AMHERST, N.Y. — Chris Herrera had no shortage of scholarship offers, drawing interest from perennial powerhouses St. John’s and UConn, as well as Stony Brook and Albany.
But the Francis Lewis goalkeeper chose Adelphi University in Garden City. What stood out about the Nassau County Division I program?
Everything, the rising senior said.
“I visited the facility and I liked what they were offering. The [courses] were good for what I want to study, physical therapy,” Herrera said. “I liked the coach, saw the team practice, liked how they practice and I wanted to be close to home. I got offers from other colleges. I went to visit them, but I didn’t like them. The best facilities were at Adelphi for me.”
Widely considered the top goalkeeper in the city, Herrera is the third Francis Lewis player in the last three years to commit to Adelphi, following John Koutsounadis and Mauricio Mora.
“It’s nice to have kids going on to play Division I and not stopping after high school,” Francis Lewis coach Roger Sarmuksnis said.
A Queens native, Herrera moved to Florida where he played for famed West Kendall, based in Miami. When he moved back to New York, Herrera enrolled in Francis Lewis, where he immediately impressed Sarmuksnis.
“The second you see him play, you could tell he’s one of the best high-school goalies I’ve ever seen,” Sarmuksnis said. “His talent speaks for itself.”
That was evident when the 6-foot-2 Herrera helped lead the Patriots to the PSAL Class A final last fall. He made six saves in a shutout of No. 10 Stuyvesant in the quarterfinals and stopped three penalty kicks in a semifinal shootout victory against No. 6 Beacon.
Francis Lewis lost to Martin Luther King in the final and Herrera went on to play for the Blau-Weiss Gotschee Academy team, which is where he started to garner Division I interest.
“The way he punts the ball is unbelievable and his decision making is really, really good,” Sarmuksnis said. “He’s not just catching the ball and quickly getting rid of it because he’s scared to have [the ball]. He wants to be involved in the game and I’ve seen him get many assists from the goalie spot by just launching it down the field.”
Very early in the recruiting process, Herrera made his decision to verbally commit to Adelphi. He said he and his father were blown away by Adelphi’s brand-new soccer stadium, its facilities and its proximity to his close-knit family.
“For me the best one was Adelphi,” he said.
Herrera said it was important to get his decision done before the start of his senior year. He’ll likely compete for a starting spot right away at Adelphi, but Herrera isn’t resting on his laurels. The driven goalkeeper just returned from the Empire State Games where he led the New York City boys scholastic team to a silver medal and participated in a clinic at his future school on Monday, hosted by Manchester City of the English Premier League.
“His work ethic impresses me,” Sarmuksnis said. “You would think a kid with that much skill and size playing against high school kids would be like, ‘Why do I have to get better.’ But he’s continuing to train.”
For his part, Herrera isn’t looking too far into the future. He’s focused on his senior season at Francis Lewis and perhaps another trip to the finals.
“I’m pretty excited,” Herrera said. “This is my last year and I want to win a city championship, get to the final again. Hopefully everything goes good for us.”