Warriors Season Ends in Agonizing Fashion

Soccer Final

Prescott, Arizona -- The national tournament matchup between Indian Hills and Tyler (Tex.) came down to the final minute of the second overtime.  That's when Tyler's Mohammed Kamara, the leading goal-scorer in the entire NJCAA, scored on a shot into the lower corner of the goal to give the Apaches a 2-1 win and a spot in the semifinals, and brought an excruciating end to the Warriors' best season ever.

The match appeared to be headed to a shootout before Kamara scored with just 54 seconds remaining in the second 10-minute OT period.

Kamara's goal was his 45th of the year and came some 47 minutes of game time after IHCC's Akean Shackleford had tied the score at 1-all.  Shackleford, second in the country behind Kamara in goals, notched his 33rd -- and the 55th of his illustrious career -- on a free kick in the 63rd minute, beating TJC keeper Robbie Johnson.  It was the lone goal allowed by Johnson, who made seven saves.  Equally as clutch under pressure was Indian Hills goalkeeper Ross Dalton, with five stops.

The first score of the night, in the 10th minute of play, was also scored by Kamara on a penalty kick, which meant the two best goal-scorers in the nation accounted for all the goals.

The Warriors outshot Tyler 22-20 and the Apaches had the edge in corner kicks, 5-3. 

It was only the third loss in 21 matches for Indian Hills and ended a six-game winning streak.  Tyler (21-2) joins Pima, Schoolcraft and Yavapai in the semifinal bracket.

The Warriors talented sophomore class contributed to a 29-10 record over the past two seasons for a program that had won a total of 26 games in the five years prior to their arrival on campus.  Second-year head coach Jon Fridal has some standout players on the roster to build around for 2018 as eight of the 10 all-region players from this year are freshmen.