0) 0
Halftime:
Suffolk 1
Herkimer 0
Scoring:
Sharks
Romario Hulea 1 goal
Goalies:
Herkimer
Austin Santor 5 saves
Suffolk
Jon Zapata 7 saves
