Toms River, NJ - The #2-seeded Ocean County College Vikings Men's Soccer team booked their proverbial ticket to the NJCAA Region XIX "B" Bracket Championship Final on Wednesday, via a 3-2 win in overtime against the visiting #7 Union County College Owls.
Just 5 minutes into golden goal overtime was all Harmony Bell-Gam needed.
Upon receiving a well-driven service from the left flank from Michael Cambra, Bell-Gam skillfully directed a powerful, well-placed head ball into the left corner of the net past a diving Union County College goalkeeper to give his Ocean County College Vikings the victory in the Region XIX semifinals Wednesday afternoon at Ocean County College Stadium.
With the win, Bell-Gam and his Viking teammates have secured a spot in the Region XIX finals, which take place Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ocean County College Stadium. Their opponent is the reigning Region XIX Champions, the #3-seeded Sussex County College Skylanders.
Also scoring for the Vikings were Aniello Lubrano (10th min) off a well-placed service from the right flank by co-captain Cory Branz and Dom Dos Santos (49th min), who pushed the ball lower left past the Union keeper with an outstanding 30-yard delivery from center back co-captain Kevin Miller.
Viking goalkeeper Riley Fahnholz was outstanding throughout the match, recording 7 saves and logging his 9th victory this season.
The Vikings outshot the Owls 22-12 overall, and with the victory, improve their season record to 12-3-1.
With a win in the Region XIX Championship vs Sussex CC on Saturday, Ocean CC would secure its spot at the NJCAA National Championship, which takes place in Herkimer, NY, from November 13-17.