Marshalltown, IA—A pair of goals from freshman Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega) lifted the Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over visiting North Iowa Area Community College on Tuesday afternoon. Carrillo netted the game-winner in the 82nd minute to propel the Tigers to victory.
Carrillo recorded his third straight game with at least three points as MCC escaped with an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) victory. The Tigers are now 12-3-1 overall and 8-2-0 in conference play. With two league games remaining, the Tigers sit in second place behind undefeated and No. 1 nationally ranked Iowa Western.
MCC opened up the day with a No. 16 national ranking in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I poll and a No. 19 ranking in the NJCAA Division I Poll. The Tigers welcomed NIACC after recording two straight 5-0 shutouts last week to jump into the top 20 this week.
MCC got off to quick start on Tuesday as Carrillo netted his first goal of the game at the 11:56 mark to put the Tigers up 1-0. Celes Vilar (Las Palmas, Spain / Claret-Corazon de Maria) sent a low right-footed cross into the box that found a sliding Carrillo who snuck a shot into the lower right corner.
The Tigers controlled the entire first half but failed to build on their lead. MCC outshot the Trojans 12-4 in the first half and received seven corner kicks to just one for NIACC in the first 45 minutes of play. NIACC eventually erased the deficit in the second half with a goal in the 62nd minute to tie the match. The Trojans used the momentum to created offensive chances over the next 20 minutes of play.
Freshman keeper Julian Pena (Muscatine, IA/Muscatine) made two critical saves for the Tigers late in the game, both forcing Pena to make diving stops to his right side.
Carrillo proved to be the offensive stalwart once again for the Tigers as the freshman netted the game-winner at the 81:34 mark. Following a NIACC foul deep in the MCC offensive zone, sophomore Marcus Boehler (Virginia Beach, VA/Nile C. Kinnick) played a quick direct kick on the ground to Carrillo. Carrillo controlled the pass and dribbled pass a flurry of defenders. The team's leading scorer took a left-footed shot falling away from the net that found its way just past the right post to put MCC up 2-1 and give them the victory.
Prior to the game, Carrillo was named the ICCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending Oct. 13, his third consecutive selection. Carrillo totaled eight points last week in MCC's pair of wins. The game-winner on Tuesday was the seventh of the season for Carrillo, tying him for first in the nation in the category. Carrillo leads the ICCAC in points (38) and is tied for first in goals (14) and assists (10).
Pena played another crucial role for the Tigers on the defensive end. The freshman made three saves to improve his record to 11-3-1 on the year.
Bill Baye (Crystal, MN/Park Center), Jordan Gilmore (Craigavon, UK/Craigavon), Marquell Comer (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln), and Jaime Agujetas (Vigo, Spain/Celta) have also served as a consistent last line of defense for the Tigers. Over the last six games, the group has allowed just four goals. The Tigers rank second in the conference with a 0.94 goals against average.
The Tigers will host Indian Hills Community College in their last regular season home game on Saturday at 2:00 PM. MCC defeated the Hills 10-0 in their previous meeting on Sept. 25
