Tyler Shuts Out Tigers
ALBANY, GA - The MCC men's soccer team (13-6-2) dropped their first round of pool play at the NJCAA Division I National Championships to 4th ranked Tyler Community College (17-3-1) 2-0 in Albany, GA, Monday. The Tigers were unable to overcome two first half strikes by the Apaches and trailed for most of the match.
Tyler's first score came from Joseph Pratt at the 14th minute of play, behind the assist from Oneil Fisher. It would be Fisher that would score the second goal for the Apaches 14 minutes later, to give Tyler a 2-0.
"We knew that they were a very quick team and that we were going to have to come out fast," said head coach Rafael Martinez. "We came out a bit slow and they took advantage of that. I felt like we adjusted well in the second half, but we were unable to control the ball offensively."
The Tigers held the Apaches scoreless in the second half, but were unable to convert any of their scoring opportunities. Tyler outshot MCC 15-10 and held the Tigers to 5 shots on goal.
"We know that we are going to have to come out stronger in our next match," said Martinez. "These teams are big, and we need to come out and play a full 90 minutes."
MCC will next face 9th ranked Jefferson College Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 pm. The Tigers will need to outscore the 5th seeded Vikings by 2 points in order to continue their quest to the Final Four. The two teams with the most points in pool play action will move on to semifinal action Friday.