4-3 Thriller Against Hills

Ottumwa IA – The MCC men's soccer team took on last year's Region XI Champion, Indian Hills Community College on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Warriors 4-3. Both teams went scoreless in the first half but the Tigers entered the second half determined to walk away with the victory.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, sophomore Rafael Vacas put the Tigers up 1-0 when he scored on a penalty kick. Vacas now has a team leading nine goals this season, which ranks second in the ICCAC only one behind Iowa Central's Guillaume Rouzic.

Gerald Diaz had a great day for the Tigers, finding the net twice within five minutes to put MCC up 3-0 with just 20 minutes to play. This is where the Tigers fell apart, with 20 minutes to play the Warriors scored twice and scored a goal off a blocked free kick to tie the game.

In the final minute of play, freshman sensation Kazuki Kimura found the net with just 55 seconds remaining in the game. The freshman from Hyogo, Japan has scored six goals and recorded five assists this season. The defense held off a final attach by the Warriors and took their conference rival 4-3.

"Today we saw some of the best moments of soccer this team has displayed this year, but we also saw how our own mistakes can give other teams the possibility to get back into a game the was controlled, but not finished," stated Head Coach Rafael Martinez. "We must reflect on what we did during the first 70 minutes, and what we didn't do in the last 20. We must perform for 90 minutes the next time we play. That will be our focus on Monday when we get back to work to prepare for our match against Scott Community College."

The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday, September 26 when they host the Eagles of Scott Community College on the MCC Soccer Field at 4:00 PM. For more information on the men's soccer team, follow @MCCTigers_MSOC on twitter.