Marshalltown, IA—Three first half goals, all within a 14-minute span, gave the Marshalltown Community College men's soccer team enough cushion to hold on for a 4-3 win over visiting North Iowa Area Community College on Wednesday afternoon. Juan Carrillo (Cordoba, Spain/CES Lope de Vega) recorded five points on the day, including the game-winning goal.
With the win, the Tigers jump the Trojans in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) standings. With the win, MCC improves to 4-2-0 in league play while the Trojans drop to 2-1-2. Iowa Central Community College remains in first place at 5-0-0 after dropping No. 1 nationally ranked Iowa Western Community College 1-0 on Wednesday.
Carrillo played a part in all four goals for the Tigers, tallying three assists and a penalty kick goal in the 63rd minute to seal the conference win. Freshman Agustin Ortiz (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) scored the Tigers' initial goal, his first collegiate goal. This week's ICCAC Offensive Player of the Week Celes Vilar (Las Palmas, Spain/San Antonio Maria Claret) scored in the 19th minute while Omar Ramos (Des Moines, IA/East) tallied his first career goal in the 22nd minute.
The four goals are the most allowed by Trojans' goalie Nathan Spores this year. Spores was named the NJCAA Goalie of the Week after holding top-ranked Iowa Western to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 10.
MCC outshot its counterpart 15-13, including a 9-7 advantage in shots on goal. Kwan Tolbert (Conway, AR/Conway) stopped four shots on the afternoon, including a potential game-tying point-blank shot midway through the second half.
The Trojans struck first with a goal off of a free kick from 25 yards out in the seventh minute. The Tigers wasted little time responding with a goal off of a set-piece of their own. Following a saved shot from Vilar, MCC packed the Trojans' box on a corner kick. Carrillo received the initial pass and sent a boot swinging in towards the net. Ortiz, a defender, raised above two defenders and headed home the goal to reach the scoring column for the first time, tying the match at one.
Just over nine minutes later, Vilar doubled the Tigers' lead as the sophomore found the back of the net on a corner kick from Carrillo. Vilar one-timed a shot on the near-post to beat Spores. Vilar has now scored a goal in three consecutive matches.
Ramos gave the Tigers their highest-scoring first half of the season with a goal in the 23rd minute. Carrillo and Vilar teamed up for a combination on the near-side that led to Vilar carrying the ball to the end-line. The midfielder played a cross that found its way through the Trojan defense to the foot of Ramos for the 3-1 lead.
NIACC opened the second-half with a controversial goal in the 49th minute. An apparent offside was waved off as the Trojans scored to bring the match within one. Just over one minute later, Tolbert was faced with a one-on-one. The freshman made a diving save to his left to preserve the lead.
The Tigers were awarded a penalty kick in the 63rd minute and Carrillo was called upon to finish. The sophomore sent a groundball to the left side of the net as Spores went right for his team-leading 10th goal of the year. Carrillo is a perfect 3-3 in career penalty kicks.
A goal in the 75th minute from NIACC proved to be too little too late as the Tigers held on for their third consecutive conference victory.
Carrillo ranks first in the ICCAC with 28 points on the year. His 10 goals rank second while his eight assists top the conference. The sophomore has now scored at least five points in a match four times this year, including the last two matches. His 69 career points moves him into a tie for fourth all-time at MCC while his 24 career goals ranks fifth and 21 career assists ranks third. The sophomore has tallied the game-winning goal in four of the team's wins this year, giving him 11 for his career.
MCC will take a break from league play with a home match against the Northern Iowa Club team at 2:00 PM on Saturday.
