Galesburg, IL-- Two first half goals proved to be the difference for the Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team as the Tigers held off Carl Sandburg College 2-1 on the road Sunday afternoon. Jeremiah Ziaty (Des Moines, IA/Hoover) and Adrian Gomez (Ponteareas, Spain/Aceimar) netted goals for MCC.
The Tigers outplayed the Chargers for a majority of the game, finishing the contest with a 35-5 advantage in shots, including a 12-3 edge in shots on goal. Through three games this season, the Tigers rank first in the NJCAA in total shots with 71. MCC also earned 10 corner kicks while Carl Sandburg finished with zero. The Tigers are tied for first in the nation with 24 corner kicks on the year.
Alberto Morales (Granada, Spain/Santa Fe DH) took eight shots on the day and currently leads all NJCAA players with 20 shots on the year while Gomez ranks third with 14 after firing nine shots on Sunday.
The Tigers pressured from the get-go on Sunday, taking seven shots in the opening minutes before Ziaty found the back of the net. Gomez sent a pass to the left side as Ziaty made a cut to the net. The sophomore transfer fired a shot that banked in off of the far post in the 14th minute to give MCC an early lead.
MCC continued to keep its uptempo attack on the Chargers throughout the first half. Gomez extended the Tiger lead in the 35th minute when the freshman converted a penalty kick to beat the Charger keeper for his second goal of the season. Gomez now has six points on the year and leads MCC with three assists.
Carl Sandburg opened up the second half with a goal just six minutes into the frame despite MCC dominating in all facets. The goal was the lone shot the Chargers took against the Tigers in the second half.
"I thought today was a very good team performance," exclaimed head coach Rafael Martinez. "We played with a lot of intensity and energy which is really good to see from a team that has talent. We focused on things that we could control and played to our strengths which allowed us many scoring opportunities today. The team was able to control possession and the tempo of the game throughout the entire contest."
Freshman keeper Rafael Pereira (Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria Vergilio Ferreira) made two saves, both coming from point-blank range on one-on-one attempts to improve his record to 3-0-0 on the season.
The Tigers are off for the next six days before opening up Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play at Northeast Community College at 2:00 PM on Sept. 5. MCC will look to start a season 4-0-0 for the first time since 2011.
