Tigers Open Regional Play Today
The MCC men’s soccer team opens their first round of the Region XI Tournament hosting NIACC today at 3:00 pm. The Tigers hold a 2-0 edge over the visiting Trojans this season, with their last meeting being at 1-0 overtime victory in Mason City.
In preparation for today’s match, the Tigers have been focusing their concentration on details in practice. “I think we need to focus on our game,” said head coach Rafael Martinez. “We will have to work on having good possessions, moving the ball fast to create space that we can later attack. We will put a lot of focus on stopping NIACC’s offensive players, who are strong and talented with the ball. It will be a game of small details.”
Offensively the Tigers are led by sophomore Ignacio Bello (Saukville, WI), scoring 8 goals on the season. The Tigers bring a balanced scoring attack into regional play, with 12 players scoring at least one goal during the season.
On defense, MCC will look to sophomore goalkeeper Alfredo Piedra (Columbus Junction, IA), to keep the Trojans off the scoreboard. Piedra has posted 32 saves on the season, two coming from MCC’s last match with NIACC on October 3rd.
“What I took from the last matchup with NIACC was the fact that we fought as a team,” comment Martinez. “I hope that we can repeat the attitude and overall team effort.”
With a win over NIACC, MCC would face the winner of the Iowa Central Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College matchup Saturday at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines. Match time has yet to be determined.