Photo - Austin Lindell

JAMESTOWN – The brackets have been released for the 2021 NJCAA Region 3 Championships and the sixth-seeded Jamestown Community College men's soccer team will face the third-seeded Mohawk Valley Community College.

The Jayhawks (9-6) will look to avenge their season-opening loss to the Hawks, falling 6-1 in the contest. Since the first loss of the season, JCC has been gaining momentum down the stretch, winning eight of their last nine contest. Their lone defeat during the stretch was to nationally ranked No. 2 Genesee Community College.

"Every phase of the game has improved significantly since our first game of the season," said Head Coach Pat Anderson. "The defense is now a cohesive group. The midfield play allows us to create turnovers and generate offense and the forwards are finishing their opportunities. If we can maintain a high level of focus, it should be a good game."

JCC will look to freshman midfielder Louis Hurst (Blackpool, England/Cardinal Newman College) to lead the offensive attack, finishing first on the team in goals scored with nine. Freshman defender George Glover (Leeds, England/Allerton Grange School) will also play a key role in the match as he has scored five goals on the season which is second most on the team.

Scoring the goals will be the ultimate factor in the contest but it all starts prior to the shot attempt, it starts with having players set their teammates up for success. There is no one better than sophomore forward Jesse da Costa (Perth, Western Australia/SEDA) who has tallied 10 assists on the season including three games where he had multiple assists.

On the backend of the team, the Jayhawks will have to rely on their defense to limit the shot opportunities and for freshman goalkeeper Bryan Anderson (Ashville, NY/Chautauqua Lake Central) to have one of his best games of the season. Anderson has made 78 saves on the season.

The Jayhawks will face a Hawks team with an overall record of 9-2-1. Their two loses came against Finger Lakes Community College in late August and against Herkimer College in late September.

MVCC averages just under four goals a game and will have to shut down their top goal-getter, Elhadji Sidibe, who has 13 on the season.

JCC will have to push the ball on net and take their shots when available as the Hawks' goalkeeper has seen a total of 28 shots all season long.

The quarterfinals match will be played at SUNY Poly next Wednesday, October 27th, with a 3 p.m. start time.