Herkimer Men's Soccer Finishes Third In The Nation; Parra and Balthazar Named to All Tournament Team

The Herkimer men's soccer team defeated Nassau CC 4-1 in the NJCAA National Final Four consolation game. Senior forward Kariym Balthazar scored his 16th goal of the season in the 20th minute. Senior MF Joey Lontrato had the assist. Freshman forward Gustavo Pereira scored the second goal of the game in the 58th minute off an assist from Balthazar. Nassau’s Thomas Garcia made it 2-1 in the 65th minute beating Generals senior goalkeeper James Taber. Taber recorded two saves on the day. General’s freshman MF Chet Johnson scored in the 75th minute off an assist from Balthazar to make it 3-1. Freshman forward Yanick Brudy finished off the scoring in the 80th minute off an assist from Johnson. “The guys played great today.” Said Coach Pepe Aragon. “I am extremely proud of this team.” “We played with 15 different starting line-ups this season due to injuries and to finish 19-2-2 and 3rd in the entire country in something to be proud of.” “Several of our seniors have great offers to four year schools.” “They are a classy group and I will miss them.”

Herkimer’s Balthazar and freshman defender Cristian Parra were named to the NJCAA National Final Four All-Tournament team.