Marshalltown, IA—Entering the day as a ranked team for the first time this season, the Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team defeated visiting Indian Hills Community College 3-1 at home. Eniz Smajlovic (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny), Charles Huberty (Champlin, MN/Prairie Seeds), and Agustin Ortiz (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) all scored goals for MCC.
The Tigers cracked the top-20 in this week's NJCAA Division I Poll, released Tuesday morning, coming in at No. 18. The ranking is the first for the Tigers since the final poll of the 2013 season.
Smajlovic put the Tigers ahead with a quick strike in the second minute. The freshman received a pass from the end line from sophomore Celes Vilar (Las Palmas, Spain/San Antonio Maria-Claret). Smajlovic was left unattended in front of the net for his second goal of the season.
The Tigers looked destined for a barrage of goals after the early lead, but the Warriors kept MCC scoreless for the remainder of the first half.
Though MCC had multiple chances throughout the match, the game remained a one-goal margin midway through the second half until Huberty was able to double the lead in the 69th minute. Isaac Moore (Des Moines, IA/Herbert Hoover) played a pass to the middle of the box that found the foot of Huberty who buried the shot. The Tigers tacked on one more goal in the 73rd minute as Ortiz netted his second career goal on an assist from David Gomez (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown).
The Warriors managed to score a goal on keeper Kwan Tolbert (Conway, AR/Conway) off of a rebound in the 86th minute for the lone tally.
The offensive advantage was in favor of the Tigers for a majority of the game, clearly displayed in the box score as MCC held a 22-6 shot total, with 10 coming on net. Tolbert was forced to make just two saves on the afternoon.
The Tigers remain in second place in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) with the win, upping their record to 6-2-0 and 10-4-0 overall, just one game behind undefeated Iowa Western Community College at 7-0-1.
The Tigers travel to Iowa Central Community College on Saturday for a 2:00 PM conference matchup.
