(Herkimer, NY) Last Thursday, the Men's Soccer team kicked off the first game of the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. Their first opponent was #5 seed Genesee CC.

The Lions got out quickly and within the first 2 minutes of the game were the first team to get on the scoreboard. Jean Paul Rodriguez had an assist from Jasson Cruz that secured the goal and really set the tone for the rest of the game. But the Cougars didn't let Nassau run away with it. Just 3 minutes later, GCC scored making the game 1-1. Before the end of the first half, Juan Alava found the back of the net for Nassau to go up by 1. This fueled the Lions, but also added pressure to the Cougars to stay close. Genesee snuck through the Lions defense and scored again. A penalty was called on the Lions while the game was 2-2 and Genesee was able to secure 2 more goals to make the score 4-2.

In the second half, Jacob Backman and Jasson Cruz with an assist from Jean Paul Rodriguez gave the Lions a chance to stay close to the Cougars, but they fell just short when Genesse scored twice making the final score, 6-4.

Head Coach Dan Fisher commented, "We started the game off well and ended up scoring 4 very good goals throughout the game, but we struggled to overcome a few mistakes and that is what lead to our defeat. Although this is a tough way to end the season, all in all we had a great year and I'm really proud of what our team accomplished. Thank you to all of our sophomores for not only this season but for making the National Finals 2 years in a row. This just goes to show the type of character our team has, and we look forward to carrying this winning culture and atmosphere into next year for those returning."

Overall Nassau finished the season with a record of 18-2-1 and went undefeated in conference play. The Lions have reached the National Finals a total of 9 times under Coach Fisher and will look to carry on that tradition in the 2020 season.