Overland Park, KS—The Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2014 season, a 3-2 setback in the final minute of play to No. 20 Johnson County Community College at the JCCC Showcase. The Tigers fall to 1-1-0 on the year.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead with less than seven minutes to play, the Tigers allowed two goals, including the game-winner from the Cavaliers in the 89th minute to fall to the showcase hosts. Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega) scored for the second straight game while Jordan Gilmore (Portadown, Northern Ireland, UK/Craigavon) recorded his first career goal for the Tigers.
Following the game, MCC head coach Rafael Martinez applauded the team's performance over the weekend against top competition. "I think we exemplified what a team in a growing process looks like as we had moments of great possession and control with other moments in which we were not able to deal with the pressure from the other team."
After putting up four goals on Friday against Coffeyville Community College, the Tigers were limited with scoring chances in the opening frame against Johnson County. Carrillo eventually broke through for the Tigers in the 39th minute as the sophomore attacker teamed up with Carlos Smith (Des Moines, IA/East) for a combination of passes that led to Carrillo's second goal of the year.
The Cavaliers responded just two minutes later as the equalizer came on a corner kick to tie the game at one heading into halftime.
Playing in his 20th career game for the Tigers, Gilmore put the Tigers back on top with his first career goal, finding the back of the net on a shot from 25 yards out. The lead held for nearly 30 minutes, but the Cavaliers rallied to tie the game, again with a goal coming on a corner kick in the 83rd minute.
As overtime loomed, the Cavaliers netted the game-winner with 55 seconds to play, coming on a set piece for the third time, this time a direct kick that found its way past freshman goalkeeper Kwan Tolbert (Conway, AR/Conway).
The Tigers recorded 12 shots on the day, with five coming on net. Tolbert finished the afternoon with five saves for the Tigers.
"Playing two games against quality opponents allowed us to test ourselves and learn more about our team," Martinez stated in reference to the showcase. "It was a great experience for us so this trip was very positive to prepare for the overall objective, which is to win our region. We're looking forward to tomorrow's training session to continue that growing process.
The Tigers will host Oakton Community College on Friday evening for the team's first home game of the regular season.
