Fort Dodge, IA—The Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region XI Tournament with a 2-0 road victory over Iowa Central Community on Saturday Afternoon. Freshman John Krause (Slater, IA/Ballard) scored a goal in each half to lead the Tigers to victory in the regular season finale.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 10-2-0 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), putting them two games ahead of the Tritons in the league standings. Iowa Western Community College, ranked No. 1 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll, receives the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 12-0 conference mark.
MCC will host Dakota County Technical College a, members of Region XIII at 3:00 PM on Tuesday. The Blue Knights are the lone Division I participant in the region, forcing them to join the Region XI Tournament. Dakota County is ranked No. 17 in this week's NJCAA Division I poll with a 12-2-1 record, one spot ahead of No. 18 MCC.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead on Saturday and never looked back. Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega) played a through ball from the outside to Krause who found the back of the net to put the Tigers up 1-0. The assist was Carrillo's team-leading 12th of the year, giving him 40 points on the year.
Krause doubled the Tigers lead with a goal in the second half. MCC received a throw in deep in its offensive zone. Jaime Agujetas (Vigo, Spain/Celta) was able to play a long pass to Krause. As the Iowa Central keeper came out to challenge the play, Krause was able to control the pass and chip a shot over the goalie for his second goal of the game.
Krause's two goal performance is the second of the season for the freshman. The striker had been held scoreless in his last three games, but provided a breakout performance on Saturday. Krause's nine goals and 23 points rank second on the team.
Julian Pena (Muscatine, IA/Muscatine) provided another solid effort in net for the Tigers. The freshman stopped five shots on the day en route to his third shutout of the year. The Tigers have combined for eight shutouts on the year, including four of the last five matches. MCC has surrendered just four goals in their last nine matches.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 14-3-1 overall on the year, matching the team's win total from each of the last two seasons.
MCC, the 2012 Region XI champions, will head into this year's tournament riding a five-game winning streak.
