No. 7 MCC drops NIACC 3-2 in double overtime

No. 7 MCC drops NIACC 3-2 in double overtime

Video: Game winning goal               Infographic

Marshalltown, IA—Despite allowing two goals in a match for the first time in 12 games, the No. 7 Marshalltown Community College Men's Soccer team found a way to win in double overtime against North Iowa Area Community College as Kino Ryosuke (Hyogo, Japan/Takigawadaini) found the back of the net for a 3-2 MCC win. The Tigers improve to 2-0 overall and in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play on the year.

MCC, who has not allowed two goals in a game since Sept. 23 of last year vs. Iowa Lakes Community College, built a 2-0 lead over the Trojans in the first half. NIACC countered with a goal late in the half and buried the equalizer in the 73rd minute, ultimately forcing extra minutes.

A scoreless first overtime led to a final 10 minutes of golden goal soccer. Despite multiple scoring threats from the Tigers, MCC was unable to find the back of the net until Ryosuke headed home a pass from Sirleaf Wiah (Brooklyn Park, MN/Prairie Seeds) to give MCC its first overtime win since Sept. 16, 2014, a 1-0 victory against Iowa Lakes.

The Tigers are now unbeaten in their last 24 regular season matches dating back to the 2014 season, which includes four victories over the Trojans.

MCC outshot the Trojans 26-8 on the day, with 13 of those coming on goal. NIACC keeper Colin Anderson stopped multiple point-blank shots throughout the match, including two in the extra sessions. Sophomore keeper Rafael Pereira (Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria Vergilio Ferreira) stopped two shots in net to earn his 20th career-win for the Tigers.

The Tigers opened up the day with an early lead as Jose Alvarez (Fernan Nunez, Spain/I.E.S. Francisco de los Rios) buried a shot off of a corner kick from Eneko Lasheras (Tudela, Spain/Benjamin de Tudela) in the 10th minute.  Sophomore Pedro Oliveira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colegio Estadual) scored his second goal in as many games after beating a defender on the end line and lofting a shot over the keeper for the 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute.

NIACC netted its first goal of the match in the 39th minute after finding a small opening in the net from the end line. The Tigers took its one goal lead into halftime.

The Tigers had a variety of scoring chances to open the second half, including a strike from Ryosuke in the 51st minute.  MCC's defense maintained the lead throughout most of the early stages, but NIACC took advantage of a free kick at the 72:42 mark to net the equalizer.

The Tigers continued to threaten on the offensive end of the field, but were limited from scoring. Thiago Fernandes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colegio Dom Oton Mota) and Andre Santos (Lisbon, Portugal/Externato Seneca) fired shots on net in the closing minutes of regulation but were blocked away by Anderson.

Both sides traded corner kicks in the opening overtime period but a scoreless frame led to a decisive second overtime. The Tigers had a pair of corner kicks early on, but to no avail. Five minutes into the final frame, Ryosuke fired a shot that was blocked by a defender, but Wiah was able to corral the loose ball. The sophomore's pass found Ryosuke back in the middle of the box who in turn headed home the game-winner.

"It's great to get the win," Ryosuke stated following the match, "we followed through with a tough fight, but we must continue to work hard as a team."

The Tigers home-stand continues with a 4:00 PM nonconference match against Carl Sandburg College on August 31.