East Peoria, IL – No. 18 Indian Hills Men's Soccer suffered a 3-2 loss to No. 7 Jefferson College (MO) in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Soccer Midwest District Semifinal on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Warriors are eliminated from the District tournament and fall to 12-9-1 on the year.
Making its first-ever NJCAA District Tournament appearance after winning the 2022 NJCAA Region XI Championship, the Warriors fell behind in the opening half to the Vikings as Jefferson netted a goal in the 27th minute. The response from Indian Hills came less than six minutes later as Daniele Verdirosi (Rome, Italy/Araniti) and Ron Becker (Tubingen, Germany/Evangelisches Firstwald Gymnasium) teamed up to force a Viking turnover. Verdirosi forced the miscue at the top of the box and Becker gathered the loose ball and beat the keeper 1-on-1 win for the equalizer.
Both sides entered the second half all square at one looking to break free. It was the Warriors who struck first less than four minutes into the second frame as Mohammed Bouchafrati (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany/Tannenbusch Gymnasium) headed home a Kevin Mejias (Fromo, Italy/Montegiorgio Calcio) cross from the right side to put Indian Hills ahead 2-1.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jefferson drove down field and was able to capitalize off a corner kick as a scramble in the box resulted in a loose ball trickling into the back of the net. With the score knotted at two, Jefferson put home the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute off a free kick and the Vikings held off the Warrior down the stretch to earn a spot in the upcoming district title match on Sunday.
The Warriors hold an outside shot to earn an at-large bid to the upcoming NJCAA National Tournament in Melbourne, FL. As the NJCAA Region XI Champions, the Warriors have secured three victories and a tie over top-10 nationally ranked teams this season.
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