Lakers Surge Past Suffolk, Advance to First National Semifinal in Program History

HERKIMER, N.Y. - The Finger Lakes Community College men's soccer team made history on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Suffolk County Community College, 6–1, in the NJCAA Division III National Quarterfinal to advance to the national semifinal for the first time in program history. The Lakers, who entered as Region III champions and the tournament's #4 overall seed, struck early and never looked back. 

Bautista Suarez (Salta, Argentina/Colegio Belgrano) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute off an assist from Daniel Ojedayo (Ibadan, Nigeria/Opicc) to give Finger Lakes a 1–0 lead. The Lakers doubled their advantage 10 minutes later when Finn Atkinson (Warrington, England/King's Leadership Academy Warrington) converted a pass from Suarez shortly after subbing into the match. Riley Cooper (Aberdeen, Scotland/Dyce Academy) then added a 3rd just before halftime off a feed from Sam Gerrards (Manchester, England/Wellington School), sending Finger Lakes into the break ahead 3–0.

Suffolk briefly cut into the deficit in the 47th minute, but the Lakers quickly responded. Ojedayo scored in the 54th minute off a setup from Cooper, Suarez netted his second of the day less than 4 minutes later with a well placed pass from Noah Gouveia Pflüger (Konstanz, Germany/Heinrich-Suso-Gymnasium), and Pierre Essama  sealed the victory in the 71st minute with the 6th and final goal, assisted by Adbelali Zariouh (Zeeland, Netherlands/Scalda).

In total, 8 different Lakers recorded a goal or assist as Finger Lakes outshot Suffolk 19–2. Goalkeeper Joshua Koobs (Leverkusen, Germany/Werner Heisenberg Gymnasium) earned the start and the win in goal, improving to 13–1–1.

With the victory, Finger Lakes improves to 18–1–1 overall, extending its unbeaten streak to 15 matches while adding to its program-record win total. 

Looking Ahead:
The Lakers advance to the NJCAA Division III National Semifinal on Friday, November 14th at Herkimer County Community College against #1 Dallas College Richland at 4 PM EST. The match will be streamed live on the NJCAA Network, with live stat coverage available as well.