The Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team clinched the No. 2 seed in this week's Region XI Tournament and will host Dakota County Technical College at 3:00 PM on Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 14-3-1 mark and 10-2-0 in league play.
MCC will take on No. 7 Dakota County, members of Region XIII. The Blue Knights are the lone Division I participant in their respective region, forcing them to join the Region XI Tournament. The Blue Knights posted a 14-2-1 overall record in 2013 and were ranked in the NJCAA Division I poll every week of the season with a ranking as high as No. 9.
Dakota County is led by sophomore forward Sikiru Kareem who leads the team with 10 goals and 22 points on the season. Jose Andiano Castillo is tied for third in the nation with 14 assists. The Blue Knights have allowed just 10 goals on the year as primary goalkeeper Gafari Ayodele has posted six shutouts.
The Tigers, ranked No. 18 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll, are led by three-time Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Offensive Player of the Week Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega). The freshman ranks second in the league in goals (14), assists (12), and points (40) and is second in the nation in game-winning goals with seven. Fellow freshman John Krause (Slater, IA/Ballard) ranks second on the team in goals (9), assists (5), and points (23).
While the Tigers have scored 51 goals on the year, including 17 in their current five-game winning streak, it has been the MCC defense that has carried the team much of the season. The Tigers have surrendered just 15 goals on the year and just one in their last five matches. MCC has allowed more than two goals in a game just once this year, a 3-0 loss to No. 1 nationally ranked and ICCAC member Iowa Western Community College.
Freshman Julian Pena (Muscatine, IA/Muscatine) has recorded three shutouts on the year and currently holds a 0.91 goals against average. The backline defense has been anchored by sophomore Bill Baye (Crystal, MN/Park Center), and freshmen Jaime Agujetas (Vigo, Spain/Celta), Marquell Comer (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln) and Jordan Gilmore (Craigavon, UK/Craigavon).
MCC and Dakota County have faced five similar opponents this year- Iowa Central, Scott, College of Lake County, Anoka-Ramsey, and Iowa Lakes. The Blue Knights defeated all five opponents once, and also recorded a tie against Anoka-Ramsey. MCC competed in the Minnesota Kickoff Classic, hosted by Dakota County on August 30-Sept. 1 where they tied Lake County and defeated Anoka-Ramsey.
Iowa Western received the No. 1 overall seed and a first round bye in the tournament after posting a 11-0-0 record in league play.
